As I was finishing up my 30 Day Brainstorming Writing challenge the other day, I realized there’s one more story left to tell.

It’s about engagement.

I proposed to my wife on a rainy day. That morning, with 40 other people, we got on a bus to take a trip of a lifetime. It was August 11. And we were lucky to be in Hungary, where the total solar eclipse took place in the middle of the day.

Well, it started out not so bright. Literally, it was pouring. Now, if you’ve heard about how total solar eclipses work, you understand you must be in the perfect spot at the perfect time to have the real experience. Narrow time frame, narrow place. We made it to the field, in the middle of nowhere. Miraculously, the rain stopped just in time. We ran into the field (it was pretty nasty wet), settled down and it started.

In a couple of minutes, the sky turned dark. The birds went nuts, trying to land somewhere safe for the night. They didn’t read the memo. Only the horizon held onto a deep blue line. The wind disappeared, it was like time had stopped for moment. It was indeed a once in a lifetime experience.

That’s when I proposed, saying something like this is supposed to happen once in a life time. We got engaged and happily married later.

What’s it got to do with L&D?

I’m going to engage you. Said noone ever while proposing. Why? Because, you may be engaging but it’s a two way street. Someone on the receiving end must feel like they’re interested. There’s art and science to it. Learners will not get engaged just because the SME is in love with the content.

Game Thinking is a systematic approach, one of many tools, that you can use to engage the WORL&D.