Finding balance with words: delivering effective messaging for self-directed study within a community of learners
Scott Granville
The way we shape and order descriptive language to promote an idea, offering, or product, is a fascinating process. If presented correctly, the right combination of words can act as a springboard to welcome curious new visitors leading to awareness, and resulting in positive momentum. But if the chosen words fail to hit the mark, it is often likely that the full value of the experience behind the message never reaches its true potential.
The context for this introduction (and the post title) is from a recent experience in which our team was asked to submit a proposal for a large, contestable project. As with any process of this nature, separating yourself from the competition by accentuating product features goes a long way to having a fighting chance of winning the contract. And as I reflected on how to approach this particular submission, the same question(s) kept coming to mind. What makes a potential client, customer, learner or educator choose Chasing Time English over a competitor? What makes us special?
Perhaps it’s because the end of the calendar year is closing in on us at what feels like warp speed. Or maybe it’s that the challenge of fighting above the noise remains as constant as it did over six years ago when we took our first tentative steps into the world of commerce. Whatever the case, it produced a profound effect on our approach to providing a suitable answer.
When we took a step back from our hero message – TV-style drama series for English language education – and looked at what makes us special, it became clear that our complementary superpower is about facilitating meaningful connection between people wanting to improve their use of English.
Our platform provides learning experiences in a community environment. At every step, a learner can engage with peers (and educators within a school setting) to share their ideas about the story, characters and places they see in each episode. They can offer an opinion, predict what is coming next, or voice displeasure at the actions of characters within the narrative. And importantly, they can respond to other learner’s contributions. Interaction is not an artificial or solitary activity but a shared experience with a real person.
The realisation of how powerful the ability to remain connected with other learners can be has led to a refresh of our messaging. It’s a concept that was always there but perhaps not amplified enough:
It’s not about learning BY yourself but learning FOR yourself.
Self-guided learning has immense value but it can sometimes feel isolating without regular meaningful interaction. So by offering the choice to engage (or not) with other learners at any stage of the journey is a unique feature that separates us from the competition. And we also produce the most engaging narrative drama series available for English language education.
If you or anyone within your wider organisation is interested in learning more about the Chasing Time English Academy, please don’t hesitate to contact our team with questions.
Alternatively, you can find out more here: https://chasingtimeenglish.com/academy