Designing Corporate Learning w/ Erin Huizenga

People Business w/ O'Brien McMahon

Erin Huizenga is a learning experience designer with over 20 years dedicated to empowering people and organizations to grow through human-centered learning strategies and design innovation. As founder and CEO of Desklight, Erin partners with organizations such as The Smithsonian, McGraw Hill, and Techstars to research insights, prototype ideas, and develop breakthrough learning programs.

Mentioned on the Show

• Connect with Erin Huizenga on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinhuizenga
• Learn More about Desklight: https://desklightlearning.com/
• Erin’s Book, Learning In The Wild: https://a.co/d/0eXFQ55y
• Listen to Sue Rice on People Business and her book Tiny Thunder: https://peoplebusinesspodcast.com/suerice/
• Humor, Seriously by Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas: https://a.co/d/0e3IjXFK
• Make It Stick by Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger, III, and Mark A. McDaniel: https://a.co/d/0hLcfWv1

Timestamps

(2:40) - Welcoming Erin
(3:08) - What is Desklight and how did it come to be?
(9:28) - How do you define "design"?
(11:13) - Are you solving specific learning problems or building overarching ones?
(15:28) - With so many things to learn, how do you decide where to begin?
(18:37) - What makes an employee happy and want to stay in their job?
(28:32 ) - How do you help clients decide whether to insource or outsource learning?
(32:20) - How do you help presenters be more captivating?
(34:34) - Give us 2 or 3 tips on being a more dynamic speaker.
(38:59) - Are there subjects that are better taught by someone from outside?
(41:21) - What are some of the coolest things you’ve seen people do outside the norm that had a big impact?
(46:58) - How has learning changed since the pandemic?
(51:07) - What are the best practices to make virtual learning engaging?
(56:11) - What does a sabbatical mean to you and how do you use them?
(1:03:06) - Where can people find you?