Use real-world scenarios, not just theory

Give the situation enough detail

Pick one situation your learner is likely to face. For a support course, it might be a customer who has received the wrong item and needs a replacement before Friday. Those details explain why a routine apology won’t quite do the job.

Keep the example anonymous, or make one up. You need enough context to understand the decision, without a long history of everyone involved.

Walk through what happened

A Scenarios block starts with Context, Problem, Solution and Takeaway sections. These are a useful writing structure. You can rename them, add another section or remove one you do not need. Try this version of the wrong-item example:

• Context: a customer needs the item for an event on Friday. Their order arrived on Tuesday.
• Problem: the item is the wrong size, and the standard replacement estimate is too late.
• Solution: the support colleague checks stock and delivery options before offering a confirmed choice.
• Takeaway: ask about the deadline and verify what you can deliver before promising a fix.

Explain the judgement behind the solution

In the wrong-item example, the response might confirm the customer’s deadline, check replacement stock and give an honest delivery estimate. Explain why those actions help. Otherwise, someone may copy the wording without knowing when to change it.

If there were two reasonable options, say so. A useful scenario can show a trade-off: a refund may be quick, but it won’t help a customer who still needs the item.

Show the reasoning a new colleague cannot see

An expert may check stock automatically and forget to mention it in the explanation. A new colleague needs to see that step because it changes the promise they can make. Write down the information available at the moment of the decision, not facts that only became clear later.

If you show a screenshot, frame the part that supports the decision. For a stock check, include the product name, the availability indicator and enough interface to recognise the screen. A decorative dashboard with unreadable labels will not teach the same thing. Use fictional records or remove information you are not allowed to share.

Keep the consequences proportionate. An ordinary missed deadline is enough to show why the question matters. You do not need to make every scenario a crisis to hold someone’s attention.

Leave them with something to try

The takeaway should be specific enough to use. “Check the deadline before promising a replacement” is more helpful than “Always provide great service”. You could follow the scenario with a question about how the response would change if the item were out of stock.

You don’t need a dramatic story. Start with an ordinary situation you know well, explain the decision carefully and let the learner have a go at the next one.

Add practice without turning the walkthrough into a branching story

Scenarios presents a section-by-section explanation. It is not a marked quiz or an automatically branching simulation. If you want the learner to make a choice, add a separate Questions block after the walkthrough.

Change one detail for the practice question: the replacement is out of stock, the event is tomorrow or the customer prefers a refund. Ask what the colleague would check next. This gives them a chance to transfer the reasoning to a new situation instead of repeating the example’s wording.

Select Save Scenarios, use Preview and move through every section. Check the order, titles and any images on a phone. If you revise a published example, republish the course when the new version is ready.