Fast Ways to Train Before the End of the Year

Whew, where did the year go?! 2021 is drawing to a close—but it’s not quite over yet. And that presents an opportunity for professional trainers who are looking to level up before the calendar turns over to a new year. 

There aren’t many working days left in December, so if you’re looking to upskill before January 1st, you’ll have to invest in some fast-paced, quick-witted training options. With the right approach, you can learn a ton and hit the ground running in 2022.

Download a Podcast

One of the fastest ways to sharpen your skills, learn new training tips, and implement methodologies is to subscribe to a podcast. They’re incredibly easy to fit into your busy schedule, since you can listen to a podcast while you’re exercising, driving to work, or simply moving about the house.

The Creative Training Techniques® Podcast, for example, is a fast, five-minute podcast that focuses on delivering practical advice in short, easy to digest bursts. You can learn about topics as varied as training on a budget to co-facilitating presentations.

Visit a Networking Event

The end of the year is replete with events. Which means there’s probably a professional networking get-together coming up soon in your area! Attending these gatherings is a great opportunity to personally connect with your peers. But more than that, networking events provide you with a venue to talk about what’s working in your field and what’s not (while taking advantage of the advice, tips, and experience of your peers).

Networking events can:

  • Help you discover additional professional development opportunities.
  • Learn and discuss new skills based directly on the first-hand experiences of your peers.
  • Help you establish connections with your peers, who can continue to be a resource for problem-solving in the future. 

If there aren’t any in-person events in your area, you can always search out virtual events. Admittedly, networking over Zoom may not be quite as personable, but such events do provide some added bonuses (there’s no commute to virtual networking events, for example). Even an informal trainer mixer is a great place to swap stories and tips.

Watch a Webinar

Webinars are one of the most successful virtual training models ever devised. (We wouldn’t be shocked if you’ve recorded one of two...or a dozen such webinars yourself.) These virtual and video based mini-training sessions can be a great way to delve into narrow topics. And because most webinars are limited to 60 minutes or so, they’re easy to fit into the busiest schedules.

Because the holidays are quickly approaching, you might find a lack of brand new, live webinars being published. But that’s okay. It means now is a great time to delve into webinar backlogs. Most companies will keep an easy to access archive of all their webinars, like The Bob Pike Group On Demand Webinar archives. Exploring these archives can help you discover—and improve—new skills over the course of a lunch break!

Attend a Short Workshop

Not every workshop is going to require a week of your time. Some workshops are designed with a narrower scope in mind.

That’s the case with fast-paced Crash Courses from The Bob Pike Group. These three-hour mini-workshops cover topics ranging from Virtual Presentation Skills to Making Zoom Interactive.

These courses have significant advantages for busy trainers:

  • You can receive practical and helpful information quickly and incorporate that information into your training program fast.
  • You’ll have a record of your professional development.
  • By attending short workshops with other peers, you’ll make connections and learn from the experiences of others.

Short workshops won’t cover topics in the kind of depth you’d expect in typical workshops. But they can provide you with highly-focused and practical training that can help you hit the ground running in 2022.

There's Still Time to Boost Your Skills

All of these resources can be used throughout the year, whenever you have the itch (or need) to upskill quickly. Whether you’re trying to upskill at the last minute or just want to find a way to optimize your lunch hour, these fast ways to train can help you level up year-round—or get ready to hit the ground running in 2022! 

Find out more about new upcoming Crash Courses, Better Virtual Meetings and Creating Effective Assessments, both coming in 2022!

 

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