From Behind the Scenes to Center Stage: Featuring SMEs in Learning Content

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Instructional design thrives on expert knowledge, but too often, the experts themselves are invisible. What if the missing ingredient in your content’s impact is the human face or voice behind the facts? Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) are invaluable partners in the world of learning design. These content connoisseurs provide the knowledge necessary to develop a learning experience that ensures accuracy, relevance, and real-world application. 

However, the SMEs themselves typically fade into anonymity as their invaluable repertoire of knowledge, skills, and expertise takes center stage. But what if, instead of separating the person from the information, we brought the SMEs front and center in a way that is both engaging and meaningful for the learner? 

SMEs aren’t always natural content creators and may struggle to distill the breadth of their information into digestible, need-to-know nuggets. That’s where instructional designers and other content creators step in. So how do you set your SMEs up for success and get them ready for the spotlight? It all starts with a solid foundation.

The Impact of SMEs’ Presence

Pulling your SME from behind that curtain and into the spotlight does more than add variety to your curriculum. Here are some compelling benefits you should consider featuring SMEs beyond the usual content review: 

1. Credibility & Trust

Learners are more likely to trust a real expert in their field than an AI voice or an actor. Seeing and hearing a professional makes the content more relatable and authoritative. Common Ground Alliance created a series of videos for excavators that featured managers and superintendents in the industry. Speaking directly to the audience, they shared job-site safety tips and told stories about experiences they had with job-site hazards and how those dangerous situations could have been avoided. 

2. Real-World Examples

SMEs can provide firsthand insights and case studies that make learning more practical, authentic, and actionable. Instead of abstract concepts, learners hear real scenarios, mistakes to avoid, and best practices. 

3. Engagement & Connection

A human face and voice add warmth and relatability. Videos featuring SMEs feel less scripted and more conversational, which helps learners feel connected to industry professionals. This way of learning can also increase knowledge retention because people remember stories more than facts.

4. Skill Demonstration

For hands-on training (e.g., excavation job site best practices, engineering techniques, or software demonstrations), SMEs can visually show learners how to perform tasks correctly.

Laying the Groundwork for Success

Before you put your SME in front of a camera, start by having early conversations to lay a strong foundation. Abandon learning and development jargon and get to the root of the problem by asking questions that will help you better understand the program goals, audience, and learning objectives:

• What problem are you trying to solve?
• What do you wish more people in your industry knew?
• What are the most common mistakes you see?
• What does a successful outcome look like?

These questions can help spark passion in your SMEs and help them focus on what’s truly important. As you chat, encourage them to share personal stories, provide specific scenarios or real-life examples, highlight challenges learners might face, or suggest actions they might want learners to take. 

Once you’ve gathered these insights, it’s time to shape the content you’ve captured into a format that will resonate with your audience – whether it’s a script, outline, or interview questions. Share it with the SME for approval before moving to the video or audio production phase. 

Creative Ways to Feature Your SMEs

Featuring SMEs in the content you create is a great way to boost learner engagement and credibility. To maximize your time with them, here are a few ways you can go about this:

• Record your conversations with them and extract clips to share with the learners. This could be impactful with either audio or video clips.
• Plan to capture a more structured interview with pre-approved questions. This could be a conversation with a moderator or a directed session.
• Feature direct quotes alongside their picture in the learning. Common Ground Alliance recently employed this strategy by engaging several of their SMEs in interviews, extracting the best sound bites, and featuring the SME's photo on-screen with the text of their quote while the audio played.
• Have them do a screen recording as they walk through a process or tool.
• Film them as they demonstrate a technique in action.

Of course, featuring an SME isn’t just about setting up a camera. It’s also about helping them feel prepared and confident on screen.

Helping SMEs Shine 

SMEs may be experts in their field, but not in front of a camera. Here’s how to make them more comfortable and confident being the star of the show and how to help them shine in your learning content:

• Share content in advance. This could include storyboards, scripts, or questions.  
• Prep them for success. Give insight into the process so they aren’t overwhelmed when it’s time to hit record. Suggest doing a trial run if there is technology involved.
• Coach before the interview. Offer tips such as what to wear, where to look, posture, speaking concisely, and avoiding technical jargon.
• Use a conversational format. If the SME isn’t comfortable with a scripted monologue, try an interview or Q&A for a more natural feel.
• Keep it short. Break content into bite-sized segments. This will be better for busy or nervous SMEs and, ultimately, better learner engagement.
• Suggest alternatives. If your SME doesn’t want to be on video or isn’t shining like you’d hoped, try using voice-over narration with supporting visuals. 

With the right preparation, your SME’s expertise will come to life in a way that resonates with learners.

And…Action!

The next time you collaborate with an SME, think beyond just pulling information from them. Empower them to be the face and voice of your learning. Take the first step today by scheduling a meeting with your SME and brainstorming how you can help them shine on camera. When SMEs step into the spotlight, learners benefit from content that feels more human, credible, and impactful. 
Ready to get started?  Call up your SMEs and check out some other ways you can leverage video in your learning curriculum.

See how d'Vinci features SMEs in its work for Common Ground Alliance