Episodes

Most training fails not because the storyboard is weak, but because the learning lands in an environment full of competing priorities and fuzzy signals. That’s the tough-love truth James Gilchrist brings to our mic as we unpack how people-first design—and authentic leadership—turns content into real performance. James’s winding path from actor and musician to L&D leader sharpened skills we often overlook: presence, narrative, and connection. Those talents power the “lightbulb moments” when knowl...

Ever try to squeeze a desktop course onto a phone and wonder why learners bounce? We reframe the challenge and share five essentials that make mobile learning fast, clear, and genuinely useful in the moments people actually have. From finding mobile moments to building microlearning mile markers, we walk through patterns that turn scattered minutes into meaningful progress and show why one crisp outcome per lesson is the antidote to overload. A practical case study ties it together: a 45‑minute...

What if your greatest creative potential isn't something you need to find, but something you simply need to remember? As a creativity expert, Patrick Williams joined me to reveal how we've all been born with incredible creative abilities that often get suppressed as we grow older. The conversation offers surprisingly simple yet powerful practices anyone can implement: connecting with nature, practicing intentional breathing, keeping creativity journals, and experiencing different art forms m...

Want a smarter way to stay current without spinning your wheels? In this episode, Jackie walks through a practical playbook that helps instructional designers and learning leaders filter hype, design for real performance, and ship small wins that scale. It’s a clear path from “interesting idea” to measurable impact, built around five practice trends, a lean trend filter, and a two-week micropilot you can start right away. We begin by shifting to skills-first, evidence-driven design: define a li...

Victoria Pelletier never planned to become a C-suite executive. With childhood dreams of practicing law, her path took an unexpected turn when a temporary banking job led to rapid promotions and a cross-country relocation. That detour became a 30-year journey through corporate leadership, culminating in her current role at the intersection of business transformation and technology at Kindrel. What makes Victoria's story particularly compelling is her philosophy on resilience. Signing her social...

Five new tools are reshaping how we design for real skill: spatial computing, generative AI co‑pilots, learning analytics with xAPI, adaptive learning, and immersive simulations. In this episode, Jackie walks through practical use cases, tiny starter activities, and simple design rules so you can test what works without overbuilding or overspending. The goal is clarity over flash—short experiences that improve a behavior you can measure and explain. Subscribe for more practical learning design ...

What if everything we've been taught about teaching dyslexic students to read and write is backward? In this eye-opening second installment of my conversation with Russell, we discover how the dyslexic brain's unique wiring demands a completely different approach to literacy. Russell reveals the science behind his revolutionary method, showing us brain scans where dyslexic students have 2.5 times more activity in the front part of their brains compared to typical students. This neurological ...