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10 Habits of Highly Successful Business Owners
#1 Highly successful business owners clean out the clutter regularly. #2 Highly successful business owners use a diary (paper or electronic) and write a list of “things to do” each day. #3 Highly successful business owners are great...
9 Ways to Gain Expert Recognition
No matter what business you are in it always helps to be seen as
an expert. If you were calling someone to fix a drain or sell
your house you would approach the person you saw as most
credible and reputable in that area of expertise.
To...
Due Diligence 101 Or What You Do Not Know Can Kill You!
Introduction:
This article is written as a general discussion on the subject of “Due Diligence”. It is for informational purposes and not intended to be a definitive guideline for your exact situation. You should consult the appropriate...
Gift Shopping Tips For Tight Budget
Have you seen the prices of greeting cards lately? It is hideous! Once you purchase the card and gift-wrap, your overall cost can easily increase by $10 to $15. If you are on a tight budget, this can be difficult as you spend more on the fluff and...
If Boeing, Oracle, EDS And Other High Profile Companies Have Drawn Great Benefits from Mind Mapping, What's Stopping You?
Mind Mapping, if you are not aware, primarily uses non-linear
methods and leans heavily on association and links. These very
features of Mind Mapping lend the technique a great deal of
power and simplicity, and the resourcefulness of the...
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When Leaders Train: How to Avoid the Pitfalls
When Leaders Train: How To Avoid The Pitfalls
Almost all leaders are called on to transmit information to
groups. To save costs and to build the organization's internal
capacity, more and more organizations are requiring their
internal subject matter experts to train others. I empathize
with the attorneys, police, computer and financial professionals
whose design and training skills I've helped develop over the
years. Suddenly, these content experts are prone to wail, "I
didn't go to college (and through the school of hard knocks -)
to be a teacher, too!"
"Acquitting Oneself" vs. Facilitating Learning A dictionary
definitions of "to acquit" is "to release from duty or
obligation -" i.e., to get off the hook, to "cover the
material." This style of teaching ensures that students are more
likely to remember the lecture's deadening effect, not its
topic. In fact, "Thiagi" Thiagarajan, the internationally
recognized guru of instructional design, says that in 20
minutes, participants forget 50% of a lecture to which they've
listened passively. Yet lecturers often feel that if they've
"covered the material," they're off the hook.
Yet most of us can also recall a compelling, interactive
learning experience that captures us on such a deep level that
we remember it for years afterwards. Below, I've gathered some
"fail-safe" tips to help leaders design and present truly
effective training sessions.
Tips to Ensure a Great Learning Experience
1. "Hook" your students. In the first five minutes of class,
you must:
-Excite: demonstrate your commitment to, and excitement about,
your subject. Your participants will reflect whatever energy you
put out.
-Involve: Ask a relevant question to get participants' hands
up, deliver a quickie true-false quiz, or ask participants about
a
critical incident from their own lives.
-Inform: State the learning outcomes: tell the participants
what specific things they'll be able to do by the end of the
session.
(...and only after doing these three things, introduce yourself
and establish your credibility!)
2. Make it active.
Design activities that allow participants to bridge new
knowledge with their past experiences. Activities can include
small-group work using case studies, skill practice, or other
problem-solving exercises. Make sure that the activities help to
achieve your stated outcomes.
3. Design a conscious closure.
Always design at least five minutes at the end to test
participants' abilities to DO what you promised they'd be able
to do. In many cases, all this takes is your asking the class to
list, describe or demonstrate what you've taught.
Forget about "acquitting yourself" and focus on what your
participants need to know. When managers find their topics
compelling and are willing to go beyond "just covering the
material," they can change a potentially boring class into a
memorable and compelling learning experience.
Guila Muir pumps up your presentation skills! Helping people to
present dynamically since 1989, Guila provides tools, tips, and
techniques to master any speaking situation. Sign up for her
free e-newsletter, full of strategies to improve your
presentation skills, at
Send your questions about turning leaders into educators to
connect@guilamuir.com
About the author:
Guila Muir pumps up your training skills! Helping people to
train dynamically since 1989, Guila provides tools, tips, and
techniques to boost your training skills. Sign up for her free
e-newsletter, full of active training strategies, at
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