7 e-Learning Content Mistakes That Ruin Your Credibility

Details matter. They affect your audience’s attitude toward your content. And the way an audience responds to any content is crucial. Here’s an example: I’m reading an article online—let’s say about cat scratching posts—and I find a misspelling. If that misspelling is followed by several more grammar, punctuation or capitalization mistakes, I’ll stop reading. Either I’ll find another article on the subject, or my furry friend will destroy my furniture. Not ideal.

Now imagine this happened while I was taking an online training course. Content mistakes have serious consequences in this situation (yes, worse than a mangled couch). As an employee, I won’t learn the training material—all because the e-Learning course lost credibility. If you’re trying to teach important safety procedures or productivity methods, this also isn’t ideal.

Make sure to avoid these 7 e-Learning content mistakes that ruin your credibility:

  1. Easily confused words
  2. Theirs nothing worse than when you’re e-Learning course mixes up all it’s words. Yikes… Don’t write a sentence like that! Check your uses of there/their/they’re, your/you’re and its/it’s. Proofreading should help you catch any of these mistakes with easily confused words: 6 Quick Tips for Proofreading Your e-Learning Course.
  3. Sentence issues
  4. Avoid sentence fragments. Since a fragment is an incomplete thought (missing a subject or a verb), your learner will be confused. Run-ons jam two sentences together (more than one subject-verb set incorrectly punctuated), which looks sloppy.
  5. Misplaced apostrophes
  6. Apostrophes are used to replace deleted letters or numbers, like “won’t” or “the ‘90s.” They’re also used to make nouns possessive, such as “a student’s score” or “the 20 students’ scores.” If you’re ever unsure, there are plenty of online resources that you can reference for help.
  7. Statistics without sources
  8. Cite your sources! If a percentage or number came from a specific study, note that. This shows that your statistics are real; more importantly, it shows that your course is well-researched and credible.
  9. Weird jokes
  10. Jokes that are unrelated to your content are annoying. If a joke doesn’t help teach something, don’t include it. Read this post to learn more: The Dos and Don’ts of Using Humor in e-Learning.
  11. Excessive exclamation points
  12. Maybe your third main point is super important, but adding multiple exclamation points after everything is bad news!!!!! See??? Isn’t this overkill??? This rule applies for question marks too!!!!! Use exclamation points sparingly. Your words, graphic design and typography are all more effective for expressing importance.
  13. Lame photos
  14. Stock photos of women laughing alone with salad are sure to ruin your course’s credibility. Have a purpose for each photo you use. Don’t have the budget for quality stock photos? Learn how to take your own: Be a Stock Photography Model.

Don’t let these e-Learning content mistakes ruin your credibility. The consequences aren’t worth it, so double-check these items to ensure training course success!

Like this post? Check out this one too: 5 e-Learning Mistakes That Damage Your Credibility.

And if you really want to perfect your course, here’s a helpful post to read: The Editor’s Guide to Perfecting an e-Learning Course.

For more e-Learning tips, subscribe to the Lectora® e-Learning Blog.