CHAPTER 29

Working Effectively With SMEs

Greg Owen-Boger and Dale Ludwig

Your career as a talent development professional will, at times, require collaboration with subject matter experts (SMEs). SMEs enrich the training process in many ways. Through their experience and insight, they bring a depth of knowledge impossible to find anywhere else. On the most fundamental level, SMEs deliver information, but it is the business context and practical application of that information that really matters.

When SMEs succeed in the classroom, whether face-to-face or virtual, they serve not only as experts in their content, but also as brand ambassadors, company historians, and color commentators.

As important as their role is, bringing SMEs into the learning and development process is challenging. No matter what their expertise, communicating it to learners in a way that leads to understanding and application on the job is not easy. So, it’s the TD professional’s job to help SMEs in three ways:

•  Help them understand their role as a facilitator of learning.

•  Create support material that works for learners and SMEs.

•  Coach them to manage the training process effectively and efficiently.

Before we get into the details of these responsibilities, let’s talk a bit about selecting SMEs.

Selecting SMEs

Broadly speaking, the SMEs you work with need to have the communication skills—or be able to develop them—to deliver content to ensure what’s said is learned and can be applied back on the job. Ideally, they should be selected based on their subject matter expertise, communication skills, and willingness to learn how to become an effective trainer.

Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Many SMEs are selected based solely on their experience or availability. In addition, as we wrote in Effective SMEs (2018), “in our experience, there is sometimes a degree of mistrust between instructional designers and SMEs. SMEs may doubt that instructional designers know what they’re doing, and instructional designers often don’t trust SMEs to follow the plan they’ve created. Trust, openness, and a willingness to learn must be present on both sides.”

The decisions that go into selecting SMEs for the training room are often outside the TD function’s control. This is unfortunate. We believe the stakes are too high for selecting the wrong people. The SME’s reputation is at stake and could be harmed if they are ineffective in the classroom. Over time, that can have a negative impact on talent development. In Effective SMEs we created a job aid called Criteria for Selecting Instructional SMEs to help you influence SME selection decisions. You can download it on the handbook website (ATDHandbook3.org).

Getting Started With SMEs

Let’s begin with two assumptions: The SME selected is a willing and able partner, and everyone involved in the design and delivery of the learning program is an expert in their own area. This second idea is put forward very persuasively by Chuck Hodell in his 2013 book, SMEs From the Ground Up. Hodell says that while the SMEs you’re working with may be experts in their field, you should remember that you are an expert in yours. You and your TD peers bring knowledge of learning design, virtual delivery platforms, adult learning, and coaching, which is crucial to the learning process.

The challenge you face, of course, is finding the best way for people with different types of expertise to work together. This begins by assuring the SMEs you work with that it is your job to help them be successful in the classroom and focus your attention on efficiency and ease for both them and their learners.

Here are the three fundamental challenges you face.

•  There is always a tension between the work that is done in advance of a training program and the work that is done during its delivery. What is prepared—the content and structure—must be delivered in a way that is spontaneous and interactive. The interaction that takes place between SMEs and learners is a conversation, and it needs to feel that way on both sides.

•  When SMEs are involved, there is also a tension between possessing a high level of expertise and the ability to help others understand that expertise. In his New York Times article “Those Who Can Do, Can’t Teach,” Adam Grant writes that Albert Einstein was a poor teacher, famously delivering uninspiring and disorganized lectures. However, Einstein wasn’t alone in this struggle; as Grant points out, the more expertise someone has, the more difficult it is for them to help others understand it.

•  Another challenge is that “training,” which often takes the form of a PowerPoint deck, looks like, well, a PowerPoint deck. As a talent development professional, you know otherwise. You know the research that went into organizing the content in a particular way. You know the thinking and rationale for when and why to include an activity, facilitate a discussion, conduct a role-play exercise, allow time for reflection, and so on. What the SME sees, though, is a presentation. Adding to this misconception is the SME’s past experience as a learner. They likely sat through endless lectures in school. This is what they know, so their inclination is to emulate that.

How do you overcome these challenges?

The Learning Conversation

In our work with business presenters and trainers, we’ve found it helpful to begin with a clear definition of the type of communication we’re dealing with. We wrote about this in The Orderly Conversation: Business Presentations Redefined (2014). An “orderly conversation,” or a learning conversation that occurs in the classroom, is an outcome-oriented communication that is prepared and well organized, and that takes place in a responsive, conversational way. While it is not scripted, it is not entirely free flowing either.

By defining training delivery in this way, we’re able to focus on its essential characteristics. On the one hand, we have purpose, planning, and structure. On the other hand, we have a spontaneous, engaging conversation. Both characteristics are required for efficient, relevant, learner-focused training.

The connection between the trainer and learners that results from this conversation helps the trainer in important ways. It shifts their attention away from thinking solely about the content they’re delivering and toward the needs of the learners receiving it. In effect, this lets learners drive the conversation. When this happens, the trainer’s work is no longer a one-directional delivery of content, but an extended response, a series of adaptations and adjustments, made in the moment for the benefit of learners. While this may seem like a hair-splitting distinction because many of these adjustments are small, it is not. It is, instead, what separates mediocre from vibrant training.

Through these adaptations, which are called immediate instructional adjustments in the field of primary and secondary education, effective trainers speed up or slow down the delivery of content to meet the needs of learners (Popham 2011). They are also able to enhance the content through examples, personal stories, and experiences, which is why SMEs are so valuable in the training room.

Adult learners are primed for this type of conversation, and their need for efficiency and relevance requires it. Maybe Einstein would have been a more effective teacher if he had given up on lecturing and engaged his students in a learning conversation.

How Individual SMEs Respond to the Tensions of Orderly Conversations

Because an orderly conversation is a process that is both planned and spontaneous, it’s important to think about how individual SMEs respond to the tension between the two. It will be useful for you to know that habits, assumptions, and a personal preference for the orderly part of the process or the conversation itself are at the root of a SME’s strengths and weaknesses.

To illustrate this point, let’s look at a couple of examples.

Michaela’s comfort with the orderly part of the process is clear. Her challenge is that her approach to training delivery might frustrate learners who feel intimidated, bored, put off, or shut down by her lecture-style preference.

Anthony’s approach is to play to his salesperson strengths in the classroom. While he clearly has the knowledge and personality to succeed, he’s ignoring the fact that he’s delivering training, not selling. The audience is a group of users, not buyers. Plus, while the sale has been made, there’s a good chance that some of the people he’s training wanted their company to purchase a different product. Anthony’s approach may not be successful with them.

We’ll talk more about what you can do to help Michaela and Anthony succeed as we move forward.

From Expert to Trainer

A good way to help SMEs understand their role is to explain that when they deliver training content, they wear two hats. They have two distinct but equally important responsibilities. The first hat, we’ll call it the SME hat, is about their knowledge, experience, and insight, along with the wisdom they’ve developed over time. Their ability to wear this hat is the reason they were brought into the learning process. This hat fits comfortably.

When wearing the SME hat, a SME can effortlessly:

•  Deliver content showcasing their expertise.

•  Use examples.

•  Tell personal stories.

•  Demonstrate using the tools of their trade.

The second hat is the trainer hat. This hat is less comfortable for SMEs because it’s about managing the learning process as it takes place. As you work with SMEs, assure them that it’s normal to feel uncomfortable with the trainer hat. It involves skills and techniques they may have never used or, in some situations, been exposed to.

By switching to the trainer hat, we add more value to the learning experience because the SME now:

•  Delivers content showcasing their expertise clearly and concisely

•  Uses examples to make complex information understandable

•  Tells personal stories to enrich training content

•  Demonstrates using the tools of their trade so that others become proficient

When wearing the trainer hat, a SME will also:

•  Engage learners in fruitful learning conversations.

•  Be open and curious about learners’ experience.

•  Set context to communicate relevance.

•  Communicate why training content is important to the learners’ work.

•  Connect the dots between learning points.

•  Facilitate discussions that enrich learning for everyone.

•  Set up, run, and debrief activities efficiently.

•  Make learning easy.

•  Ask questions and encourage discussion.

•  Create thinking opportunities.

When SMEs are comfortable wearing both hats, they will manage the learning conversation well and use this to meet their learning goal.

Do SMEs Have to Go It Alone?

Considering how high the stakes are and the steep learning curve a SME may face, you may want to consider co-facilitating with them to ensure success. The team approach can take a few different forms. Here are some examples:

•  Allow the SME to shine by letting them wear only the SME hat. This means that the talent development professional is wearing the trainer hat to ensure context is set, dots are connected, activities are run well, discussions are fruitful, and knowledge can be applied back on the job.

•  Have a talent development professional deliver most of the training and invite the SME to provide color commentary by sharing experiences, stories, and cautionary tales derived from their years on the job. Depending on how often the training is delivered, capturing their stories on video for future playback can further lighten the SME’s load.

•  Design training events that feel like panel discussions. Having a few SMEs answer questions facilitated by a talent development professional can be extremely interesting to learners. Taking this approach also relieves the SMEs of having to spend their precious time preparing.

•  Break large training modules down into smaller pieces and spread the content delivery across multiple SMEs.

Playing to the SMEs’ strengths allows them to shine, which, as we’ve established, is one of your primary responsibilities.

How to Help SMEs Initiate and Manage a Learning Conversation

While a successful learning conversation takes place in the moment of delivery, there are things you can do during the design phase to make that easier. In this section, we’ll talk about three:

•  Framing the learning conversation

•  Creating facilitator guides and slide notes that are in-the-moment job aids

•  Designing slides for easier delivery and understanding

Framing the Learning Conversation

Informal conversations always happen prior to a training event as people file into the room. Encourage SMEs to participate in these by greeting people as they arrive, maybe even striking up a casual conversation. Then, when it’s time to start the session, use a framing strategy to formalize the conversation and get things started on the right foot.

Every learning conversation requires a strong frame. While the primary frame is delivered at the beginning of the training session, it is more than a traditional “introduction.” The frame assures learners that the training they are about to receive is important and relevant to their work. It also communicates a specific goal and an easy-to-follow structure. Build the frame using four components: current situation, goal, agenda, and benefits (Table 29-1).

If your training program involves PowerPoint slides, it’s a good idea to use a few slides to support the frame. You may want to use four slides, one for each step, but you can use fewer by combining steps on a single slide or eliminating steps from the slides but including them in the facilitator guide.

Let’s imagine that you convinced Anthony, our telemedicine salesperson, to put some energy into developing his training content. The two of you came up with a frame to help him wear his trainer hat and lay the groundwork for an effective training event.

Table 29-2 shows what Anthony might say when delivering the frame for his training.

Articulating the frame will bring learners into the training conversation and give them a sense of relevance and efficiency. It will also help the SME keep their expertise in the context of the learning process, not as something that exists apart from it. You will find a worksheet to frame a training session on the handbook website (ATDHandbook3.org).

In this scenario with Anthony, he went along with your recommendations and support. However, let’s imagine for a moment that he resisted. You could support Anthony by delivering the frame. Once you’re done, you can hand things over to him.

While the frame needs to be strong, it also needs to be adaptable. For example, if training is delivered multiple times to different groups of learners, the frame should be slightly different for each delivery because the learners will be different. They may have different levels of experience or knowledge, which may lead to slightly different goals or benefits for each group. These adaptations may be made naturally by your SME, but the fact that they are being made needs to be communicated to learners so they think their perspective is being considered.

You’ll notice that the goal in each frame is related to, but different from, the learning objectives. In our experience, eyes start to glaze over if learning objectives are brought into the training room. It’s not that learning objectives aren’t useful; they are. As TD professionals, we need learning objectives to get the design right. However, they tend to be written in a way that isn’t useful to learners because they’re too formal and usually very specific.

For example, the learning objectives for the program we framed in Table 29-2 might be:

•  Learners will be able to list the function of each piece of equipment.

•  Learners will be able to explain how each piece of equipment functions as part of a larger system.

•  Learners will be able to access three types of user support.

Instead, we should think of the goal as a broad statement that all the learning objectives fit into, and have the SME focus on that.

Framing doesn’t only function at the beginning of a session or module. You can use a new frame when you move from module to module, when coming back from a break, or when setting up an activity. Learners will appreciate a new frame whenever the context shifts.

You may also ask the SME to develop their own content. In these situations, we recommend that you help them create the slides for the frame because it may not come easy for them.

Designing Facilitator Guides and Slide Notes

One way to help SMEs move away from the idea that the training they’re delivering is essentially a presentation is to create a useful facilitator guide or slide notes (if slides are being used in the training session). With either option, remember that both the guide and the notes should be designed to support your SMEs in two ways. They will use them to prepare for the training session to gain familiarity with the content. SMEs will also use them as a job aid during delivery.

In addition, make sure that you focus not only on the intent of the design, but on its structure as well. Doing so will help your SME in two ways:

•  It answers the question, “Why is this laid out this way?” This helps the SME understand the overall structure of the training, how the design flows, what the design is intended to do, and, sometimes just as importantly, what it is not intended to do. This will increase their comfort level.

•  It gives SMEs flexibility. If they can focus on the learning that should take place, not just the content being delivered, they’ll have the freedom they need to deliver content in their own way.

No matter what type of support you offer your SMEs, always avoid scripting. Even if your goal is to communicate the meaning of a slide or simply a possible way to deliver its content, scripting it will make things more difficult. When given a script, SMEs might rely on it too much—trying their best to follow it, reading it, memorizing it, and even asking questions exactly as they are written. Or, and far more common, SMEs will ignore the script altogether, treating it as a hindrance. In both cases the learning designer is failing to supply what SMEs need during delivery.

When the design allows for it, give SMEs options. You may be able to provide a range of examples that support a learning point. Let the SME decide which one to use or give them permission to use their own. You may also offer optional slides. There may be slides the SME may choose to use or not, given their preferences. You could also include a couple slides that are intended to make the same point, which the SME could choose between. For example, one SME may prefer a drawing of a piece of equipment because it’s very accurate. Another may prefer a photograph of the device instead. Either slide is fine because both would work from the learners’ perspective.

Encourage SMEs to share their experiences and stories. Stories can make otherwise dull training come to life. You may want to insert story reminders into the facilitation guide from time to time.

Designing Slides

When we’re working with SMEs and there are slides involved, the most pushback and frustration always concerns slide design. The frustration is understandable because no one—trainer, SME, or anyone else—feels immediately comfortable delivering slides designed by someone else.

Sometimes the issue stems from slides that are overdesigned. They may include too many colors, too many highlighted or bolded words, overuse of slide animation, redundant graphics, or wordy bulleted lists. The design decisions were likely intended to make the meaning of the slide clearer. However, they usually don’t.

On the other side of the spectrum, some slides are confusing because they don’t include enough information to be helpful. This may be due to vague slide titles, poorly labeled graphics, metaphors that don’t quite work, or jumbled or confusing bulleted lists.

When designing slides, focus on ease of delivery as well as ease of understanding. Once you’ve determined the content of the training program and organized it into a slide deck, adjust the slides in these ways:

•  Create slide titles that are meaningful to learners and helpful to the SME. Too often, slide titles simply refer to what is on the slide. Adjust them to communicate why this information is important or how learners will use it back on the job. For example, “Speed and Accuracy of the Production Line” is a more effective title than “The Production Line.”

•  Streamline bullet points to make them concise, readable, and parallel in structure. Parallel bullet points each start with the same part of speech, noun, verb, or adjective.

•  If slides are being delivered in a live, face-to-face setting, it’s probably a good idea to decrease the amount of animation you use. For virtual delivery, use more animation to help virtual learners stay focused. Always encourage the SME to run through the deck in slide show mode so they’re not surprised by animations later.

It’s not realistic to assume that the SME will be fully prepared to deliver the training in the same way an expert facilitator would be. This isn’t because they’re lazy. It’s because they lack the training and practice talent development professionals have. They also don’t have the time or bandwidth to think through every single “what if.” Because of this, think of the slides and facilitator guides as in-the-moment job aids. The SME should be able to look at a slide title or page in the facilitation guide and be reminded immediately of what they should say. This is very different from developing materials for talent development pros.

How to Coach SMEs on Training Delivery

As shown throughout this chapter, part of working with SMEs as a TD professional means demonstrating how to deliver training effectively. Often this requires coaching them as they progress from lecturer to facilitator of learning.

During training, SMEs need to be highly aware of how information is being received. They need to express empathy and check in frequently to see if learners are understanding. This is because learners may be overwhelmed or distracted by work or worried about how they will be judged by the SME or their peers if they don’t understand. They don’t want to seem confused in public.

It’s the SME’s job, therefore, to normalize confusion and make it OK to be unsure, frustrated, or resistant about the content. It’s important to make these feelings and concerns part of the learning conversation. This is one of the primary ways SMEs can demonstrate their concern for learner understanding, not merely demonstrate expertise.

To help your SMEs demonstrate empathy for the learner, help them to:

•  Be curious about the learner experience and concerns.

•  Listen without judgment and probe for more information when necessary.

•  Connect the dots; take responsibility for helping learners see both the forest and the trees.

•  Treat wrong answers or learner confusion as a learning opportunity to uncover the thinking behind the answer.

•  Understand the power of admitting their own past errors. Doing so will build trust and empathy.

Engaging Learners in the Conversation

One of the most fundamental and sometimes most challenging things for SMEs to do is to initiate a genuine conversation with learners. When a genuine conversation is achieved, we call it being engaged. When SMEs are engaged with learners, they are in the moment, focused on others, and connecting. In other words, they’re able to think on their feet just as they do in everyday informal conversations.

We recommend that SMEs focus on engagement from the very beginning of the training session, specifically when the frame is delivered. The reason for this is that the frame is, in its broadest sense, a conversation starter. It’s focused on learners and their needs. It provides the headline for what’s to come through the “We’re all here; let’s get started” nature, almost as if it’s an invitation to begin. Because of this, SMEs should focus on the skills that help them connect with learners and get focused. Two skills are required:

•  Eye contact, a natural part of face-to-face communication, should be used intentionally at the beginning of a training session. Having good eye contact allows trainers to read each learner’s facial expressions and attitude. This insight helps them respond appropriately to the feedback they’re receiving. And this, in turn, pulls the SME out of their head to focus on the conversation taking place. There is no magic length of eye contact that is necessary. And approaching it from that direction is really missing the point. What’s important is that each individual learner feels like they are being addressed. If the SME avoids eye contact or merely scans the room in a scattershot sort of way (something they may have heard was a good idea), encourage them to slow down and hold eye contact a bit longer than feels necessary. This will make their use of this skill more intentional and effective.

•  Pausing provides the SME time to think, stay focused, and respond to what someone else has just said. From the learners’ point of view, pausing gives them time to take in information and an opening to ask questions if they need to.

Both skills may feel exaggerated to SMEs—that their eye contact is too intense or a pause is too long. If this happens, assure them that they are not. This is easy to point out if you’re using video recording to help your SMEs prepare.

Facilitating Activities

Facilitating activities is one of the more challenging aspects of facilitating learning events. When training programs fall apart, it’s usually due to an unclear or confusing setup. “Wait…. What are we supposed to do?” is a common question trainers hear after sharing the activity instructions with table groups. This is true for experienced facilitators, and it’s especially true for SMEs. For this reason, you need to be extra careful when asking SMEs to conduct learning activities or role-play exercises.

The purpose of learning activities is to assess understanding and reinforce learning. Help SMEs do this by encouraging them to:

•  Frame each activity for relevance and context.

•  Debrief the activity to reinforce learning; uncover and discuss any confusion that may have been experienced.

•  Trust the activity to achieve its goal, which sometimes takes patience.

Remember that the SME doesn’t have to go it alone. Assuming you have the resources to do so, plan to conduct the activity yourself and allow the SME to provide guidance during activities and commentary during the debriefs.

Conducting Dry Runs

We encourage all training facilitators to conduct dry runs as part of their routine when launching new training initiatives. They need to realize before the learners are present if the activity is too complicated or they don’t understand how a series of slides is organized. The purpose of a dry run isn’t to perfect delivery; rather, it’s about:

•  Understanding how each module or element helps meet learning objectives

•  Getting clear on the flow and timing

•  Finding multiple ways to explain content so that you can be learner focused and flexible during delivery

•  Identifying trouble spots that need extra attention

•  Identifying trim points in case you’re running behind time

The dry run is also your opportunity to provide gentle coaching to the SME.

Planning for Virtual Delivery

If your SME is delivering training virtually, a dry run is absolutely necessary. Remind them that the purpose of a dry run is not to perfect training delivery; rather, its purpose is to get comfortable with the virtual platform, iron out technical problems, fit the training into the time available for it, and develop flexibility. We strongly recommend that you use a virtual host (or producer) to support the SME during delivery. With the host focusing on virtual technology, the SME can focus on learning.

Delivering Feedback to a SME

You may have the opportunity to coach your SME during a dry run or offer feedback after they’ve delivered the training. No matter when it’s delivered, giving a SME feedback can be a challenge. Defensiveness, impatience, lack of time, and ego can all affect a SME’s willingness to accept even the most well-intentioned feedback.

Here are some recommendations to make the process easier and more effective for everyone:

•  Coaching and feedback are always about building self-awareness. It’s better to point out what you have observed rather than evaluating their performance. “You got a bit lost in the customer safety protocols section” is more useful feedback than, “You speak too fast.”

•  Be sensitive to the fact that some SMEs will follow the plan too strictly (Michaela from the scenario we outlined earlier in this chapter), while others tend to improvise too much (Anthony). The first type needs to work on being more flexible, while the second needs to trust the learning design to keep training focused. There is nothing wrong with either approach, but understanding what each SME prefers is useful.

•  Begin every coaching session with self-assessment. Ask the SME what they think of the training they delivered. They may feel good or bad, effective or not, or they may even be unsure. No matter their response, use that as the starting point to build your feedback. This will help you avoid prescriptive, rules-based guidance and focus on building self-awareness and reinforcement instead. As an example, let’s say you are working with Michaela in a dry run. You’ve been helping her let go of her strict adherence to her script and improvise a little. You just asked her to deliver a slide a second time, but this time to acclimate the learner to the graphic before diving into any details. After she does, ask her, “How’d that feel?” If she says, “Pretty good,” you know that her flexibility is growing. If she says, “Not good,” you know you need to try a new tactic.

•  Keep your recommendations simple and actionable. This is important whenever you’re coaching someone, but with SMEs in the training room, it’s especially necessary. Asking your SME to pause a bit more or pose more open-ended questions is much better feedback than, “Your speaking pace was fast and some of the learners looked confused.”

Final Thoughts

While SMEs bring a level of insight and experience to the learning process that is impossible to find anywhere else, they need our support to succeed in the learning environment. As talent development professionals, it’s our job to make SMEs comfortable and effective in their training role. We do that when we:

•  Help SMEs understand that training delivery requires skills outside their own area of expertise.

•  Help SMEs frame the training they deliver, and each module contained in it, to communicate a sense of relevance and efficiency for learners. It’s the SME’s job to bring learners into the learning conversation.

•  Create facilitator guides that are in-the-moment job aids for SMEs. Avoid scripting, focusing instead on the intent of each module.

•  Design slides that are easily delivered and understood. Use meaningful slide titles, clear graphics, and concise, parallel bullet points.

•  Avoid prescriptive, rules-based feedback when coaching SMEs; base recommendations on what you’ve observed, not what you assume; and provide feedback that is specific and actionable.

Following these guidelines will help you help SMEs succeed and make working with SMEs a much more enjoyable experience.

About the Authors

Dale Ludwig and Greg Owen-Boger are the owners of Turpin Communication, a communication training firm based in Chicago. Along with their colleagues, they provide training and coaching to business presenters, meeting facilitators, and trainers. Dale founded the company in 1992 to provide the best business communication skills training available. Their work continues to be based on the idea that effective, efficient workday communication is possible for everyone. In the training room, Turpin trainers are tireless in their desire to understand the unique challenge each learner faces and find the simplest, most practical path to improvement. Their expertise with subject matter experts has been built over years through countless engagements with groups of SMEs, helping them be successful in the classroom. To learn more, visit turpin communication.com.

References

Grant, A. 2018. “Those Who Can Do, Can’t Teach.” New York Times, August 25. nytimes.com/2018/08/25/opinion/sunday/college-professors-experts-advice.html.

Hodell, C. 2013. SMEs from the Ground Up. Alexandria: ASTD Press.

Ludwig, D., and G. Owen-Boger. 2014. The Orderly Conversation: Business Presentations Redefined. Minneapolis: Granville Circle Press.

Ludwig, D., and G. Owen-Boger. 2018. Effective SMEs: A Trainer’s Guide for Helping Subject Matter Experts Facilitate Learning. Alexandria, VA: ATD Press.

Popham, W.J. 2011. Transformative Assessment in Action. Alexandria VA: ASCD

Recommended Resources

Owen-Boger, G., and D. Ludwig. 2016. “Dual Role.” TD, April 1. td.org/magazines/td-magazine/dual-role.