What do the phrases once upon a time and they lived happily ever after have to do with creating a quality design? Everything. Think about those childhood stories we delighted in hearing over and over again. They all had an opening that set us up and made us want to hear the whole story. They also had some sort of contrived closing, usually a happily ever after that drew all the story elements together and had us smiling at the wonderful ending. As designers, we too have to create our enticing openers and fulfilling closers in much the same way.This important introduction to our design has been referred to as an icebreaker. But its intention should be much more than to break the ice at the beginning of an event. According to Bob Pike, an effective opener is a critical “piece of retention real estate”. We are more likely to remember best what we see and hear first and last. An opener should: break preoccupation (alleviate personal tension), facilitate networking (connect learner to learner and reduce relationship tension), relate to the content (connect learner to content), maintain or enhance self-esteem, be fun for the trainer and participant and create curiosity.
An effective closer is also a must have for content retention. Not only do we usually remember what we see and hear first, we also remember what we see and hear last. In that case, a good closer should be designed to provide these purposes: tie things together (revisit content, highlight and reinforce the key concepts), form a basis for making action plans (allow for reflection) and celebrate the close of the event.
Of course designers are not writing fairy tales and the content that you stuff in between the opener and closer is the meat of the design. Just think how much tastier your design will be with the addition of that delicious once upon a time and happily ever after.
