Why “training materials” often don’t transfer

When people search for training materials for L&D professionals, they’re rarely looking for more slides. They’re looking for materials that change behaviour after the workshop.

Most training fails at the same point: the moment learners return to work. The job is noisy, managers are busy, and old habits are efficient. So the question isn’t “How do we deliver content?” It’s “How do we embed practice?”

A useful way to think about training materials is as three layers:

• Explain (knowledge): frameworks, examples, models
• Experience (insight): simulations, practice, feedback
• Embed (transfer): prompts, rituals, coaching, measurement

The best L&D materials deliberately cover all three.

The learning science behind materials that stick

High-transfer materials are usually built on a handful of principles:

• Spacing effect: revisiting learning over time beats one big event.
• Retrieval practice: remembering (without notes) strengthens recall and application.
• Cognitive load: chunking and simplicity prevent overwhelm.
• Contextual learning: practice in scenarios close to the real job.
• Social learning: people copy what is normal in their team.
• Implementation intentions: “If X happens, I will do Y.”

This is why cards and simulations are such strong companions to workshops: they create repeated prompts and lived experience.

A practical menu of training materials (and what each is best for)

Below is an agnostic set of material types you can mix and match. None is “best”; each owns a different space.

1) Simulation-based materials (for insight + behaviour)

Examples from today’s earlier work include experiential simulations such as Slingshot, Mars Rover Challenge, Hat Factory, Common Currency, Tall Ships, Rainforest Game, Flight from Savo, and Maestro.

What they’re built on: experiential learning, systems thinking, team dynamics, feedback loops, and real-time decision-making under constraints.

Results you tend to get:

• Fast, memorable insight (“I felt the consequences”)
  
• Clear data to debrief (choices, trade-offs, bottlenecks)
  
• Shared language for what good looks like

Strengths: high engagement, strong recall, honest conversations.

Weaknesses / watch-outs: without a strong debrief and follow-through, they become “a great day out”. The learning is in the reflection and the next-week behaviour.

Best for: leadership programmes, team resets, cross-functional collaboration, change readiness, and surfacing hidden patterns.

2) Assessment-based materials (for diagnosis before prescription)

Examples from earlier work include leadership and change diagnostics such as Visionary Leader, Change Management Effectiveness, and personal style tools such as DISCStyles, Personal Style Inventory/Exploring Personal Styles, and Personal Style Indicator.

What they’re built on: measurement, self-awareness, behavioural preferences, and (when used well) development planning.

Results you tend to get:

• Faster self-insight and shared language
• Better targeting of development (not generic training)
• A baseline to measure progress

Strengths: credibility and focus; helps L&D avoid “spray and pray”.

Weaknesses / watch-outs: assessments can become labels (“that’s just me”) unless you translate them into experiments and habits.

Best for: leadership development pathways, coaching programmes, and any work where you need a clear starting point.

3) Card-based materials (for embedding and deliberate application)

Examples from today’s card work include From Start to Finish, Building High Performing Teams, Working Through Organisational Change, Enhancing People’s Performance at Work, plus prompt decks like Good Question Cards, Strengths Cards, Flourishing at Work, Positive Emotions, Appreciative Inquiry, Tell Your Story, and Body Language Decoder.

What they’re built on: spaced practice, retrieval cues, coaching inquiry, strengths-based development, emotion granularity, narrative learning, and non-verbal awareness.

Results you tend to get:

• Better 1:1s and team conversations
• More consistent follow-through after training
• Small behaviour changes that compound

Strengths: low friction, easy to use in the flow of work.

Weaknesses / watch-outs: without a cadence, cards become desk clutter.

Best for: post-programme transfer, manager toolkits, and building repeatable rituals.

How to choose training materials (a simple decision logic)

Ask four questions:

1. Do we need insight through experience? Choose a simulation.
2. Do we need clarity on starting point? Choose an assessment.
3. Do we need repeatable prompts at work? Choose cards.
4. Do we need manager reinforcement? Build a 1:1 cadence and a simple measure.

Part B will show how to combine these into a practical “materials stack” for L&D: pre-work, workshop, and 30/60/90-day embedding.