Tag: Education and Training

  • When YOU are the Bored Trainer (or Presenter!)

    We’ve all had bored trainers and presenters. They lack passion, energy and spark.

    But what happens when YOU deliver the same material over and over and over again? How do you keep it fresh?

    5 Tips That Refresh

    1. Remember the “Turf” That Comes With Being a Professional

    Whether you are an athlete, an actor, a tour guide, or a trainer, the ability to perform at the same expert level time after time comes with the territory of being a professional. Professionals “give it their all” each time they perform.

    2. Re-Arrange the Order of Things

    Re-arranging content may feel risky when things are working just fine as they are.  However, you’ll be amazed at how refreshing it feels to present a content block either earlier or later than usual.

    3. Initiate and Enjoy Interaction

    Each group’s energy is different. Have fun with that! Meet and “hob-nob” with individuals during the breaks. Listen for any unique words or concerns. Be sure to ask plenty of questions.

    4. Increase Your Self Awareness in New Areas

    Knowing your content as intimately as you do is a luxury. It enables you to tune into how you are presenting it. Are you using online tools? Are you making eye contact? How is your lighting and voice projection?

    5. Feel Fortunate!

    How many of us get to do jobs that involve such a high level of physical, emotional, and mental exercise all at once? From a purely selfish standpoint, what a great way to keep your brain young! Additionally, you are transmitting information that helps your participants. You are “doing good” in the world. How many people can really say that?

    I hope these five tips help you keep your presentations fresh—not only for your participants, but for YOU, too.

  • 3 Rules for Excellent Presentations

    I was excited to find John Medina’s great book, Brain Rules, in the San Francisco airport bookstore in 2009. The book is incredibly readable and valuable to trainers and presenters. I was thrilled most of all to see that Medina provides research to support 3 rules I’ve shared in my Train the Trainer classes for years.

    1. Provide the gist, the core concept, first.

    Verbalize and show your session’s purpose within the first few minutes of your presentation or training. Medina claims that you will see a 40% improvement in understanding if you provide general concepts first.

    2. Give an overview of the class at the beginning, and sprinkle liberal repetitions of ‘where we are now’ throughout.

    Provide clear transitions and summaries throughout your session. Clearly and repetitively explain linkages.

    3. Bait the hook.

    Every ten minutes, Medina gives his audiences a break from the firehose of information by sending “emotionally competent stimuli” (yet another word for ‘hook.’) A hook can be a surprising fact, anecdote, or question, and must must trigger an emotion: anxiety, laughter, nostalgia, etc. It must also be relevant. Use hooks at the beginning of each module.

    Research suggests that by using these skills, you will prevent your audiences from “checking out” during your presentation.  Not only that, but these 3 tips will enable  you to enjoy presenting more. Have fun!

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    © Guila Muir.