Tag: Training

  • Transform Your Training with This Easy Tool

    Magic Hat and WandDoes your training environment sometimes feel dull (or even dead) as you deliver content? Does the environment itself feel uninspired? Wouldn’t it be great to have a magic wand you could use to inject your training with energy!

    Such a “magic wand” exists. Called Pair and Share, it is arguably the easiest and most effective training tool you can use. It always increases interaction, whether your class consists of four participants or four hundred. Importantly, Pair and Share also deepens every single participants’ interest and retention.

    So…Is Pair and Share Magic?

    Once you try it, you may think so. Pair and Share is simply a structured opportunity for your participants to process information in groups of two.

    Why Does Pair and Share Work?

    This super-easy technique does three important things. It:

    • Helps store information in long-term memory
    • Allows participants to reflect on content and make it their own
    • Increases individual accountability

    You can sprinkle Pair and Share several times throughout any training session to increase participation while reinforcing your message.

    How to Use Pair and Share

    Before or after providing content, guide the participants to form pairs with the person sitting next to them. Instruct them to process a specific, relevant point in the material. Your instructions should force them to work through the topic’s application to their own lives or work. Provide a total amount of time for the exercise—perhaps 30 seconds to one minute.

    Select from the following verbs, or use others, when you give instructions.

    “Turn to your partner and …

    • List
    • Discuss
    • Fix
    • Do
    • Figure out
    • Fill in
    • Share
    • Explain (etc.)

    Examples:

    Please turn to your neighbor and …

    • Name five types of safety gloves and what each are used for.
    • Define “saturation level”.
    • Tell them the most important fact you have learned in the last ten minutes and why.

    Believe it or not, this simple technique can determine if your participants remember or forget essential pieces of content. Sprinkle Pair and Shares liberally throughout your training sessions, and watch the classroom come alive!

    Want more tips to improve your trainings? Learn how Guila Muir’s Instructional Design Workshop can help you to create powerful, effective training sessions.

    Guila Muir , a premiere trainer of trainers, facilitators, and presenters, 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 trainer!

  • Are You a Super-Trainer?

    Assess Yourself and See!

    What attributes do all super trainers share, no matter how different their styles?

    Rate yourself from 1 (I’m not so great at this) to 3 (I do this every time!) on the guidelines below. Then read the strategies, which will transform YOU into a Super Trainer.

    Three Essen­tial Attrib­utes of Super Train­ers

    1.  Content Knowledge

    Of course, this comes first. If you don’t know your subject, you shouldn’t be training it. However, you DON’T have to know every last detail before you’re ready to train.
    My self-rating on Content Knowledge:

    1                                                        2                                                       3

    low                                                                                                                        high

    2.  Willingness To Have Fun

    This one’s a potential danger zone. Some trainers have so much fun themselves that they remain oblivious to the participants’ needs, insights, and potential contributions.

    Having fun doesn’t mean you are able to toss out jokes. Willingness to have fun means relaxing WHILE you exude dynamism and energy. It means connecting with the participants WHILE you focus on content and time management. It means enjoying the participants WHILE retaining your unique role as trainer.

    My self-rating on Willingness to Have Fun:

    1                                                        2                                                      3

    low                                                                                                                        high

    3.  Use of a Well-Structured Training Design

    Have you ever wondered about the source of the following issues?

    • Bad marks on your training evaluations (excluding comments about cold coffee or overly warm training rooms)
    • Participant hostility, side conversations or passive-aggressiveness
    • Lack of participation
    • People sleeping

    The invisible culprit is often how the session is designed, not the presentation skills of the trainer. Design affects everything related to the training.

    Training design is training architecture. A badly–designed course will sag, fracture, and even crush the best trainer.

    My self-rating on Use of a Well-Structured Training Design:

    1                                                        2                                                      3

    low                                                                                                                        high

    Strategies to Pump Up Your Training Skills

    Even if you rated yourself high on the preceding attributes, these strategies will enhance your training:

    1.  Content Knowledge

    Ensure that you have included only the absolute “MUST-KNOW” material into your training session. When you develop the session, test each part of the training by asking, “is this a ‘must-know’ piece of information, or is it merely ‘nice to know?’ Toss the ‘nice to know’ pieces. Remember-less is more.

    If a participant asks you something you cannot answer, remember that it is OK to say “I don’t know. Let me find out and get back to you,” but only if you really will follow up. Meanwhile, acknowledge that a participant in your group may well have the information you lack. Don’t be afraid to ask. Doing so helps you build community with your participants.

    2. Willingness To Have Fun

    The more prepared you feel with your content and training structure, (attributes #1 and #3,) the more fun you’ll have.

    But you must also examine your beliefs about people. Do you feel they are mainly a drag, or do you find them interesting and quirky? Do you like yourself? Are you accepting or judgmental? Your underlying beliefs about yourself and others either boost or impede your level of relaxation and ability to have fun in the training role.

    It’s worth your time to examine your philosophy of teaching. Do you buy into a “boot camp” mentality? Alternatively, do you feel oversensitive to students’ needs? Heighten your awareness of your philosophy and actions, and then make changes if needed. Fun will follow!

    3. Use of a Well-Structured Training Design

    Here are three guidelines to ensure your training architecture is sound:

    • Never organize your training session using PowerPoint.
    • Carefully and thoughtfully develop learning outcomes. Organize all your content to achieve them.
    • No matter how experienced a trainer you are, take a basic class in course design. It may challenge the way you think about training!

    It’s always good to re-visit the essentials; all Super Trainers do. Integrate these Top Three into your training, and you’ll find yourself among the greats!

    Want more tips to improve your trainings? Learn how Guila Muir’s Instructional Design Workshop can help you to create powerful, effective training sessions.

    See free newsletters full of tips and techniques for improved training: http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs071/1101469784148/archive/1101880413533.html

  • Presentation Skills: How to Prevent “Drowning”

    by Guila Muir
    info@guilamuir.com

    These skills will keep you afloat.

    There are many parallels between swimming in open water (the English call it “wild swimming”) and giving a great presentation. These skills will keep you afloat, no matter how choppy the water.

    1. Be totally present.
    When I swim, my focus is completely on what I’m doing. I’m not thinking about anything except moving forward. I am aware of each stroke, and often “course-correct” when I feel my form getting lazy.

    Great presenters have this same focus. They inhabit their bodies. They don’t wish they were somewhere else, doing something else. They totally commit to the activity of presenting.

    2. Ignore the environment at your own risk.
    The minute I enter the open water, I begin a wilderness adventure. Unlike a pool, open water offers seaweed, sea animals, hidden objects, floating logs, jellyfish, currents, waves, swells, and…well, you get the difference.

    If I swim blindly, I may run into something. This happened recently to a co-swimmer who was so focused on winning our race that he ran into a submerged piling and broke his nose.

    Presenters, too, can “break their noses” by barreling along with little sensitivity to the environment. Environmental input takes many forms, including disinterested or enthusiastic participants, room acoustics, hecklers, heat or cold, and ambient noise. Presenters who shut themselves off from this input risk failure. Great presenters retain their sensitivity to the environment, without letting it overwhelm them.

    3. Discovery is key.
    While swimming, I have discovered iridescent seaweed, a Weber grill, and curious seals with puppy faces. I have also discovered my own physical limits. Every time I swim, I discover something new, even if it is just the way the sun shines through the water (or not).

    Great presenters do this too. No matter how many times they’ve given a presentation, they discover new ways of saying things. They may develop new handouts or slides, or develop new questions to ask the audience. Boring presenters are those who never risk discovering new ways to present.

    Take these lessons to heart. When you invest yourself totally in the act of presenting, it all becomes easy. You’ll glide through your presentation like a fish.

    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

  • Wild Classroom: How to Prevent the Chaos

    by Guila Muir
    info@guilamuir.com

    Have you ever worried about your participants going wild, tuning out, or exhibiting other potentially disruptive behaviors? The concept of “classroom management” will help.

    Good classroom management is the ability to run your training sessions smoothly. Research shows that good classroom management enables students to learn and retain more.

    Surprisingly, research also shows that good classroom management has nothing to do with the trainer’s personality, or even whether participants like the trainer. Rather, it has everything to do with the trainer’s behaviors–how you act in the classroom.

    Dominance and Cooperation

    Research shows that a trainer keeps control of the classroom by exhibiting appropriate levels of both dominance and cooperation.

    Dominance

    A trainer’s dominance doesn’t mean forceful command and control. Instead, educational researchers define appropriate dominance as the trainer’s ability to provide clear purpose, strong guidance, and consequences for unacceptable behavior.

    Think of the best classroom experiences you have had, either as a trainer or as a participant. Did the trainer set out clear goals for the session? Were expectations about behavior clear? Did the trainer provide clear instructions, both visually and verbally?

    It’s important to use assertive body language. Maintain an erect posture. Speak deliberately and clearly, especially in the face of inappropriate behavior. Keep your cool.

    Very rarely, a trainer must ask a participant to leave the session because of behavior that is impeding the learning of others. This consequence is at the far end of the continuum of classroom management. In more than twenty years as a professional trainer, I have never had to take this step.

    Cooperation

    Cooperation is characterized by a concern for the needs and opinions of others. Whereas dominance focuses on the trainer as the driving force in the classroom, cooperation highlights a sense of teamwork between trainer and participants.

    Often, a trainer models cooperation by asking what participants want to get out of the session, and then integrating these elements into the lesson plan. Cooperation involves other aspects as well, including:

    • Taking a personal and authentic interest in participants.
    • Learning about participants’ interests and passions outside of class.
    • Talking informally before and after class.
    • Greeting each participant by name.

    You can also demonstrate your interest in non-verbal ways. These include making eye contact with everyone, moving toward the participants, and ensuring the seating arrangement allows clear and easy ways to move around the room.

    Good Classroom Management: Just a Set of Behaviors

    There have been many quests for the essential traits that make a teacher great, and each quest has come up empty-handed. According to a special report in the New York Times, extensive research shows that neither an extroverted personality, politeness, confidence, warmth, or enthusiasm make a great trainer.

    However, the educational researcher Doug Lemov has identified one trait that separates great trainers from the rest: good classroom management. Lemov discovered that what looks like natural-born teaching genius is often deliberate technique in disguise.

    It all boils down to two sets of behaviors on your part. By balancing your dominant behaviors with your cooperative behaviors as a trainer, you’ll create an environment that encourages learning and is pleasant for all. 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.

  • The “Intensified You:” Key to Giving a Great Presentation

    by Guila Muir

    “An ounce of energy is worth a pound of technique”. (Anonymous)

    When people describe the best speaker they’ve ever seen, the word “energy” always comes up. What are the secrets of exuding energy, vitality, the life force, as a speaker?

    Be Big

    Regardless of what size you are, take up more room. Become the “Intensified You.” Practice in front of a mirror:

    • Stand up straight.
    • Use your arms and hands to create space around your body.
    • Pump up the volume in your voice. Try saying, “Hello! My name is…” in a healthy and robust voice.
    • Pour yourself in. Be 100% present.

    Practice “being big” before you get in front of a group!

    Come Alive in the Magic Circle

    Once you stand up and speak, you step into the Magic Circle. This is your space to shine. This little patch of earth is your Real Estate—so own it. Show what you’ve practiced-be big, take up room, and pour the energy on.

    When you step out of the Magic Circle, you can relax. You no longer have to take up space…you can go home and “be little” as you watch TV. But you owe it to your audience to shine when you’re in the Magic Circle.

    Energy is Key

    Your ability to exude energy plays a huge role in your success as a speaker. Just try “pumping it up” a little in your next presentation, and you’ll experience a true difference.

    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

    © 2009 Guila Muir. All rights reserved.

  • 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…)

  • Who Cares About Facilitation Skills?

    by Guila Muir
    info@guilamuir.com

    Why Facilitation Skills are Important: A different kind of power (more…)

  • How to Prevent Meetings from Hell

    A creative business team busy at a meetingWith technology forcing constant change in our workplaces, the true “hot commodity” over the next twenty years will be meaningful, face to face contact. However, that contact must be productive. Increasing facilitation skills – of all employees – is key.

    Over 80% of my training participants tell me that the number of meetings they must facilitate has increased dramatically over the last two years. “It’s not really in my job description, but with all the team work and collaborative efforts these days, I have to facilitate – and facilitate competently,” said one participant.

    A recent article in USA Today estimates that business professionals spend between 25% to 60% of their time in meetings. They report that 50% of that time is unproductive. “So often, people get into a meeting and talk around an issue,” says Beryl Loeb, a consultant in Needham, Mass. “Then they have to meet again.” No wonder meetings are the butt of Dilbert jokes!

    Effective facilitation is the key to effective meetings. Anyone who’s participated in a focused, well-facilitated meeting can attest to its results: increased productivity, focus and accountability. The most productive meetings are often also the most enjoyable. Yet most people learn to facilitate meetings by “the seat of their pants” – and end up repeating the same mistakes.

    The Importance of Facilitator Development

    Building “in-house” facilitation skills is the way to save money on external facilitators, ensure that all meetings are productive and address the demand for increased participation in decision-making. Developing a home-gown cadre of expert facilitators pays off. Over the last three years, the Seattle Police Departments’ Community and Information Services Bureau has trained approximately 250 supervisors, managers and staff in basic and advanced facilitation skills. These facilitators currently facilitate hundreds of more effective meetings – both in the community and in the Department. Social service agencies, city municipalities, corporations, parks and recreation programs and Court Administrators are also benefiting from improved in-house facilitation skills.

    Let’s counter the cynicism and low morale bred by badly-run meetings. With the right skills, anyone can facilitate. Consider investing in developing the facilitation skill levels of all your employees!