This week I did the Via Ferrata at Quarry Trails Metro Park here in Columbus. From the ground, it looks very reasonable. Fun, even. Clip in, climb across, follow the route. Easy enough, right? Then you get up on the wall, and suddenly your brain has a few follow-up questions. Like, “Are we sure about this?” and “How much do I trust this tiny metal clip?” It turned out to be a great reminder that a plan can look solid from a safe distance. The real test comes when there’s weight on it... which is exactly what this week’s issue is about: how to spot the hidden gaps before your strategy is already hanging off the side of the wall.

Thanks for reading!

🎵 Today I'm listening to Grammatik​

Supported by iSpring

Turn Training Into Better Decisions
​

Most training checks if people know the answer. Real performance asks something harder: can they make the right call when it matters? This September 29 webinar on decision-based learning shows how to design training around the actual decisions people face on the job—so learning feels practical, useful, and tied to real work.

​Save your spot →​

​
The Screenshot Trap

You saved the slide. But did your brain save any of it?

Think about the last thing you screenshotted. A recipe. A confirmation number. A slide from a webinar.

The moment you tapped the button, you probably felt a small flash of relief.

It’s saved now. I don’t have to hold onto it.

That relief may come with a cost.

Researchers at Binghamton University ran seven experiments examining what happens when people take screenshots of information. The result was remarkably consistent: people remembered less about images they screenshotted than images they simply viewed.

In one experiment, participants correctly remembered whether they had viewed or captured an image only 53.5% of the time. For images they had simply viewed, that number rose to 71.3%.

General recognition also fell from 78% to 69.5%.

Even warning people about an upcoming memory test didn’t eliminate the effect.

Here’s the more surprising finding: screenshotting didn’t appear to free up mental capacity for another task.

They saved the image.

They didn’t save the learning.

The study didn’t test workplace training, so we shouldn’t pretend it proves that screenshots ruin learning. But the implication is hard to ignore.

Saving information can feel like learning it, even when very little learning has occurred.

That matters because we make it remarkably easy to collect information. Learners can download the deck, bookmark the job aid, capture the diagram, and save the recording.

Useful? Absolutely.

The same as learning? Not even close.

Also supported by Neovation

A strategic plan can look perfect on paper and still die in the meeting afterward. Usually, the problem isn’t the plan. It’s the quiet leadership misalignment sitting underneath it. This Strategy Readiness webinar will show you how to spot the cracks before they cost you another cycle. Join on September 23 at 1 pm ET / 12 pm CT / 10 am PT.

​Save your seat →​

Make learners produce something first

If learners need to remember an idea, don’t lead with the polished recap.

First, make them recall, explain, predict, choose, or create something from it. Then give them the resource.

That small change puts effort back where it belongs.

Here are three ways to do it:

Recall before you reveal

Before showing your summary slide, hide the content and ask:

What are the three most important things you remember?

Give learners a minute to write. Then show the slide and let them compare.

The recap becomes feedback, not a substitute for thinking.

Decide what belongs in the head

Not everything needs to be memorized.

A rarely used process, detailed checklist, or complex set of steps may belong in a job aid. But a safety response, customer conversation, or decision someone must make under pressure may need to be recalled without help.

Ask one question:

Will people have reliable access to this information when they need it?

If yes, design for easy access. If no, design for retrieval and practice.

Bring it back later

A strong closing activity helps. A follow-up prompt is even better.

A day or week later, ask learners to explain the idea, solve a short scenario, or list what they remember before checking their notes.

No elaborate quiz required.

Just make the brain go looking for the answer.

None of this feels as satisfying as handing out a beautiful, screenshot-ready summary slide.

That’s the trap.

The Bottom Line

Before you give learners another polished summary, ask them to produce something first.

Recall it. Explain it. Use it.

Then let them take the screenshot.

A screenshot stores the information. Retrieval makes it usable.

​
Go Deeper

Digital amnesia: The aftermath of a screenshot

Explore the seven experiments behind this issue, what the researchers found, and what the study still can’t prove.

AI Brain Rot

Ruben Hassid widens the lens from screenshots to AI, GPS, cameras, and other tools that can quietly remove the effort required to maintain a skill. His useful distinction: offloading becomes deskilling when we stop practicing something we still need.

What is retrieval practice?​

Pooja Agarwal turns research into action with simple techniques such as brain dumps and “two things” prompts that help learners retrieve rather than merely review.

📍Where I'll be next

• ​ATD Core4,
  Sept 29-Oct 1Indianapolis,IN
  ​
• ​Training 2027 Conference & Expo,
  February 22-24 Orlando, FL

P.S. Know someone who would find this helpful?

The best way to support Friday Finds is to pass it on. Forward this email to a friend and invite them to join 3,000+ other readers at miketaylor.kit.com​

(Already subscribed? You can grab my book, buy me a coffee, or book me to speak at your company.)