Jon Moon
Clarity and impact
Online Courses - FAQs
Below are Frequently Asked Questions. As a quick overview, the first word of every answer is 'no' or some variant on it (e.g. 'not particularly', 'probably not' or 'not if I can help it').
The dos and don'ts of the Courses
- Do you have to do a Course in one sitting?
- Do you have to start all over again if you log out part way through?
- Can you screen the Course at your Annual Conference?
- Can you circulate handouts to your staff?
- Can you share your password with your staff?
- Can you copy the Course and view it later?
- Can you login for only one Course at a time?
Seen my book or talk?
- If you've read my book, do you need these Courses?
- If you've seen my day talk, do you need these Courses?
What are the Courses like?
- Will you have to read numerous on-screen bullet points?
- Will you listen to a dull voiceover?
- Will you learn lots of new computer skills?
- Will you stare at lots of cheesy 'business' photos?
- Will you listen to lots of business-speak?
- Will you learn the complex, the pedantic or the dumb?
- Will you wait ages for the next screen to appear?
- After exiting, will you wait ages to download when next logging in?
- Will you be tested at the end?
- Will you get the voiceover script and a copy of the slides?
And afterwards
- Will you need new computer skills to apply the learning?
- Will you struggle to implement the Course ideas?
Do you have to do the Course in one sitting?
No. You can log in as many times within 4 days of first launching the Course.
Do you have to start all over again if you log out part why through?
No. When you next log in, use the menu in the Course to start again from wherever you wish.
Can you screen the Course at your Annual Conference?
Can you circulate handouts to your staff?
Can you share your password with your staff?
Can you copy the Course and view it later?
Legally, no - and before doing a Course, you tick a box which says you agree not to do any of these. If you try to, there's a strange bug in the Course programme which detects this and inexplicably dumps a vicious virus in your system. I've tried to remove this bug, but to no avail. You've been warned.
Can you log in for only one Course at a time?
No, you can log in for as many Courses as you have passwords. You don't have to finish one Course before starting another.
If you've read my book, do you need these Courses?
If you've seen my talk, do you need these Courses?
You don't need them because 80% of the online Course content is in the book and full-day talk. However, people who've read my book say they benefit from being talked through the stuff rather than just reading it on a page. And people who've seen my talk say they benefit from being reminded of it again. So try out an online Course for yourself.
Will you have to read numerous on-screen bullet points?
No. There's very few bullet points in the Courses. These topics are perfect for on-line training because they are visual.
Will you listen to a dull voiceover?
No. You listen to one of the UK's top voiceover professionals, and we recorded him in a proper studio. So the voiceover sounds fantastic. But don't take my word for it - each Course has a "try-before-you-buy" two-minute Taster, so click on it and have a listen.
Will you learn lots of new computer skills?
No. The Courses are about what you should do, not about how to do it on a computer.
Will you stare at lots of cheesy 'business' photos?
No. There are no arty photos of beautiful business people standing in front of a PowerPoint slide or earnestly staring at a computer. For great parodies of such photos, visit www.huhcorp.com.
Will you listen to lots of business-speak?
No. I don't say that businesses must achieve clarity to survive in the 21st century, that it's the major challenge facing Boards today. I don't say clarity leads to huge profits and a unique sustainable competitive advantage. Rather, I show how to do work that others praise and envy - and if that gets you a sustainable competitive advantage, I'm pleased for you.
Will you learn the complex, the pedantic or the dumb?
The Courses aren't technical nor complex. There is no glossary of terms nor complex mathematical or computing formulae.
The Courses aren't about pedantry. In 'Graphs', I don't remind you to label your axes, and in 'Tables', I don't tell you to ensure the table adds up. Such thoroughness is necessary but on its own doesn't achieve clarity and isn't worth mentioning in an online Course.
Finally, the internet is full of seemingly informed - but dumb - advice...like this: "for pie charts, start with the biggest slice at 12 o'clock, then run clockwise in decreasing order". Or this: "3-D exploding slices and swinging-in bullets help create visual interest". Needless to say, my Courses avoid such rubbish and instead give you useful advice, e.g. you quickly hear why most bullets aren't effective, then get told what to do instead.
Will you wait ages for the next screen to appear?
No, there's no delay between screens - but there is a delay when you first download the Course. Courses are typically 30 Mb, so, on an average domestic broadband connection, they'll take between 5 and 15 minutes to download. During this time, you'll see a download progress bar so you can see how it's going.
After exiting, will you wait ages to download when next logging in?
Hopefully not, assuming the Course has been "cached" on your computer when you first downloaded it. If it has been, there shouldn't be a delay when you next log in and reload the Course.
Will you be tested at the end?
No. These aren't technical topics and don't merit end-of-Course tests.
Will you get the voiceover script and a copy of the slides?
No. You will get a handout that has a selection of the memorable and important slides. As for voiceovers, they don't make good transcripts.
Will you need new computer skills to apply the learning?
No. Most Course ideas are simple to do on a computer. Very occasionally, my voiceover flags if something needs a bit of computer trickery. The handout or web download then tells you the trickery.
Will you struggle to implement the Course ideas quickly?
Not if I can help it. Most ideas are simple to implement. And to help you further, quite a few Course examples are on this website. Download them, then adopt and adapt. The Course handouts tell you which examples are downloads.
