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Kathryn Caswell helps federal agencies bring training and communication to life through the intersection of storytelling, video, and technology. At Gi4, a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business and SBA 8(a) firm, she works with customers who want to make learning engaging, scalable, and people-focused. 

Kathryn Caswell 

Change in government rarely comes easily. New laws, administrations, and policies arrive quickly, with the expectation that thousands of people will adapt just as fast. Leaders are left with a familiar question: How do you actually get people to understand and embrace the change?This challenge extends to many other industries. Organizations undergoing significant change often face the same hurdles. Visual storytelling—especially in the form of short, engaging videos—is proven to be a powerful tool for driving rapid and meaningful behavioral change.Take the case of the American College of Education, which created high-quality e-learning content to help staff and students better understand their new digital initiatives. By developing scenario-based videos embedded into training modules, they moved beyond lengthy documents, making complex information accessible and memorable for their audience. This approach led to improved engagement and practical application of new skills.Similarly, Advocate Health designed engaging onboarding videos at scale to introduce new staff to organizational culture and procedures. Using storytelling, they fostered understanding, helping new employees quickly adapt and internalize their roles.From Slides to StoryThese organizations realized dropping information into slides or lengthy documents wasn’t enough. Instead, the teams worked with content creators to transform key messages into short, scenario-based videos, woven into a course and reinforced with leadership perspectives.The shift here is subtle but important. Rather than “here are the ten things you must memorize,” it became, “here’s how this change looks and feels in real life.” In government training, that same shift, away from bullet points toward storytelling, can make the difference between compliance and buy-in.What SticksThe results? Employees start using new language, adopt new practices, and internalize new behaviors long after initial training.This isn’t surprising. Cognitive scientists have long shown that people remember material better when it’s paired with visuals, a theory known as the picture superiority effect. Stories, too, are more likely to change attitudes and behaviors because they draw people in emotionally, are concrete, and promote self-understanding. In government, where employees may be spread across regions or working under pressure, this kind of “stickiness” is essential.A cybersecurity policy only works if employees change their daily habits. A new health initiative only matters if staff know how to explain it to the public. If training doesn’t stick, the effort can be wasted. The goal isn’t just completion. It’s lasting impact.Scaling SolutionsAn added advantage of this approach is scalability. Once a compelling, story-driven course is developed for one department or initiative, it can be easily adapted and reused across different parts of the organization, maximizing impact while minimizing costs.Government trainers can take advantage of this. Once a story-driven course is created for one office, it can be reused, adapted, and shared. When budgets are limited, being able to build once and deploy many times is no small thing.TakeawaysThere are a few clear lessons here:Start with story, not just slides. Keep content short and modular. Measure behavior, not just attendance. Reuse good content wherever you can.Change is inevitable, but how it is communicated makes all the difference. Clear, compelling storytelling helps employees grasp the “why,” see themselves in the story, and live the change.

New Mission, New Narrative: Leading Change Through Storytelling

In today’s increasingly diverse and geographically dispersed federal workforce, creating culturally relevant training videos is more important than ever. According to Gallup, only about two in 10 employees feel culturally connected to their organization.By creating culturally relevant training videos, you can improve engagement and learning outcomes.Understanding Culturally Relevant TrainingCreating training that connects on a cultural level means ensuring that the content is relatable and respectful of the diverse cultural backgrounds of the employees.Cultural differences can be influenced by race, sex, gender, sexual orientation, language, and socioeconomic status, as well as age, religion, family, geographical location, and social networks. When learners and students engage with content that reflects their cultural experiences and values, they feel more included and engaged and have improved learning outcomes.Here are five suggestions to help your training videos successfully connect with your audience in appropriate and meaningful ways.1. Conduct a Cultural AssessmentBefore creating training content, understand the cultural composition of your workforce. Surveys, focus groups, and demographic data offer insights into employee cultures and values, so you understand which practices you can build to make your training more culturally accessible.For example, an organization creating a cybersecurity training video series may send out a survey that finds:Employee core values emphasize ethical behavior and compliance.The workforce consists of a mix of experienced professionals and recent graduates.Some employees indicate limited familiarity with cybersecurity practices.To make cybersecurity videos relevant to this workplace culture, the training team may: Focus on how cybersecurity practices create a more ethical and compliant work environment.Use real-life examples and case studies from employee experiences.Segment the training. Create a basic version for beginners and advanced versions for more experienced learners.Tailoring characters, scenarios, and language to your organization’s data ensures your videos remain relevant, engaging, and inclusive.2. Use Inclusive VisualsUse diverse characters in your training videos to represent different cultural backgrounds that are reflective of your workforce.In addition to including characters with a variety of skin tones, include characters with different ages, religious backgrounds, gender expressions, and body types.Even hair and clothing choices can make visuals more inclusive. For example, afro-textured hair continues to be stigmatized in the workplace. Featuring characters in training videos wearing natural and protective hairstyles could help include Black employees while increasing awareness and mitigating bias.3. Use Inclusive LanguageUse simple and direct language. It may be tempting to include slang or jargon you think might appeal to one of your audiences, but this can cause confusion for those who don’t share the same cultural or linguistic background. You may also find yourself relying on stereotypes. Focus on making the content relevant to your learners’ needs and values.Whenever possible, make copies of your videos available in different languages. All-in-one video creation tools like Vyond offer quick translation features that even account for regional dialect. This will allow you to make your videos more relevant to those with a variety of linguistic backgrounds.4. Consider the Roles of Your CharactersBe cognizant of not only whether you include characters from diverse backgrounds in your video, but what roles those characters play.Watch for any trends or biases in the kinds of roles you give your characters. Are you placing your blind character in the role of a supervisor or a junior employee? Are your characters of color primarily teachers or students?Ensuring diverse representation in leadership roles promotes inclusivity and equality.5. Involve ReviewersTo ensure your videos are relevant and appropriate, involve trusted reviewers from the backgrounds you aim to reach. This can mean:Sharing script and storyboards with your team before you start creating the videoBeta testing your video with small groups of your learnersGathering feedback from subject matter experts who represent the cultural backgrounds you’re targetingIncorporate feedback on language, visuals, content, format, and script, and iterate. Regularly update and refine the training content to ensure it remains relevant and effective.Culture evolves over time. As trainers and colleagues, it’s our ongoing responsibility to make sure learners are represented and their needs are met through our training programs.Enroll in ATD's course on creating training videos and learn to produce polished video content using just your smartphone and free editing software. 

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