The key to learning engagement: Kyle Norman’s take on motivation and messaging

Engagement is the backbone of effective learning, yet many organizations struggle to sustain it. According to Kyle Norman, Sales Enablement Specialist at FareHarbor, the challenge often stems from a lack of personalization and poor messaging. In this interview, Kyle shares his approach to keeping learners engaged, the role of storytelling in training, and why manager buy-in is the key to success. 

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What do you see as the most overlooked root cause of low learner engagement? 

A major issue is failing to personalize the "why"for learners. - Engagement is a lot like sales — people need their own reason to invest, and that investment has to happen before the training begins. That way, learners start from a place of enthusiasm and focus, rather than frustration or being mentally elsewhere. Most organizations miss this and assume a one-size-fits-all approach, but learners fall into three groups:

1. Those who love learning and will always engage. 

2. Those who see it as a waste of time. 

3. The undecided—the largest group. 

If the undecided learners don’t see value upfront, they disengage. I’ve seen cases where training wasn’t properly introduced, leading to lower participation, poor knowledge retention, and negative feedback—not because the content was bad, but because the "why" wasn't clear.

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How do you keep learners engaged and reduce drop-offs? 

 We need to take a step back and understand why drop-offs happen. Often, it's due to the time commitment, the belief that learners already know the content, or a lack of progress — which leads to a drop in self-efficacy.


To maintain engagement, your message needs to address all three:

• Start with the why — how the next training builds on past learning and what it unlocks next. That includes both applying the skill (to boost self-efficacy) and developing it further (to counter “I already know this”).
  
• Frame the training as brief and focused, then clearly outline how you will train on it. 

Your message also needs to evolve as the training progresses. In a recent sales program, we saw strong early engagement when the content was new — but participation dropped once we moved into refining skills. Learners felt we were being too prescriptive, as if we were saying they were doing it wrong. Our mistake was not adapting the why and what’s next.


Here’s how we should’ve framed it:
“We want to build stronger engagement in the sales process and show real value to our customers. In just the next two sessions, we’ll simplify the process to avoid cognitive overload and build a strong foundation. After that, we’ll shift into becoming more dynamic.”


Takeaway: Anticipate drop-offs, adjust your message along the way, and keep reinforcing why it matters and what’s coming next.

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Have you used branding or storytelling to increase engagement? 

Absolutely. Messaging is crucial. A generic company-wide email won’t work because people don’t read or engage with it. Some people skim, some ignore, and others multitask through training. To capture attention, you need a launch event or kickoff session to explain the why—why this matters, how it fits into their work, and the short- and long-term benefits. 

Understanding your audience is key. Some learners worry about time investment, so we emphasize how training will save them time. Others resist change, so we highlight how the new approach will make their jobs easier.  For example, we recently ran training for a team that was hesitant to head in a new direction. They were concerned their current skill set wouldn’t translate, and that they were being set up to fail. To engage them, we focused on both short- and long-term outcomes, then shared a personal story about my own struggles with the skill. That story helped show the skill was already part of their day-to-day, making the change feel more relatable and achievable.

At the core, it’s about framing learning as a valuable, engaging, and necessary step forward—both for individuals and the business. 

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What’s the biggest barrier preventing managers from supporting learning? 

It’s similar to change management—middle managers are key. If they believe in the value, they’ll champion it. If not, they’ll just push it as a mandatory task, which kills engagement. 

To fix this: 

1.  Get manager buy-in by connecting the training to team performance and their own goals.

2.  Equip them with coaching tools to support learning and implementation

If a team member doubts the value, a manager should ask: Why do you think this isn’t useful? How are you handling this skill now? Could there be a better way? Sense-making through coaching is crucial. 

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How can you effectively demonstrate the impact of L&D to leadership? 

The higher up you go, the more leadership expects measurable impact. In L&D, that’s challenging. We know learning improves retention and skill application, but training alone isn’t enough—it requires coaching and practice. To secure buy-in, we need data: where are we now, where do we want to be, and how does learning bridge that gap? 

A book that influenced me is The True Believer by Eric Hoffer. It highlights how change happens—people see a “glorious past” and a desirable future but feel stuck in the present. If we position learning as the bridge to that future, we create buy-in. 

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Where do you see L&D heading in the next five years? 

L&D will need to align more closely with business strategy. Companies will demand measurable impact, not just engagement metrics. AI and data-driven learning will play a huge role—helping tailor programs to individual needs and proving ROI more effectively. 

Another shift will be in learning formats. Traditional training sessions will evolve into continuous learning ecosystems, integrating coaching, peer learning, and on-the-job application. The focus will move from teaching to enabling—giving employees the tools and environment to learn in real time rather than in isolated sessions. 

Finally, personalization will be key. Just like consumer experiences are tailored, learning will need to be adaptive, relevant, and embedded in daily workflows. Organizations that embrace this shift will see the most success. 

Driving learner engagement requires more than just good content- it demands thoughtful communication, leadership support, and a clear connection to real-world impact. As L&D evolves, the companies that embrace personalized, data-driven, and strategically aligned learning experiences will lead the way in building more skilled and engaged teams.

Key takeaways for L&D & HR leaders: 

• Personalize the “why”for learners. Avoid a one-size-fits-all approach—help employees see how training directly benefits them. Without a clear value proposition beforehand, engagement will drop.
  
• Evolve your messaging throughout the learning journey. Engagement declines when training feels repetitive or corrective. Frame learning as a way to simplify work, not just fix mistakes.
  
• Leverage storytelling and branding. A generic company-wide email won’t drive participation. Use relatable stories, real-world examples, and strong internal branding to make learning compelling.
  
• Equip managers to be learning champions. If managers don’t believe in the value of training, their teams won’t either. Provide them with coaching tools and talking points to support learning adoption.
• Measure impact beyond completion rates. Leadership expects data-driven results. Track progress through skills application, business impact, and retention- not just participation metrics.