Category: Training Development

  • The Seven Laws of Training: What Managers Must Know

    Training Managerby Guila Muir
    info@guilamuir.com

    You oversee training and possibly deliver it. How can you ensure that your agency’s training actually improves workplace performance? (more…)

  • How Do You Know They Know? Designing In-Class Assessment

    How serious are you about your students actually learning? Most of us would say, “VERY serious!” Yet many trainers and instructional designers actually have no idea what, and even if, participants have learned by the end of a session.

    Because trainers operate in organizations and businesses, we typically don’t issue grades. Even in preparing participants for a performance test down the line, we often don’t do a good job of checking in along the way. At best, many trainers rely on “Happy Sheets,” the end-of-class evaluations that mainly determine if the training room was too warm, or the coffee not warm enough.

    It’s hard to know if this lack of attention to assessment in organizational learning can be traced to lethargy, lack of knowledge about how adults learn, or the culture of corporate training itself. Whatever its root, “Warning! Warning!” as the Lost in Space robot used to say on TV. Assessment is so integral to learning that if we don’t do it, we cannot claim to be serious about our participants actually learning.

    The Real Test
    Jane Vella, founder of Global Learning Partners, answers the question, “How do they know they know?” with this answer: “Because they did it!”

    Certainly, the ability to perform is the real assessment of learning. Can the participants do what you promised them they’d be able to do when you developed the learning objectives?

    Although performance is the real test, many corporate trainers don’t have the luxury of following their participants when they return to the workplace. Once they leave our classrooms, it’s impossible for many of us to observe how well participants actually use the new skills.

    Assessment AS Learning
    Research shows that students learn better when they receive feedback early and often. When trainers use in-class assessments, they are able to provide this feedback. The best assessment exercises are fun and engaging (forget the dreaded pop quiz!)

    Try one of these in-class assessment techniques to enrich your training.

    Three Tips for In-Class Assessment
    Tip #1: One-Minute Paper

    When to Use: Midway or later in a training session.

    After delivering important content, ask the participants to write their reflections for a solid minute. Reflections can include how they will actually apply the information, their thoughts and feelings, challenges, etc.

    Collect the (anonymous) papers, read to self, and respond if appropriate.

    Tip #2: Two Insights, One Area of Confusion

    When to Use: Midway or later in a training session.

    Have participants write two insights and one area of confusion based on the information you have provided. Either collect and address in the next module, or have participants read these to a partner, then discuss issues as a class.

    Tip #3: Using Learning Objectives as Assessment Points

    When to Use: Throughout the session.

    Ask a variety of prepared questions based on the session’s learning objectives either to the whole group, or to subgroups.

    Remember: Assessment is part of learning. It’s not an add-on, and it’s not “just for show.” Integrate in-class assessments into your training sessions, and watch the learning soar!

    Read more articles to boost your Training Skills. Learn about Guila Muir’s Train the Trainer Workshops .

    © Guila Muir.

  • So You Want to Do a Seminar!

    Are you an entrepreneur or small business owner? Have you been asked to present at a professional conference? Giving a great seminar can increase your business, your status, and your memorability. Yet most professionals don’t feel 100% comfortable with their ability to develop and deliver an effective seminar.

    Here are 3 tips to ensure your “Seminar Success.”

    1. Choose three points you MUST get across.
    Before developing visuals of any kind, or even an outline of your talk, determine its three most essential points. These points must mean something to your audience, not just be sales incentives. Design your presentation around these points. Stick to them.

    2. Don’t waste time with fluff.
    Grab your audience from the get-go. Don’t bother to tell them how nice it is to be there, or mention the weather. The first three minutes are essential to your success. Make these minutes count by making them meaningful to the audience.

    3. Conclude with a call to action.
    It’s not enough to leave people excited. Challenge them with a concrete action. Also offer a “real” resource (a free consultation, an article, something that will help them–no strings attached.)

    Seminars are a prime marketing tool. Follow the tips above and make the most of this opportunity!

    Guila Muir is the premiere trainer of trainers, facilitators, and presenters on the West Coast of the United States. Since 1994, she has helped thousands of professionals improve their training, facilitation, and presentation skills. Find out how she can help transform you from a boring expert to a great presenter: www.guilamuir.com

    © Guila Muir.

  • The Power of the HOOK

    by Guila Muir
    info@guilamuir.com

    Capturing Your Audience in the First 30 Seconds

    What’s wrong with these pictures?

    1. Helen begins her presentation by introducing herself and telling the participants at some length how happy she is to be with them. She then launches into her content.

    2. Bill kicks off his training session by explaining where the bathrooms and telephones are. He then asks people to go around the room and introduce themselves.

    If you said the problem in each example is “They aren’t using a ‘Hook!’” you are correct! Both Helen and Bill have squandered their one-time-only opportunity to immediately get their participants involved. Inadvertently, they have both weakened the power of their presentations.

    What is a Hook?

    In the literature on learning and presenting, hooks have many names. These include “opening gambits,” “advance organizers”, “ideational scaffolding” and “motivational sets.” (Weissman, 2003, Shulman, 1986, Bruning, 1995.) A hook is “an umbrella statement, activity or question that provides a conceptual link between the learner’s existing knowledge and the new learning.” (Ausubel, 1968.) By using a hook, the trainer or presenter gives participants the opportunity to use their brains immediately-and when their brains are engaged, so are they.

    In any training or presentation, the hook should precede introductions, course overview, and even the statement of learning objectives.

    Essential Guidelines for a Great Hook

    Great hooks are not “fluff.” When you use a hook, you must desire more than just getting an easy laugh. To design a good hook, you must ensure that it:

    • Has a clear relationship to your topic;
    • Elicits the past knowledge, emotions, and/or experiences of most people in your audience. (This demands, of course, that you have done your homework and know some basics about the participants.)

    Developing a hook that imbeds both criteria takes careful preparation on your part. However, if either criterion above is left out, your hook will suffer, and so will your audience’s interest and involvement.

    Three “Never-Fail” Hook Types

    Question
    Questions are perhaps the easiest type of hook to create. Just make sure that your questions imbed both of the criteria above.

    Examples:
    “Would you be willing to…
    “Raise your hand if you’ve ever…
    “How many of you have ever…”

    Note that asking participants to raise their hands forces an immediate response. Asking several questions in a row can work well.

    Provocative Fact or Statistic
    An effective hook often combines a question with a follow-up piece of data that shocks or moves participants in some way.

    Example:
    “Raise your hand if you hate cancer.
    “It’s shocking to think that, statistically, (%) of the (#) of us in this room today will die from cancer in the next five years.”

    Think-Back
    Ask the participants to recall an experience that had emotional meaning for them and that is relevant to the topic. You can request that they close their eyes for an even more evocative experience.

    Example:
    “Remember your first day on the job…your thoughts and feelings as you met the people in your office for the first time. What worries did you carry in the door with you? What did you feel confident about? What did you want to know? (Please open your eyes…”)

    “Your new employees are experiencing those same emotions as they arrive. Let’s focus on some ways to orient and train them effectively.”

    In Conclusion

    Developing a great hook is a creative act that may take time and careful thought. Yet you can use almost anything as a source for an effective hook.

    Here is a short list to get you going:

    • Newspaper articles, trivia pages and cartoons
    • Publications both related and unrelated to your field
    • Riddles, proverbs, myths and stories
    • Experiences gleaned from the group itself, gathered in pre-meetings.

    The bottom line: All great presenters and trainers use hooks. (Just watch them!) If you are truly serious about your audience “getting” your message, you must take the time to develop and use a hook every time you train or present. Creating hooks stretches your mind and enhances your delivery. Have fun!

    Read more articles about Training Development. Learn about Guila Muir’s Trainer Development Workshops.

    Guila Muir is the premiere trainer of trainers, facilitators, and presenters on the West Coast of the United States. Since 1994, she has helped thousands of professionals improve their training, facilitation, and presentation skills. Find out how she can help transform you from a boring expert to a great presenter: www.guilamuir.com

    © Guila Muir.

  • How to Help Adults Learn Best

    Three Keys to Help Them Stretch!

    Here’s something for you to try. (C’mon, I’ll wait for you to get out of your chair!)

    Stand up and stretch your right arm out behind you, as far as it will go. (You may turn your body as you do so.) Now, come back to center and relax your arm.

    Next, visualize doing this again. Think about taking your arm further back. Then do it again, but really “stretch” your eyes back as far as you can as you do it.

    Did you notice this time that you could take your arm back much further?
    To many, this exercise illustrates the powerful force that our intent exerts over perceived reality. (It can change or “stretch” our limits.) To me, as a teacher of adults, it serves as a metaphor for adults and learning. As learners, we thrive on challenges that are slightly beyond our reach, but reachable. In fact, research is clear that adults learn best when provided with learning tasks that really make them stretch. (Thank you, Dee Dickinson, for this exercise.)

    Here are three ways trainers can help adult learners stretch.

    Make it challenging, but present it simply. One of the biggest challenges we have as trainers is to present complex subjects simply. Strive to say things in the simplest possible way. This involves real practice for trainers, not just a quickie “run-through.” One way to challenge learners is to periodically “shut up” during the training. Provide opportunities for learners to discover things themselves. Don’t feel compelled to explain everything. Act as a facilitator to their process.

    The excuse trainers often give for lecturing is “I have to cover the material!” Interestingly, this phrase can be taken in two ways. One of the meanings of “cover,” after all, is to “cover up”, or obfuscate. By trying to cover everything, we confuse, muddy and even lose the core, “must-know” content elements.

    I encourage you to use the Acid Test when developing a workshop: When time limitations and a desire for simplicity mean you can only include the “must know” elements of a topic, first figure out what those are. Then identify the “nice to know” elements. Strip them out. Leave them behind. You can inject meaningful small-group activities into the class time you gain.

    Make it fun. A great trainer once said: “I make ’em laugh, and when their mouths are open, I throw something in for them to chew on!” Humor and creativity come from, and create, the same chemicals in the brain. People are much more open to learning when they’re having a good time.

    How to ensure the learning process is fun? Part of the answer is to have a good time yourself. If you consistently don’t enjoy what’s happening in the classroom, something’s wrong. When you provide engaging, relevant learning activities (NOT “fluff”) students have more fun. You will, too.

    Organize chunks of material into one larger chunk. Research shows that people’s brains can only hold on to a maximum of nine items at a time. So trainers need to create meaningful chunks of training that condense several pieces of information into one. In their excellent book, “Telling Ain’t Training,” Stolovitch and Keeps provide this example:

    • The four cardinal points of a compass are north (N), east (E), west, (W), and south (S). (four items to store in memory.)
    • Remember this acronym: NEWS (one item to store in memory, so it’s easier to retain.)

    Identify which parts of your training your can “clump together” to make easily-managed, larger chunks.

    Helping adult learners successfully stretch directly correlates to the amount of preparation we do. How willing are you to truly think things out, develop helpful metaphors, and ensure your own thinking is clear and logical? If you experience any “fog” about any portion of your topic, your learners will, too. One of Malcolm Knowles’s essential principles for adult learning is “Respect.” We trainers respect learners by truly being prepared–not only to “cover the material,” but also to help them stretch their limits.

    Read more articles about Training Development. Learn about Guila Muir’s Trainer Development Workshops.

    Guila Muir is the premiere trainer of trainers, facilitators, and presenters on the West Coast of the United States. Since 1994, she has helped thousands of professionals improve their training, facilitation, and presentation skills. Find out how she can help transform you from a boring expert to a great presenter: www.guilamuir.com

    © Guila Muir.

  • Games, Simulations, and Roleplays: Do Differences Matter?

    Which would you choose…and when?

    Long ago, I discovered I loved experiential learning and wanted to learn more about simulations. As a trainer in 1981 Thailand, I experienced the famous “Ba-Fa-Ba-Fa” cultural simulation. It blew me away! Years later, with great hopes, I attended an ASTD-sponsored workshop called Experience Simulations. To my disappointment, the workshop centered on board games a vendor was highlighting. I walked out–I can’t stand board games!

    Since then, I’ve often heard professionals use the words “game,” “simulation” and “roleplay” interchangeably. It wasn’t until I read Ken Jones’ “Simulations: A Handbook for Teachers and Trainers” (Nichols Publishing Company, 1995) that I felt I could really verbalize the difference between these three very different activities.

    I’ve created the chart below to compare and contrast these varieties of experiential learning. The different role that ethics play intrigues me.

    Characteristics of Games, Simulations, and Roleplays

     

    Games Simulations Roleplays
    Participants try to win within a set of rules. No “real-world” ethics are involved except the spirit of fair play. Participants keep their own personalities and try to behave professionally in a situation where they have functional roles. Participants’ skills and emotions are real. The environment is simulated. Real-world ethics apply. The aim is to give a good performance or imitation. Often, emotions, personalities, and ethical motives are supplied.

     

     

    CBS Survivor: What is It?

    No matter what your feelings about this show, it’s interesting to examine it through the lenses this chart provides. Overall, no matter how often the participants say, “It’s only a game!” (which they tend to do whenever they model some particularly nefarious behavior,) “Survivor” seems to me to be a classic simulation. The participants’ own ethics guide their actions. Periodic physical and mental competitions are the only real games being played. These games are discrete. They begin and end. The participants actually live and work within an extended simulation.

    What About Roleplay?

    Les Lauber, board member of the North American Simulation and Gaming Association (NASAGA,) presented a stimulating workshop on roleplay at NASAGA’s 2002 conference. Lauber explained that roleplays are actually “a discrete form of simulation,” falling mid-continuum between case study and total virtual reality:

    Case study Roleplay Virtual Reality

    Lauber says roleplays work best to:

    • Reinforce new skills
    • Sensitize participants to others’ feelings or concerns,
    • Test problem solutions from social or cultural arenas.

    Effective roleplays involve everyone in the room. Even the “observers” have a role and should be briefed as carefully as the players. The fact that observers are present and active actually helps differentiate roleplays from simulations, where observers (if any) do not play an overtly active role. (Of course, the mere presence of observers impacts participant behavior, as any anthropologist knows and Heisenberg postulates.) Would “Survivor” participants act exactly the same without the presence of TV cameras?)

    Test Yourself!

    Mark which activity you’d choose to reinforce the following skills. Why?

    Skill Game Simulation Roleplay Combination
    (which)
    • Flying an airplane
    • Matching terms with the correct definition
    • Commanding the Starship Enterprise
    • Diapering a baby
    • Giving behavioral feedback
    • Resolving workplace conflict
    • Perfecting your firearm aim
    • Writing a grant proposal
    • Establishing rapport with a potential customer

    Resources for Those Who Are “Hooked”

    I have been lucky to discover two wonderful sources for all sorts of experiential learning activities, including simulations and roleplays. One is NASAGA (www.nasaga.org.) The other is Sivasailam Thiagarajan, otherwise known as Thiagi, the master of creative learning. (www.thiagi.com.) I invite you to explore their web sites.

     

    Read more articles about Training Development. Learn about Guila Muir’s Trainer Development Workshops. Guila Muir is the premiere trainer of trainers, facilitators, and presenters on the West Coast of the United States. Since 1994, she has helped thousands of professionals improve their training, facilitation, and presentation skills. Find out how she can help transform you from a boring expert to a great presenter: www.guilamuir.com© Guila Muir.

  • So You’ve Been Selected

    6 Tips for Conference Presenters

    “Someone’s got to do something, and it’s just incredibly pitiful that it has to be us.” — Jerry Garcia

    Some are chosen, some are forced…but in the end, most business professionals present at industry conferences, annual meetings, or other events during the course of their careers. Please allow me to be the first to congratulate you if you have been recently selected to present! You were chosen out of many, and are now charged with a fantastic opportunity to enhance your reputation as a credible expert in your field.

    These TIPS will help you give the best presentation possible, while fulfilling your responsibility to your audience. Use them, and you’ll come off like a pro!

    TIP #1: Get off the WHAT. Tell them HOW.

    The sad truth is that no one really wants to know how great your program, discovery, or event is. But everyone wants to know HOW it got to be that way! Be ready to provide at least 3 specific, tangible HOW-TO’s that others can use in their own businesses, organizations, or communities.

    Examples of tangible HOW TO’s:

    • How did we get 2,500 people to participate in our annual fund drive? (What specific actions did we take?)
    • What were the most important 5 steps we took to accomplish…
    • Mistakes we made–things NOT to do…

    TIP #2: Do what you said you would do in your session proposal

    Most conferences have a Program Committee, which selected your session based on your session objectives. Re-visit those objectives. Did you say participants would…

    • Identify methods to develop corporate-community partnerships?
    • Develop next steps to connect to technology resources?
    • Learn at least 3 new business development techniques?

    Don’t b.s. your audience…Make sure you give them what you promised. That is your primary responsibility to the people who will sit through your session.

    TIP #3: PREPARE

    Do you really want to come off like an unprepared buffoon at a professional conference? Demonstrate your respect for the audience and for yourself by spending quality time preparing and practicing your presentation. Run it by your spouse and friends, and take their feedback to heart. Your presentation should never be “last-minute.”

    If you’re on a panel, make a solid plan with your co-presenters about what specific aspects each will address. Talk with ALL of them at least twice before the conference. Make sure you are all clear on time limits. Put your plan in writing, and meet once more before your session to make sure everyone’s clear on what’s going to happen. Don’t “assume” anything.

    TIP #4: Make it active

    As an audience member, do YOU really like sitting there like a lump on a log? On the other hand, few of us enjoy participating in meaningless “fluff.” Here are some easy strategies to bring your content alive while keeping your group energized:® INTEGRATE Q-A throughout your presentation. DON”T wait until the last 5 minutes to ask “Are there any questions?” But always bring the conversation back on track. (That’s when your preparation will really help you!)

    • ASK the audience questions. They can either answer you or talk with their neighbor about the issue. Be ready to pull them back to order.
    • MINIMIZE your PowerPoint slides or transparencies. A good rule of thumb is to use only 3-6 slides for a 75-minute presentation. Use your time to look at and discuss relevant handouts, materials, case studies, financial reports, etc.
    • BREAK THE GROUP INTO SMALL GROUPS to discuss and solve a problem. Don’t ask for reports from each group–5 top responses from the entire group may suffice. Remember, people can often learn as much by talking to each other as they can by listening to you.

    TIP # 5: Begin and end ON TIME

    Tough luck if people are late! You are responsible to those who got to your session on time. Maintain your awareness of time throughout the session. True professionals never “run out of time,” because they have practiced thoroughly beforehand.

    PLAN the last five minutes for an overall summary, written evaluations and last-minute questions.

    TIP #6: Relax and Have Fun

    If you’ve followed the preceding tips, this one will be much easier to achieve. Remember that your presentation is really not “about you,” it’s about your audience. Give them what you promised and what you practiced. The audience wants you to succeed!

    When you’re done, give yourself a pat on the back. Think about what went right and what you might change next time. Find a friend, buy a coffee, and enjoy the rest of the conference!

    Read more articles about Presentation Skills. Learn about Guila Muir’s Presentation Skills Workshops.

    Guila Muir is the premiere trainer of trainers, facilitators, and presenters on the West Coast of the United States. Since 1994, she has helped thousands of professionals improve their training, facilitation, and presentation skills. Find out how she can help transform you from a boring expert to a great presenter: www.guilamuir.com

    © Guila Muir.

  • Presentation is Not Training

    by Guila Muir
    info@guilamuir.com

    How Easy Training Strategies Can Help Make Your Presentations “Stick!”
    (more…)

  • When Leaders Train: How to Avoid the Pitfalls

    by Guila Muir
    info@guilamuir.com

    Why don’t all leaders make great trainers? Perhaps it’s because they believe that training falls outside their (already large) job descriptions. As a result, leaders often strive to “cover the material” in order to get on with business.

    Yet the ability to facilitate learning, not just to cover the material, is an essential leadership skill.

    “Acquitting Oneself” vs. Facilitating Learning
    To acquit means “to release from duty or obligation;” or to get off the hook. Leaders most often acquit themselves by simply covering the material. They do this by lecturing, even though evidence shows that participants forget 50% of a lecture in just 20 minutes.

    For leaders who want to competently facilitate learning, I offer these tips.

    1. Hook your students.

    In the few minutes of class, you must:

    • Excite: Demonstrate your own excitement about, and commitment to, your topic.
    • Involve: Ask a relevant question to get participants’ hands up, refer to a recent critical incident, or deliver an interactive quiz.
    • Inform: State the training’s purpose clearly. Succinctly describe how the participants will benefit from the training.

    2. Make it Active.

    Include small-group work using case studies, skill practice, or other problem-solving exercises. Honor your participants by supporting interaction.

    3. Design a conscious closure.
    Always build in several minutes at the end to test participants’ knowledge and skills. This ensures accountability-both your participants’ and your own.

    Leaders, challenge yourselves to deliver vibrant, compelling learning opportunities. Forget about “acquitting yourself,” and  include great training as part of your job description.

    © Guila Muir.