Design Thinking For Courses (Empathy)

Build your empathy map, and have a deep understanding from your students, so you can build courses that solve their problems.

Hello course creators! Today we'll cover:

Now, you might be wondering, what exactly is design thinking and why should you care about it as a course creator? Well, buckle up because we're about to embark on a journey that will revolutionize the way you approach course development. And, remember that this post is the first one from a full series about Design Thinking.

Design thinking is not just a fancy term; it's a mindset, a problem-solving approach that puts your audience at the center of everything. Think of it as a toolkit that empowers you to create courses that resonate, engage, and truly make an impact.

Now, here's the secret sauce. At its core, design thinking is about empathy, ideation, and iteration. It encourages us to deeply understand our learners, brainstorm creative solutions, and continually refine our courses based on feedback. And, it follows these five steps:

Now, why does this matter for us?

"Because, fellow course creators, understanding your audience is the key to creating courses that not only sell but leave a lasting impact. Design thinking guides us to step into our learner's shoes, anticipate their needs, and deliver content that goes beyond expectations."

Let me break it down for you. Imagine you're designing a course on, say, in-home workouts. Design thinking prompts you to step into the shoes of your potential learners. What challenges are they facing? What do they need to succeed?

By empathizing with your audience, you can tailor your content to address their pain points directly.

So, if you're ready to take your course creation game to the next level, stick around.

So, here is the process that I followed (download your template for FREE):

1. The first question is WHO we are empathizing with. So, I started by writing concrete ideas (so concrete that they fit a sticky note) around the current situation that my customers are facing right now. So, a prerequisite is as well to have already defined your dream customer. Here is a full post around that topic if you want to check.

2. To answer the question: What they NEED to do. We are going to think about the possible things that would take our customer from where they are to where they want to be.

3. Next, we are going to focus in the things that they SEE in the marketplace. To answer this question we will use Google. And, here are the exact search words that I would use:
3.1 If you’re selling a service: {Industry} services for {dream customer}

For example: Marketing services for course creators (the one I used); Fitness services for college students.
3.2. If you’re selling a course or a coaching program: Online courses for {dream customer}

For example: Online course for working professional; Online courses for housewives
3.3. If you’re selling a product: {Industry} products for {dream customer}

For example: Pet products for young cat lovers; At-home equipment products for athletes

4. We are hitting to step four, where we focus in what they SAY. Here, you have one powerful tool, and it’s social media. Specifically Facebook Groups, and Reddit forums.

5. What they DO. Here, we are going to ask ourselves about the daily activities that our dream customer does.

6. What they HEAR. This one is going to be easy, as this information goes to you, instead of you going for it. I mean, after a while of researching these kinds of things, you’re going to get tens or even hundreds of ads that target the same people than your dream customer.

If you don’t consider that enough, you can also think about the Common and free advice that you get while you’re working toward your goal. For example, What people tell you when you want to make more money.

7. We are getting to the end, and we focus in the things that they THINK and FEEL. Specifically, in three categories:

7.1. The Pain (fears, frustrations, and anxiety).
7.2. The Gains (needs, hopes, and dreams)
7.3. The Others (doubts, and questions)

8. The final step is to summarize what you have learned in a little story.

So, that's the way you kickstart your design thinking journey. And, understand your dream customer at a deep level. Now, your job is to follow this template, that I let for FREE.

Stay tuned for part two, where we'll dive into how to use this information to generate business and content creation ideas that solve your customer's problems.

Thanks a lot. Peace & success.

Remember, this post is part of the series Design Thinking, stay tuned (it's very likely that the part two is already published by the time you read this, so check it out).