Adventures of Ted and Tina Trainer – BLAH

May 4, 2011

How are YOUR facilitation skills?

Read the full article →

Signs That An Organization Values Training

April 7, 2011

We spend a lot of money on training. In some organizations, it is just an activity. In others, it is a valuable investment that is a component of continuous improvement. What are some indicators that an organization values training? Look for these signs from Leaders – Executives, Managers and Supervisors: • Leaders don’t focus on [...]

Read the full article →

Packing Them In

March 11, 2011

Thought questions for the day: If you pack sardines in a can, does it affect the taste? If you pack participants in a room, does it affect learning? You’ve sent out the schedule, paid for printing materials, even allocated money for a gourmet lunch for the group. You figure that the conference room will work, [...]

Read the full article →

What I Learned on Thursday II

February 3, 2011

Every Thursday I learn something. Socked in with cold weather, I’ve been catching up on my reading. Everything I read about training is changing. Training may not even be a viable term anymore; the current term is “learning.” And the thinking seems to be that we encourage employees to learn for themselves, when they need [...]

Read the full article →

What I learned on Thursday

October 30, 2010

I love Thursdays. It’s a great day for learning because you’ve slid over the Wednesday Humpday and you are not yet into the Thank Goodness It’s Friday mode. This Thursday I attended the San Antonio ASTD Conference. (ASTD=American Society for Training and Development) Here’s what I learned: • Debriefing activities is essential. Bring out the [...]

Read the full article →

DO NOT Attend Training with Your Employees

October 17, 2010

You think you’re safe. You attend training with your employees. You want to flatten out the organization-eliminate the feeling that we are different-that our levels are barriers. You have good intentions. Everyone learns a lot. You are inspired to do better, to use new skills to make a difference. Then you go back to work. [...]

Read the full article →

Diversity in Training

March 21, 2010

So, maybe you don’t have these issues…exactly…..but training classes can have diversity challenges. Here are some tips: Use illustrations that can apply to everyone.  Avoid focusing on just one type of illustration:  kids, sports, spouse, single parent.  You get the message. Vary your language to include references to both genders equally. Make sure to make [...]

Read the full article →

Ask More Questions

March 13, 2010

Let’s say that you are training a class of service representatives or agents in a call center. You have two choices: • Lecture through the process, possibly using flow charts, graphs and acronyms. -OR- • Guide the learners to understanding by asking questions about an illustration depicting the process. Think about the questions you might [...]

Read the full article →

Training Playground

March 2, 2010

The world of training has changed significantly since I attended my first corporate training session (I won’t say how many years ago!).  I remember sitting there while the instructor droned on and on.  Note-taking was discouraged.  Visual aids were non-existent.  Training was serious business, as demonstrated when the instructor’s hand suddenly slammed down on the [...]

Read the full article →

Never Blow Your Nose in the Mike

February 6, 2010

You are enthralled in the presentation.  The speaker is giving you so much information that you desperately need. It was definitely worth getting up early to attend this event. Then he blows his nose right into the mike. The magic is broken. As trainers and speakers we can often get so comfortable in front of [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →