Creating a course is not for everyone (but it’s great for certain people)
Is a course the ideal thing for me to create?
Whether it’s an online course, an in-person course, or any kind of course, there are certain aspects to this kind of creative project that suit some of us really well and others of us…not so much.
In this two-part guide, we’ll explore both if and when to create a course.
Creating a course is not for everyone.
If human interaction isn’t our thing…
A course definitely isn’t for the type of person who doesn't enjoy interacting with other people.
Now, there are courses out there that are more of a self-led experience for students, and we can definitely create one of those.
But to make a really high-quality course, we’d at least want to start out with some sort of real-time, live human interaction to know if it resonates with our students.
And testing it along the way while getting feedback from those people is how we do that.
Anyone can slap together some content and put it out there and hope that people will come and take it. But that doesn't typically turn out how we expect it to.
If we want a really great course that improves the experiences of other people, it requires interacting with them.
If we can’t be vulnerable and authentic…
Courses are also not great for people who aren't ready to share their wisdom, their perspective, and their experiences.
A lot of what goes into teaching comes from who we are as people. This act of vulnerability is definitely not for everyone.
As teachers, the more honest, vulnerable, and open we are, the more easily our students can connect with us and actually feel safe stepping outside their comfort zone to learn from us.
And not everybody feels safe or ready to share themselves, especially with people they may not know very well. That could feel threatening or scary right now.
If that’s the case, it doesn't mean that creating a course isn't right for us at all. It could just mean that right now isn’t the right time (and timing is everything).
Creating a course is for certain kinds of people.
If we love to learn!
A course is a great option for someone who loves every aspect of learning.
The creation process includes experimenting, testing, and things not going exactly as we envision.
It really requires an experimental and learner’s mindset, especially when creating a course for the first time.
As teachers, we share our wisdom, expertise, and experience with our students. But a huge part of the teaching experience is actually learning from our students.
They teach us:
what they want to learn
how they want to learn
what really speaks to them
and what’s challenging for them
So if we can stay as open and flexible as we can along the way (within reason), we’ll grow just as much as our students will and enjoy the creation process.
Because we are learning from them.
If we want to streamline our time and energy…
Courses are also great for people who want to be really intentional about their time.
If we’re professionals or business owners, we could be spending the majority of our time working one-on-one or with groups of people in face-to-face environments.
If that energizes you, that’s great! Don’t change a thing.
But if we’re tired of repeating ourselves or have a certain method or process that we use with multiple people, a course could be a great opportunity for us.
A course is something people can take on their own time, which means after creating our course, we can use our time doing more of what we prefer.
Instead of rinsing and repeating each time, we can turn those teaching moments into learning experiences for groups of people to take at once or on their own time.
This saves us time, opens up space in our schedule, and it also allows us to reach a broader range of people than we could one-on-one or in person.
Eventually, we can reach hundreds of people digitally across the world if that’s what we desire!
There are plenty of ways we can turn what we're already doing into a course. If you're not sure what that could look like, check out this resource on 13 creative course ideas.
If it’s clear or not, here’s a next step.
If it’s still not clear…
Okay, so there are many reasons why creating a course would or wouldn’t be a great fit and what I've shared above are the big ones to consider.
If there are questions lingering feel free to ask them in the comments below.
If it’s clear…
And, if everything so far really resonates and creating a course feels like it’s your jam, let’s move on to the next important question to consider:
Is there an ideal time to go about starting a course?
(Hint: Yes there is!)
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Who wrote this blog post?
I'm Dori Iris, Founder of DIZI strategies, encouraging and supporting big-picture thinkers to bring their vision to life and contribute to a better world.
I welcome any of your thoughts or questions! Feel free to add them in the comments section below.
