I Thought I Was Being Brilliant. I Was Just Loud.
- Kketan Amarnath Waghmare
- Jan 15
- 2 min read
The first professional training program I ever designed lived inside a PowerPoint deck.
And every single slide carried my idea of creativity.
Multiple fonts.
Transitions on every click.
Sound effects that made it feel like something important was happening… even when it wasn’t.
At the time, I was convinced I had built something special.
Engaging.
Different.
What I had actually built was a full-blown comedy-monster — a highly committed distraction.
There was a reaction in the room.
Not insight.
Amusement.
People laughed.
Not because it was engaging.
But because it was overwhelming.
That deck became my first real lesson in L&D.
Because I wasn’t designing for learners.
I was designing for myself.
As my work moved into real operating environments — places where service, safety, and pressure don’t offer a second chance — I started seeing the same pattern again.
The tools improved.
The slides looked cleaner.
But the mistake stayed familiar.
Leadership wanted outcomes.
Operations wanted speed.
HR wanted consistency.
And the frontline wanted something they could actually use when things got busy.
Early on, I thought more creativity would fix that.
Experience taught me otherwise.
In high-pressure environments, confusion isn’t funny for long.
In hospitality, it turns into awkward guest moments.
In compliance, it waits quietly and shows up later.
That over-designed PowerPoint became my first stakeholder map.
It showed me what happens when learning forgets who it’s meant to serve.
Today, before I design anything, I ask:
Who will use this on their toughest day?
What will they remember when time is tight?
Will this help — or just look good on a screen?
Good learning doesn’t need special effects.
It needs clarity.
I’ve come a long way from those slides.
But I’m grateful for that comedy-monster.
It taught me that clarity always outlasts cleverness.
#LearningAndDevelopment #LearningDesign #LeadershipLessons #WorkplaceLearning #HospitalityLeadership #CruiseLife #PeopleDevelopment #LearningFromExperience #LeadershipJourney #kketanwaghmare
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