Five Ways to Get More Out of Your SME Relationships

Working with subject matter experts can feel like the hardest part of the job. You need their knowledge. They need a course that doesn’t embarrass them. Getting those two things to line up takes more than good questions and a content checklist.

Here’s the core problem. SMEs are experts. Everything they know feels critical, and in their world, it probably is. That often makes it hard to narrow content down to what the course actually needs. They’ll want to include it all, and they’ll push back when you try to prioritize.

That’s just one layer of it. Some SMEs are reluctant partners from the start. Maybe they were the person who delivered this training before the course came along. Maybe working with you feels like a threat to what they built. Or maybe they’re just busy, and this project landed on their plate without their input. Either way, you’re asking for their time and expertise on top of everything else they’re already doing.

Your job is to manage all of that. Not just the content, but the relationship. The tips below give you a practical place to start.

1. Skip the learning theory

Your SME knows their subject. They may not know instructional design, and they don’t need to. Dropping names like Gagné or Bloom in your first meeting doesn’t build credibility. It creates distance.

What they care about is whether the course will be practical, whether it reflects how they actually do the work, and whether it’ll hold up in front of their colleagues. Start there. You can explain your design decisions later in plain language once you’ve built some trust.

2. Show examples instead of explaining the approach

Most SMEs walk into an e-learning project with a mental model based on whatever courses they’ve sat through before. If all they’ve seen are click-through compliance modules, that’s their frame of reference. Explaining good design is less effective than showing it.

Bring three short examples to your first meeting. A simple scenario, a performance support tool, something interactive. Keep it brief — you’re not screening full courses. The goal is to expand their frame of reference so they can picture what you’re proposing instead of having to imagine something they’ve never seen.

3. Connect the course to something they care about

Your SME is more likely to invest time if they understand why the project matters beyond “training requirements.” Reduced errors, faster onboarding, fewer escalations, better compliance outcomes. The more you can show how the course will make their team’s work easier, the more they’ll treat it as a priority instead of an obligation.

This also helps when they push back on design decisions. If both of you agree on what the course is trying to accomplish, it’s easier to evaluate whether a choice serves that goal.

SME involvement almost always falls outside their normal job responsibilities. They’re doing this on top of everything else. Vague timelines and surprise requests are the fastest way to lose their cooperation.

At the start of the project, agree on specific dates, specific deliverables, and how long each review cycle should take. If you need feedback by Thursday, say Thursday. When they know what’s expected and when, they can plan for it. When they don’t, they’ll delay.

5. Make them feel like a valued contributor

One thing that pays off quickly: when an SME does something genuinely helpful — turns around feedback fast, spends extra time with you, brings in a colleague who fills a knowledge gap — send a short note to their manager. Copy the SME. It takes two minutes and means a lot.

People who feel appreciated give you more of their time. You’ll need that goodwill when deadlines tighten or the project gets complicated.

Key takeaways

Pick one of these five and put it to work on your next project. If you’re early in a relationship, start with examples — it changes the dynamic faster than anything else. If a project is already in progress and stalling, look at expectations first. Most SME friction traces back to unclear timelines or a missed connection to why the course matters.