It seems every 12-18 months, a new term will come along. Sometimes it's something new that we ought to do. Sometimes it's something new that we ought to be. In past years we've heard things like customer service is key. It was shoved over to make room for quality. Then the two were somewhat combined into total quality management. And let's not forget reengineering or just-in-time training. Then we have terms like trainer, internal consultant and performance coach. So the question is who am I? And what should I be? I think the answer is more in the purpose than in the title. Whatever you call me, I believe my purpose is to help the organization get results. I may help the organization get those results through the design and delivery of training that closes performance gaps or provides new skills. I may help the organization through identifying systems or procedures that are inhibiting results and training isn't even an issue. I may provide coaching to someone who is having trouble..

You've probably been caught in a high-stress situation--perhaps a tear in the seam of your one pair of presentation slacks just before the beginning of a seminar, or your last bulb wears out on the only archaic form of technology the seminar site had to offer--what solutions did you come up with to save the day? In the November e-Zine, we want to put together a trainer's emergency toolkit--small items to pack in case of emergency and the MacGyver items that come in handy and can save the day when coupled with a few other items...

What’s wrong with the way many training programs close? There may be no close; people are asked to give a hurried evaluation of the program; and nothing happens to reinforce the key ideas of the program. Any good presentation has an effective opening, a relevant middle, and a strong close. Too often a training presentation has no close at all. The presenter simply runs out of time! A major issue for trainers involves transfer of the learning or skill back to the work place. In Bob Pike’s Creative Training Techniques Handbook, Pike lists the six components of memory—including primacy (that which came first—the opener) and recency (that which came last—the closer). People remember beginnings and endings.

Creative Training Technique: Opener Name: Four Quadrant Name Tent Objectives: Break the ice Become better acquainted Provide focus on the topic For a class three hours or longer For any audience For a group of 12 or more in subgroups of five to seven Time 10-15 minutes Equipment: copy of the name tent sample on an overhead transparency One copy of the name tent template for each person. A pen or fine-point marker for each person. Process: The trainer gives each participant a copy of the four quadrant name tent and asks everyone to fold the paper into thirds

Do you have a problem so big at work that you don’t know where to start? One of those broad, messy performance problems that seems to be getting worse over time? I’ll bet you’ve even had numerous meetings to discuss the issue. And in those meetings more issues were brought to the surface, more discussions – but you never seemed to land on a solution. You are not alone! Many Problems are Complex Just as complex machines are made of simple parts, so are complex problems. Our job is to find a way to separate the pieces, analyze each one, and see which ones could be having the biggest impact on the overall problem.

Amsterdam - the perfect place to rest and break up the long 10,000 mile trip to Africa. Or so I thought! After visiting the famous Anne Frank house, I roamed down streets, canal after canal. Thinking this may be the last time I'd be able to check email, I darted into an internet cafe, unsnapped my backpack belt from around my waist, and carefully placed my bag under my chair and sat down to work. Suddenly, I looked around and my backpack was gone! My heart sank into the pit of my stomach as my psyche began to catalog what had vanished. My passport, all my money, credit cards, bank cards, traveler's checks, my camera, video camera, medications, jewelry, itinerary, plane tickets, lizard key chain complete with keys, and my precious 2005 journal.

This is Your Brain on Music… Former rock producer and current professor at McGill University, Daniel Levitin is an expert in cognitive music perception. His new book This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession explores how our brains process the music of various artists and why they make us feel good. In an interview with Wired News, Levitin said, “Music activates the same parts of the brain and causes the same neurochemical cocktail as a lot of other pleasurable activities like orgasms or eating chocolate -- or if you're a gambler winning a bet or using drugs if you're a drug user. Serotonin and dopamine are both involved…most people in Western society use music to regulate moods

Technology-based learning (e-learning) is becoming rampant in the training industry for good reasons. Retention for subjects can be greatly increased with the use of interactive software like games and simulations, participant interest can be much higher than some other forms of traditional instruction, and the Return-on-Investment can be gi-normous. According to a 2002 article in Workforce magazine, Cisco Systems saw a $9 increase in productivity for every dollar spent in training for a 900% ROI. Why wouldn’t you create an e-learning platform for training?

To demonstrate the importance of listening skills in dealing with customers via telephone, Shari Petrak, a liability claims training specialist, Nationwide Insurance Colombus, Ohio, pairs off participants and designates one person in each pair as the “sender” and the other as the “receiver.”

Becky Bowman of the Clarke County Board of Commissioners, Athens, Ga., stretches her budget by collecting end rolls of newsprint paper discarded after production at a local printing plant. The large sheets of paper lend themselves well to group activities, large flip charts, and many other uses.