Turn Free Sessions Into Real Value

Recently, I attended a “free educational session” through a networking group. It was virtual, and I had set aside time between meetings and billable tasks, curious to learn something useful and connect with others.

Three experts shared what they knew… but within a few minutes, it was clear the session hadn’t been designed with the audience in mind.

Most participants were off-camera. Engagement was low. I caught myself making lunch during the presentation—and I wasn’t the only one. At the end, the chat filled up with supportive messages: “Thank you!!” “Super useful!!” “So informative!!”

Was it, though? Or were people just being polite because 1) they didn’t pay for it, and 2) they’ll see these folks at the next mixer?

This kind of disconnect between expert and audience happens more often than you might think. As a business owner or subject matter expert, you want to share your knowledge and generate leads. But without intentional design, your audience may walk away unimpressed. They came hungry for value, but left with no real meal.

Let’s fix that.

What You Know Is Important.

Over the years (ahem, decades), I’ve seen brilliant professionals struggle to make their expertise stick with an audience. People know their stuff—they just need a better way to share it so it actually lands.

Here are a few real-world examples I’ve seen just in the past year, and how a little instructional design could have made a big impact:

A social media strategist spent an hour explaining why engagement matters—but didn’t engage the group.

⭐️With a few design tweaks, the session could’ve included polls, a quick research task (“Everyone take out your phones and check your favorite company on Instagram. What post has the most likes? The least? What patterns do you see?”), and group discussion to reinforce the lesson.

A motivational speaker shared a meaningful story at the end of their talk, but it felt disconnected from everything that came before.

⭐️Good design would’ve made that story the red thread running through the entire session, anchoring the emotion and message from start to finish.

A corporate trainer packed four complex frameworks into one hour, talking over text-heavy slides, leaving the audience overwhelmed and unclear.

⭐️A focused learning objective and a more thoughtful approach to cognitive load would’ve left people with something actionable, memorable, and shareable.

A leadership coach offered a free ebook with multiple fonts, scattered ideas, and no clear instructions.

⭐️With coherent visuals and a short intro before each section, readers would have stayed focused and taken away something quite useful from it.

What You Need Your Audience To Do Is What Matters.

Sharing your expertise should be energizing for both you and your audience. Instructional design helps shape your content so it’s easy to engage with, absorb, and act on. It’s the difference between “interesting” and “I need to call them after this!”

At JVP Creative Solutions, I help coaches, consultants, nonprofits, and small business owners design learning experiences that work. Whether you’re offering a free session to give back, or sharing your expertise to grow your business, let’s make it meaningful.

Because what you know is important. But what you need others to do—follow up, buy your services, or put your insights to work—is what matters.