The Microlearning Design Guide

Traditional training often falls short in today's fast-moving, performance-driven world. Long courses, one-time events, and information-heavy formats are no longer enough to keep up with changing business demands or support how people actually learn on the job. The Microlearning Design Guide offers a clear, practical approach for building smarter learning solutions—ones that are short, focused, and strategically aligned with real performance outcomes. This book is written for learning and development professionals, instructional designers, HR business partners, talent development leaders, facilitators, and performance consultants who want to make learning more relevant, efficient, and impactful. Whether you're supporting onboarding, compliance, leadership development, or on-the-job skill building, this guide provides the tools to design and deliver high-impact microlearning that fits seamlessly into the flow of work. Grounded in learning science, instructional design best practices, and decades of real-world experience, the guide introduces a flexible framework that helps you: Translate business goals into targeted learning objectives Identify when and how to use microlearning effectively Align learning with performance outcomes, not just content coverage Design activities that engage learners and improve retention Select the right formats—from job aids and videos to mobile modules and knowledge checks Streamline development with checklists, templates, and rapid design practices Collaborate with stakeholders and subject matter experts using a consultative approach Reinforce learning and support skill transfer through real-world application What sets this guide apart is its clear focus on results. It doesn't just teach you how to break content into smaller parts—it shows you how to build learning experiences that change behavior, support performance, and contribute to organizational success. The Microlearning Design Guide is packed with practical insights, reflection prompts, and application tools that help bridge the gap between instructional design theory and workplace learning. Whether you're working solo or as part of a team, this book will help you create learning that sticks—and drives results. If you're ready to move beyond outdated models and start building modern, performance-aligned learning, this guide gives you the tools, language, and structure to do it well.