Good Instructional Designs Do Not Make It Too Easy to Say Yes

All of us have been handed an evaluation sheet at the end of a training session with a question as to whether or not the objectives of the program were met.

And many of us have answered in the positive even when we were not sure of exactly what those objectives were.

• Yes. We learned something. But will it have an effect on the way we behave back on the job?
  
  
• Yes. It was worth our time because the facilitator was engaging, and it was a team building exercise of sorts. But will it impact performance.

Good instructional designers know that there is little value in these “yes” responses when it comes to adopting new skills, changing behavior, or impacting performance.
If the objectives are vague, it is too easy to say yes. For true training effectiveness assessment, it is critical to be clear on what performance problem you are trying to improve and then set out specific, measurable objectives before the session.
Wishy-washy objectives engender only wishy-washy feedback.