Name: Design Training When You're Not The Subject Matter
Price: 99 CAD

What You'll Learn

check_circleDistinguish between the role of content creator and context creator, and apply a context-first approach when working with subject matter experts.

check_circleIdentify common challenges in SME relationships — including information hoarding, time constraints, and misaligned expectations — and select appropriate strategies to address them.

check_circleApply relationship-building techniques to establish trust and rapport with SMEs from the outset of a project, including in remote or virtual settings.

check_circleConduct a structured SME interview, including preparing relevant questions, requesting documentation in advance, and documenting agreed-upon next steps.

check_circleUse collaborative planning and clear role definition to align with SMEs on shared goals, review processes, and what successful learning outcomes look like.

About This Course

Design Training When You're Not the Subject Matter Expert

Subject matter experts hold the knowledge — but turning that knowledge into effective learning takes a different kind of expertise entirely. This course explores the practical skills needed to build productive working relationships with SMEs, whether you are a learning designer, facilitator, trainer, or anyone responsible for developing or delivering content you did not create yourself.

Drawing on real-world experience across organizations of varying sizes and industries, this session covers how to establish credibility with SMEs from the first conversation, how to structure interviews that surface the right information, and how to navigate the common friction points that slow projects down. Participants will also explore how virtual and remote work environments add complexity to SME relationships — and what to do about it.

If you have ever struggled to get timely input from a SME, felt like an obstacle rather than a partner, or found yourself drowning in content with no clear path to a learning outcome, this course offers concrete, immediately applicable strategies.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

Distinguish between the role of content creator and context creator, and apply a context-first approach when working with subject matter experts.
Identify common challenges in SME relationships — including information hoarding, time constraints, and misaligned expectations — and select appropriate strategies to address them.
Apply relationship-building techniques to establish trust and rapport with SMEs from the outset of a project, including in remote or virtual settings.
Conduct a structured SME interview, including preparing relevant questions, requesting documentation in advance, and documenting agreed-upon next steps.
Use collaborative planning and clear role definition to align with SMEs on shared goals, review processes, and what successful learning outcomes look like

Your Instructor

I4PL Billing

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star1,640 reviews

As a Certified Training and Development Professional (CTDP) with years of experience working with associations, I am currently the Executive Director of the Institute for Performance and Learning or I4PL. Our purpose is to elevate the performance of the Canadian workforce.

Credit Information

Is this course eligible for my CPD requirements as a Canadian CPA?

Provincial regulators of CPAs in Canada do not require that independent providers of CPD be approved to offer courses. Instead, individual CPAs are responsible for assessing whether a CPD activity meets their requirements, and may take activities from any source provided those requirements are met.

Every course offered on LearnFormula is delivered by a qualified subject matter expert or learning organization, and advances learning objectives that are relevant to the responsibilities or professional competencies of Canadian CPAs. All activities on LearnFormula are quantifiable in terms of hours, and are also verifiable, in that users receive documented evidence of their attendance via a certificate of completion after finishing a course (and this certificate is stored by LearnFormula indefinitely). Nearly 100,000 Canadian CPAs successfully satisfy their CPD requirements via LearnFormula on an annual basis.

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Frequently Asked Questions

We are a registered provider with 327+ associations and regulatory bodies worldwide. We operate across 29 global markets including Canada, the US, Australia, and the UK. Every course page clearly displays its specific accreditations. Upon completion, you receive a professional certificate that can be validated online. Our certificates include all necessary accreditation details, credit hours, and completion dates, and are formatted specifically to meet the submission requirements of most global regulatory bodies.