Are you about to repeat any of the big mistakes people make when creating a professional development course?
From 40+ years of reviewing hospital, corporate, and membership-organization courses, I’ve seen the same issues surface over and over. These are the course design mistakes to avoid that can sink a course before it ever has a chance to succeed.
Pre-planning and alignment
Sometimes your course is doomed before you’ve written word one. Here are the course design mistakes to avoid in your pre-planning phase:
1. No clear case for why the course exists.
2. No alignment between the course’s purpose and the organization’s goals.
3. No clear positioning of how the course fits within a larger program or series, or alignment with national outcome measures or standards.
4. Stakeholder expectations are vague or contradictory.
5. Target audience is unclear or assumed without validation. Why this course, why now?
6. Timing of course launch is poorly planned or conflicts with major events.
7. Overly ambitious scope that cannot be delivered with available resources.
8. No evaluation of whether tools, platforms, or budget can support the intended approach.
9. Not treated as a “project” where key subject matter experts, instructional designers time frames are identified and on board
10. No clear decision or public advertisement on whether the course is live, asynchronous, hybrid, or blended.
11. Lack of competitive analysis to understand how similar courses perform.
12. No clear metrics or success criteria established before launch (e.g., completion rates, learner performance improvement, ROI, other).
Instructional design
Even if your planning is excellent, your course is at risk of falling apart because of its content, assessment, and overall structure. Here are the course design mistakes to avoid in the material you create:
13. Target audience completely unclear, and/or mismatched with the objectives and content of the course.
14. Content assumes prior knowledge the audience may not have.
15. No attempt to identify the learning gap (cognitive, psychomotor, motivational).
16. No overall goal of what the learner will walk away with at the end of the course.
17. Learning objectives not measurable (e.g., “understand,”) or written at low cognitive levels (“describe,” “discuss”).
18. Objectives that are too broad, vague, unrelated to the evaluation, or misaligned with the course goal.
19. Too many objectives for the time available.
20. No higher-level objectives.
21. No guidance or orientation at the start of the course to explain structure, navigation, and expectations.
22. Content that does not support the stated objectives or connect to real-world application.
23. Content too broad, resulting in an “all about” course with no focus.
24. Content accuracy not verified before delivery.
25. Outdated or irrelevant content presented
26. Weak references that may or may not support key points.
27. Content lifted from other sources without adaptation.
28. Key concepts buried in filler material.
29. Poor scaffolding — concepts introduced out of order.
30. Overemphasis on trivia instead of core concepts.
31. Overloading learners with too much content at once.
32. No clear transitions between topics.
33. Methodology chosen based on presenter preference rather than learning need.
34. Limited or no interactive learning strategies.
35. Activities unrelated to the stated objectives.
36. One-size-fits-all delivery method without considering learner context.
37. Activities that could be completed without paying attention to the course.
38. Activities that allow learners to succeed by guessing rather than applying knowledge.
39. No variation in instructional methods to maintain engagement.
40. Methods that ignore adult learning principles.
41. Lack of opportunities for learners to reflect or apply learning.
42. Resources not provided to support the course content.
43. Resources provided but not referenced or integrated into the course.
44. Links to resources are broken or inaccessible.
45. Resource list is overwhelming without guidance on priority.
46. No further reading or advanced resources for interested learners.
47. Evaluation limited to first-level satisfaction surveys.
48. Assessments measure recall only — no application.
49. Quiz or post-test questions that do not align with course objectives.
50. Overuse of true/false questions.
51. Multiple-choice questions with implausible distractors.
52. Questions so easy they fail to assess new learning.
53. No helpful feedback provided for incorrect answers. (Just “wrong.”)
54. Evaluation does not identify whether the learning gap was closed.
55. No plan for using evaluation data to improve the course.
Course development quality
Even if your content is solid, it won’t matter if it isn’t executed and presented properly. Here are the course design mistakes to avoid in development and delivery:
56. Course is built entirely around slides without a structured instructional plan.
57. Slides are text-heavy and visually unappealing.
58. No variation in instructional media to keep learners engaged.
59. Overuse of decorative images or stock photos that don’t serve an instructional purpose, distracting from the content.
60. Poor pacing — either rushing through material or dragging out simple concepts.
61. Grammar, spelling, or punctuation errors due to lack of proofreading.
62. Inconsistent formatting between modules, or there are no true “modules.”
63. Content contains factual inaccuracies.
64. Materials are not proofread by a second reviewer before release.
65. No backup plan if the primary instructor or facilitator is unavailable.
66. Audio is poor quality or inconsistent in volume.
67. Video is poorly lit, poorly framed, or visually distracting.
68. Narration is monotone and does not emphasize key points.
69. Technical glitches in the course platform are not resolved before launch.
70. Examples are irrelevant or fail to connect with the audience’s context.
71. Weak or non-existent case studies to demonstrate real-world application.
72. No storytelling or scenarios to anchor learning in memory.
73. Language level is inappropriate for the audience (too complex or too simplistic).
Engagement and support
We’ve all sat through courses that didn’t properly engage us: interminable reading off slides and all we’re expected to do is listen. Here are the course design mistakes to avoid when you want to keep your learners meaningfully engaged:
74. Little or no interactive learning methods or prompts requiring active participation.
75. No opportunity for learners to ask questions or get clarification.
76. No access to the instructor or unclear communication about how to get help.
77. No peer-to-peer interaction or discussion opportunities.
78. Group activities that feel forced or irrelevant.
79. Ignoring different learning preferences (e.g., visual, auditory, kinesthetic).
80. Technical support not clearly linked, or not promptly responded to.
81. No follow-up or reinforcement after the course ends.
Compliance and accessibility
The best fundamentals in the world won’t save you if your students can’t access the material. Here are the course design mistakes to avoid to ensure accessibility for all learners and compliance with regulations:
82. No compliance with reading-level guidelines for the intended audience.
83. Use of jargon, technical terms, or complex words without plain-language explanation.
84. No closed captions or transcripts for video/audio content.
85. Visuals that are not accessible to learners with visual impairments.
86. No alt text for images in online courses.
87. Platform navigation is not intuitive for first-time users.
88. Content not tested on multiple devices and browsers.
Marketing and positioning
Your course is as perfect as you can make it — now how is anyone going to know about it? Here are the course design mistakes to avoid in your marketing phase.
89. No clear description of what the course offers or why it matters.
90. No clear articulation of the benefits or transformation learners will experience — what they’ll be able to do, apply, or achieve after completing the course.
91. Marketing focuses entirely on features instead of outcomes.
92. Pricing is misaligned with perceived or actual value.
93. No clarity on certification, CE credits, or credentials offered.
94. Doesn’t identify whether the credential is recognized by employers or regulators.
95. Course description mismatches the actual content.
96. Overpromises results the course can’t deliver.
97. Doesn’t explain prerequisites or skill expectations before purchase.
98. No testimonials, pilot results, or evidence of effectiveness.
99. Marketing does not address common learner objections (e.g., time commitment, difficulty level, relevance).
100. Relies on jargon instead of plain, compelling language to sell the course.
💬 Do you want your next course to be one people rave about, or one they regret taking? DM me on LinkedIn if you’re ready to make your course the best it can be.