The thing I think we miss
Most training is designed as if the brain were a hard drive.
Load in the information.
Assume behavior will follow.
But our brain doesn’t work that way.
It’s a processor—with limits, bottlenecks, and triggers.
And when we ignore that, even good content quietly fails.
You can see it in small, familiar moments:
- we start with learning objectives no one asked for
- we explain everything before giving people a reason to care
- we overload attention, then wonder why nothing sticks
Nothing is “wrong.”The design just isn’t aligned with how brains actually work.
Why this matters if you design learning
When behavior doesn’t change, L&D often responds by adding more:
- more explanation
- more context
- more information “just in case”
It feels responsible. I’ve done it myself.
But each addition raises the mental cost of getting started.
If the brain has to work hard before it sees value, it does what brains do best: conserve energy and move on.
That’s not resistance.
It’s efficiency.
The reframe
Effective learning isn’t about delivering more content.
It’s about designing experiences that respect how brains actually work— how attention is sparked, how effort is conserved, and how value shows up early.
When learning doesn’t change behavior, the problem often isn’t effort or motivation.
It’s that we designed for content instead of attention.
Design for the processor, not the storage device.
