📋 Activity Instructions
Welcome! Here's What We'll Do (12 minutes total)
- Phase 1 (3 min): Read instructions and understand the activity format
- Phase 2 (3 min): Practice responding to Scenario 1 with confident expert language
- Phase 3 (3 min): Practice responding to Scenario 2 with strategic authority
- Phase 4 (3 min): Reflect on what language shifts helped you sound more confident
Your Role
- You are the Instructional Design Expert who has been hired to solve learning problems
- Your job is to lead with recommendations, not facilitate options
- Use evidence-based language: "Based on my experience designing for this type of outcome..." or "My recommendation is..."
- Position yourself as the architect; AI is a tool that supports your process, not a replacement for it
How to Practice
- Read each scenario carefully
- Think about or write down how you would respond with confident expert authority
- Review the coaching tips to refine your language
- Focus on asserting expertise without dismissing stakeholder enthusiasm
💼 Scenario 1: The AI-Generated Course
The Situation
You're in a project kickoff meeting for a new compliance training program. Your SME is excited about AI and says:
"I used ChatGPT over the weekend and it created an entire compliance course in 10 minutes! I have all the slides ready. Can you just put this into our LMS and add some graphics? We could launch next week!"
Your Challenge: Respond in a way that positions you as the expert learning strategist, redirects the conversation, and maintains authority over the instructional solution—without dismissing their enthusiasm.
Practice Your Response
- How will you acknowledge their initiative while asserting your expert role?
- What specific language will you use to redirect the solution?
- How will you frame your process and timeline with authority?
💡 Coaching Tips: Expert Language
❌ Avoid: "Let me look at what you have and see what we can use..."
✅ Instead: "I appreciate your initiative! Let me share how we'll approach this to ensure it meets compliance standards and drives actual behavior change..."
❌ Avoid: "We could use the AI content, or we could design something custom. Which would you prefer?"
✅ Instead: "Based on the learning objectives and compliance requirements, here's the approach I'm recommending..."
❌ Avoid: "If you want, we could..."
✅ Instead: "Here's what we need to do to meet both regulatory requirements and learning outcomes..."
🚀 Scenario 2: The Rush to Market
The Situation
Your stakeholder has been researching AI tools and wants to move quickly. They say:
"I've been reading about how AI can create training in hours instead of weeks. Our competitors are moving fast with AI-generated content. Why can't we just use AI to build this leadership program quickly? Do we really need the full instructional design process?"
Your Challenge: Defend your ID process and timeline while acknowledging the value of speed. Position yourself as the strategic partner who delivers both speed AND quality through expert AI integration.
Practice Your Response
- How will you position your process as enabling speed, not hindering it?
- What evidence will you use to justify your approach?
- How will you demonstrate that you understand AI's value while maintaining your expert authority?
💡 Coaching Tips: Strategic Authority
❌ Avoid: "Well, we need to follow best practices..."
✅ Instead: "I can absolutely deliver faster using AI—under my direction. Here's how we'll leverage AI while maintaining quality: [specific process]..."
❌ Avoid: "AI-generated content usually needs a lot of work..."
✅ Instead: "My implementation strategy uses AI to accelerate prototyping and iteration, with my expert review at key stages to ensure effectiveness. This cuts our timeline in half without sacrificing outcomes..."
❌ Avoid: "I'm not sure AI is ready for this kind of project..."
✅ Instead: "Based on learning science and this program's objectives, here's my strategic framework for when and how we'll use AI, and where my expertise is critical for success..."
🎓 Reflection & Debrief
Reflect on Your Practice
- What language shifts helped you sound more confident and authoritative?
- What felt uncomfortable about asserting your expertise? Why?
- How did reframing from "facilitator" to "expert strategist" change your approach?
- What's one specific phrase you'll use in your next stakeholder meeting?
Key Takeaways to Remember
- You are the expert they hired to solve learning problems—own that authority
- Present recommendations, not options—use evidence to back up your decisions
- AI accelerates your work, it doesn't replace your judgment—you're the architect
- Confidence comes from expertise—you know learning science; use it to lead
🌟 Your Next Step
Before your next stakeholder meeting, write down three confident expert phrases you'll use to establish your authority. Practice them out loud. Remember: your expertise is valuable, and asserting it serves the learning outcomes.