I continue to be amazed at how little preparation seems to go into presentations. Outside of our training and assessment space, I do get an opportunity to see a range of presentations via conferences and workshops. While the presenters tend to have good subject matter knowledge, they seem to lack an ability to plan for an effective transfer of this. Therefore, I thought it was timely to share my seven easy steps for success when session planning.
Using social media to enhance or prepare for your next conference (like the Bob Pike Group's Training and Performance Consulting conference in September) or event might seem like a no-brainer, but many conference goers get so excited about the "going," they fail to make the preparations that can transform a good conference into a great one. Before you leave the house, board the plane, or turn on your computer, make sure you are conference ready:
If you ever want to see "groupthink" in action, visit an area kindergarten room.
What about in the workforce? Studies show that the longer groups are together working on a project, the less innovative they become. They all begin doing "groupthink" as well.
So if we seem to tend toward groupthink, how then can we create creativity?
Our training rooms, board rooms, and meeting rooms need to be like our idyllic school-safe places to learn. And you don't need a ton of technology or the latest and greatest gizmos (although I do enjoy them) to do it. Bring in inexpensive outside experiences to let trainees practice and "fail" safely.
I've seen so many eclectic news items in the last few days; what's bizarre is they all have something in common. Engaged participants learn.
It's one thing to evaluate a program and another to evaluate a person.
Here are a few questions you can ask to help focus just on the course and evaluate the perceived level of effectiveness of the course:
Watch this short video and see just how social media has been woven into the very fabrics of society.
Purpose: To get class members immediately engaged while giving them an overview of topics to be covered. Great opener, revisiter and energizer.
After seeing participant-centered training methods in action, staff at the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute wanted to re-work their "Transforming Diabetes Care" training program which they deliver to front-line practitioners in an effort to help them change how they treat patients.
When Johnson & Johnson wanted to re-work their Transforming Diabetes Care program, they brought in The Bob Pike Group to observe their pilot. "This was the first time participant-centered training had been used [at JJDI]. It was kind of a turnabout for us," said Dr. David Horwitz of JJDI. "We put together our own curriculum, then The Bob Pike Group came in and tore it all apart, and we started all over..."
Just because you've said it doesn't mean your "learners" learned it. One validated teaching philosophy shows that content must be revisited at least six times for the information to be moved from short term into long term memory. Of course this is critical if you want your learners to actually transfer what they learned back to the job!
Another classroom technique that can increase retention significantly is...
