Instructional Design for HEROIC Public Speaking [CASE STUDY]
Building an online course or workshop is a great way to educate and inspire your audience…
But what happens when one set of thought leaders builds something magical to help educate and inspire other thought leaders?
You get Heroic Public Speaking, that’s what!
When it comes to helping public speakers, authors, and visionaries embrace their authority and build a sustainable business… it doesn’t get much better than HEROIC. This organization – founded by Michael and Amy Port – is setting the standard for the type of in-depth professional training any thought leader can use to build their ideas, clarify their message, and build a sustainable business that will last.
When they teamed up with professional speaker Andrew Davis, my foot was officially in the door… and a yearlong instructional design adventure began…
Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with Andrew on a number of projects including a 50+ page lead magnet report, Loyalty Loop video scripts, and the SpeakingGigs.pro newsletter. That’s why I was thrilled when he introduced me to his good friend, Michael Port, author of the best-selling book, Book Yourself Solid.
Michael and Amy Port have built a power-house organization called HEROIC Public Speaking, which helps thought leaders master the skills they need to make a real difference in the world. (Go check out their newly launched website…. it’s GORGEOUS!) They provide world-class training and a tight-knit community for speakers and authors of all levels.
After years of running a successful speech writing and performance program, HEROIC was ready to team up with Andrew on a new course called GRAD | Speaking Business Mastery. The core content for this course was based on a book they co-authored called The Referable Speaker, which outlines how professional speakers can build a sustainable speaking business.
Starting in February of 2023, I started working with Michael and Andrew to map out the main concepts we hoped to include in their program. It became very clear, early on, this was going to be something truly special…
You see, they weren’t just looking for a quick learning experience to guide existing students to a basic understanding of the business of speaking. Instead, they wanted to create a premium course with a joyful learning experience – one with application at the heart of every lesson, discussion, and coaching session.
Ultimately, HEROIC aims to become the “Berklee School of Music” for the thought leader world – offering specialized training on a number of tracks. This course on Speaking Business Mastery was simply a ‘first step’ in the company’s exciting new direction and growth.
Together – with the help of the talented team at HEROIC and my Krafted team member Keith Trimels – we built an incredible 12-week program that launched with their beta cohort in January 2024.
Main elements involved in the creation of this course:
- Outlined 12 weeks of content including 60 learning outcomes focused on higher order learning skills: “Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, and Create”.
- Wrote 40 lessons with rich media content including highly produced video lessons, animations, and interactive slides.
- Developed full course content in Articulate Storyline 360 to house learning materials in an LMS of their choosing.
- Designed a live lesson component with 5 large group lessons and weekly small group office hours with trained business coaches.
- Wrote 500+ page full video script — including word-for-word instructional content, story content, and entertaining bits — shot with a professional production crew over the course of 7 days.
- Developed an in-depth Speaker Handbook including more than 240 pages of workbook and instructional content to help students apply new knowledge to their existing speaking business.
- Organized discussion elements to help students interact with business coaches and peers for community building.
- Worked with the HEROIC team to implement assessment criteria and processes to help students stay on track with the training.
- Designed and led a 10-day coach training session to help business coaches and subject matter experts connect on materials, discuss important coaching points, and build familiarization with the course material.
- Began an ongoing partnership with the HEROIC team to edit and iterate the next version of this course for the Launch Cohort scheduled to begin in May 2024.
Overall, the experience of working with HEROIC to create this course has been something really special. The ideas and talent on display in every team meeting are truly something to behold.
Testimonial from Michael Port:
“As soon as I saw Rachael’s work, I thought we have to have her do the instructional design. She is one of those rare people who has an extraordinarily broad range of skill. She wrote the script for every video in the whole series. She is also an actual professional teacher, so she has real pedagogy that has been serving the design of this program… so we’re not just building something based on what we think will be helpful. There’s real methodology behind it.
Rachael is one of the most skilled people that I’ve worked with. Her attitude is absolutely extraordinary. She’s always positive. She’s also one of the hardest working people that I’ve met. So, we’re really lucky to have her on this project.“
Michael Port, Co-Founder, CEO Heroic Public Speaking, Author of Book Yourself Solid and Co-Author of The Referable Speaker
