If learners are motivated, they retain more information. But can you extrinsically motivate your session attendees? Is it possible? “While you can’t make your participants be motivated, you can create a motivating environment,” said Becky Pluth, vice president of training and development at The Bob Pike Group. Research shows that interacting with your learners “is one of the most powerful factors in promoting learning” while “interactions among learners is another” (Angelo 1993). And teachers who present the information in a dynamic manner and display a genuine interest in what they

Getting people to use learning resources in the company library can be tricky, Kathleen Miller-Buettner and Susan Hayley-Gates say. Their library has books, videos and audio tapes on communication skills, management skills, balancing work and home lives, and dozens of other topics. But, as in many organizations, the materials once went mostly unused. To encourage corporate library use—and learning—the training department initiated a TOM (theme of the month) Club. Membership is free. Each month has a topical theme – effective feedback, industry information and the like. Trainers, however, don’t disclose what the month’s theme is. Instead they post clues throughout the office and via email on the first day of each month. Employees guess the theme, placing their guess in one of the special TOM Club raffle boxes around the workplace.

A great flip chart tip I learned years ago was to...

Becky Pluth presented a concurrent session at the 2008 Pike Ascent on how to design and deliver participant-centered computer based training (CBT). Sound impossible? Here are a few of her creative tips:

How can you continue the learning after the class is done? Here is an activity that gets participants listening and sharing during class that can be used and built on after class:

Want an opportunity to earn or WIN FREE books and resources for your training library? Take just two minutes to send us one of your best creative training tips, and we might be sending you some of our fabulous BPG resources such as books on openers or closers or a subscription to Bob Pike’s Creative Training Techniques newsletter. Your tip can be an adaptation of one of ours or your own creation. Most creative tips are not revolutionary, but if they work well, we want to hear about them!

Purpose: This exercise provides a fun and yummy way to review content. Audience: Any size Time: Add 10–20 minutes to your class time Space: Any classroom Materials: Prepared Bingo cards and a small bag of M&Ms for each participant Budget: Cost of cards and candy Application: Have participants review content throughout the training

Creative Exercise for Meetings, Webinars and Seminars Do you keep falling asleep in meetings, webinars and seminars? What about those long and boring conference calls? Here's a way to change that: Before (or during) your next meeting, webinar, or conference call, prepare your "Been Listening Bingo" card by drawing a square 5"x5" dividing it into columns - five across and five down. That will give you 25 one-inch blocks. Write one of the words/phrases/concepts you plan to talk about in each block.

Sometimes showing is much more effective than telling. Almost every teacher or trainer has at some time thought a particular scene would make a great learning point in a program. Over the years, I’ve used a number of movie clips in a variety of training programs. Why? Because Hollywood has more money to spend on movies and usually has better actors than we can afford in corporate training videos. When I was doing a program for the Defense Security Institute, I used a clip from Beverly Hills Cop where Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) climbs the fence of a bonded warehouse. When accosted, Axel turns the situation around and soon has everyone opening doors, files, and just about everything else.

I actually have a plastic tool box, which I purchased at a hardware store. It is the kind with little compartments built into the lid, a lift out tray and a deeper compartment inside. In it, I always keep the following: • Paperclips and binderclips • Extra batteries (2 each of AA and AAA) • A set of colored flipchart markers • 2 dry erase markers • 2 overhead projector markers • A couple of pencils and ballpoint pens • A small school-type pencil sharpener • Masking tape...