Welcome to Lightbulb Moments!

It's hard to believe what passes for “learning” these days. Death by PowerPoint is ubiquitous and countless other instructional atrocities litter the “learning” landscape! Webinars you cannot unwatch, slides you cannot unsee; you know the ones I mean. Clearly, we’ve got a problem on our hands…

You might be a teacher, a trainer, a coach or keynote speaker. At the core, you want to help people learn new things and realise their potential. You’re the catalyst!

The Learning Show delivers a bi-weekly briefing (every second Friday), with deeper dives in the works. Each post is infused with insight and inspiration to help you design learning that lands with your audience and transforms people’s lives.

On The Learning Show, we explore two things:

1. How people learn, and

2. How to design learning based on how people learn

It sounds simple, but there are more models and myths floating around than there are cheap mints on a conference table.

Cutting through the noise, The Learning Show offers a new framework for thinking about learning. The goal of this exploration is to help you, the catalyst of change, make better learning design decisions.

• Receive the insight and inspiration you need to design learning that lands with your audience and transforms people’s lives

• Discover a new framework for thinking about learning, and return the learner to the centre of the learning design process

• Clear away the cloud of conflicting “expert” opinions; find the signal in the noise

• Navigate the world of learning with greater clarity and confidence

• Learn how to design great learning without all the guesswork

Who am I? And more importantly, why pay attention to what I share here?

My name is David “Phippo” Phipson. I design learning to inspire and transform. I’m on a quest to return the learner to the centre of the learning design process. This quest fuels my fascination for how people learn and how to design learning based on how people learn.

I started my professional journey with two helpful pieces of paper: a Bachelor's Degree in Education and a Certificate in Instructional Design. These, of course, were no guarantee I’d be any good at designing learning that would stick.

In the 17 years since, I've chalked up my 10,000 hours designing, producing, hosting a full menu of nutrient-dense learning experiences. I’ve been in the kitchen, and I’ve been the concierge. I’ve consulted internationally. I’ve learned how to gain and maintain learner attention in some of the toughest subjects. I’ve learned how to design great learning without all the guesswork.

The Learning Show is my way of distilling and sharing what I’ve learned so you can accelerate your path to helping people learn new things and changing their lives.

Outside of work, I’m an amateur singer & musician, and an even more amateur tennis player. I drink coffee: Moka pot, French press, flat white or J Martini. I don’t run as far or as often as my beautiful wife, Shelley, who is an Early Childhood Development specialist teacher and school principal. The love of learning runs deep in our family.

We have three test subjects children: Caleb (14), Sophia (12) and Emily (8). Our home is a stone’s throw from the small rural town of Mtubatuba on the north-east coast of South Africa.

But, enough about me, let’s get on with the show…