Tag Archives: Training and Assessment
5 ways to get participants back on time!
One of the most common challenges for trainers is getting the group to refocus and return to their seats after an activity, particularly when this activity has been noisy or ends in bursts of laughter. Similarly, a lot of time can be lost to the trainer when their group does not return in a timely …
What trainers can learn from Standup Comedians
Perhaps I have been watching too much late night television, but recently I have come to the conclusion that there are a lot of things that trainers can learn from stand- up comedians. As a result, I have compiled a list of advice that I think crosses over well: 1. Know your audience. The most …
Farewell to Kirkpatrick, but not the end for evaluation!
Last week I attended the ASTD International Conference in Orlando, Florida and was lucky enough to catch the last public presentation from Donald Kirkpatrick. He is someone who has had such a profound effect on our industry and I thought his contribution was worth reflecting on this month. Kirkpatrick is the creator of the Kirkpatrick …
How to manage difficult behaviours in training
Even experienced trainers with the latest resources and most interesting training material can be thrown off course by the behaviours of difficult participants. Therefore, it is important to load the kit bag with a variety of tools and techniques to overcome the dilemmas presented by some students. One of the simple things that can be …
5 Reasons why people don’t ask questions in training
Most participants’ brains seem to stop functioning when you invite them to ask questions. It’s like at the mere mention of the phrase “are there any questions” a chain-reaction of nuclear proportions engulfs the participants’ brains and they all become suddenly quiet as the fallout spreads through their bodies and renders them incapable of even …
Are You a Multiplier or Diminsher?
Liz Wiseman and Greg McKeown in their book “Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter” (Harper Business June, 2010), examine why some leaders (called “Diminishers”) drain capability and intelligence from their teams while others (called “Multipliers”) amplify it to produce better results. This was certainly an interesting read and I just love the concept …
Training and Learning with The Broccoli Solution!
After attending Training Magazine’s Annual Conference in San Diego in February, I caught up with some new friends to discuss what we learned. It was a veritable United Nations meeting with representatives from Canada, the US and Australia and a truly robust discussion was had. As we debriefed the conference together at Morton’s Steakhouse, we …
Cowboys and Cash Cows
As we enter our eleventh year and our third incarnation of the Cert IV TAA, I watch with concern a return to the dark days when the Cert IV became just a commodity, rather than the underpinning standard for quality training and assessment for our industry. There are a lot of new providers, which is …
Social Learning is not a Fad
We are certainly training in interesting times. Our students have access to more information than ever before and are bringing with them devices which facilitate the access to this information in more volumes than ever before. No longer is the trainer the main source of new content. And why would they be? With Apps for …
Bringing Hollywood to your Training
Having just returned from the Training and Performance Improvement Conference in Minneapolis, USA, I was so impressed with one of the presentations, that I thought I should provide a highlights package in this month’s Ezine. I attended a workshop by Becky Pike Pluth on “Teaching from Tinsletown” and it reminded me how powerful cinema can …