Why has e-Learning failed, and what do learning practitioners need to do differently to deliver business value? Click here to read how a reconceptualized perspective offers opportunities to capitalize on the business methodology leaders refer to as “Lean”.
Written by SEWI-ATD Guest Blogger, Matt Meuleners
Several times in my career I have coached young leaders who hope to start their careers as keynote speakers. I ask them to come to me with what they have already written and present it for feedback. 100% of them have started out with the same mistake. They spend too much time on the message.
I understand the desire to pack as much data in as possible, but they are trying to share too much information. Every piece of advice, every best practice, and every great quote that ever inspired them makes it onto the page. None of it sticks in my brain.
Instead, I recommend that they aim for a presentation that is closer to 20% content and 80% story. Think about the best speakers you have ever seen. My bet is that they were master storytellers. Stories engage our brains differently and they make our content “sticky” - improving retention.
Stories are sticky for a few reasons.
1. Listening to a story uses more of your brain. A 2006 study published in the journal NeuroImage demonstrated that not only are language processing area engaged when you hear a story, but so too are any other area in the brain that you would use when experiencing the context of the story. So, when you hear a storyteller describe “eating a rapidly melting chocolate ice cream cone on a hot July day,” your brain also lights up in the areas that manage taste, temperature, and time.
This offers a huge potential impact on learning because we suspect that more active brain areas involved in storing memories leads to better retention and recall of information. Not to mention that a more engaged brain means a more engaged audience member.
2. Stories activate mirror neurons. These amazing little brain cells seem to be the key to empathy with other human beings. They light up when we observe another person experiencing something – and engage a similar experience in our own brain. Uri Hasson, Associate Professor of Psychology at the Princeton Neuroscience Institute, shared this example from a study:
“When the woman spoke English, the volunteers understood her story, and their brains synchronized. When she had activity in her insula, an emotional brain region, the listeners did too. When her frontal cortex lit up, so did theirs. By simply telling a story, the woman could plant ideas, thoughts and emotions into the listeners’ brains.”
The power of this effect comes from the fact that our brains create memory based on what the brain is experiencing, not simply based on what is happening in our environment. In other words, if your mirror neurons are causing you to “feel the wind on your face” the way the storyteller did, your brain is likely creating a memory of that experience almost as if you were there. You can’t get that from a PowerPoint slide.
About the Author
Matthew Meuleners, is well known in the training community for his great presentation skills. He is Executive Partner and Leadership Trainer at FOCUS Training. As a professional facilitator and keynote speaker for over 15 years, Matt has combined his message of integrity in leadership with a youthful energy and sense of humor that allows him to connect with an audience. Having touched the lives of thousands of people, his experience lends him a credibility that gives every presentation impact.
Through the years he has trained hundreds of business and educational leaders to fulfill their crucial roles within their organizations, delivered his keynote message to thousands of people, and developed valuable leadership curriculum.
Matt holds a M.B.A. and Bachelors in Marketing from the University of Wisconsin and currently teaches Training & Development courses for undergraduate and graduate students at Marquette University. He has served in many leadership positions and continues to lead in alumni and guidance roles.
Matt’s vivid enthusiasm and passion for nurturing leadership skills in others and his articulate and humorous style ensure that no audience will walk away unchanged.
Yes, but that’s not as bad as learning leaders might think. Formal learning may be declining, but with the right framework informal learning can be a serious performance booster. Read more in this March 13, 2017 Chief Learning Officer article.
Written by SEWI-ATD Guest Blogger, Alexis Fielek
Anyone who has ever developed and delivered soft skills training has probably considered role-play as a way to engage audiences. After all, people learn by doing, right?
Yet many people hear “role-play” and cringe, roll their eyes, or simply come up with an emergency schedule conflict. Why? Sharlyn Lauby sums it up nicely, but role-play can be intimidating. Not everyone loves to stand up in front of a room full of their peers and risk feeling foolish.
Role-play can also be stale, canned, and boring for anyone not in the hot seat; usually it involves two people acting out a scene in front of an audience, who, if they’re lucky, get a chance to comment on what their peers did wrong after the scene is done. Fun for all, no?
But what’s the alternative? Put an inexperienced caregiver in front of a volatile patient and hope he “learns by doing” without either party getting hurt? Make the new job-seeker flounder through interview after interview, on the chance that she figures it out before making bad first impressions on every employer in town? Throw a newbie trainer in front of a class of busy, impatient professionals and spend time and resources repeating material because the audience wasn’t engaged in the first place?
Clearly, this isn’t the best path.
So, how can we create a safe space for learners to practice key behavioral skills without lasting, real-life consequences?
In the early 1970s, political activist and theatre director, Augusto Boal, was probably not thinking about the challenges of corporate trainers and L & D professionals. Yet the techniques he created to raise awareness of and combat oppression can, in fact, address our challenges too.
Boal’s creation was called The Theatre of the Oppressed; it strove to make audiences see the oppression in their society, identify and analyze its root causes, work as a group to identify solutions, and finally to act to change the situation in the larger world.
I first discovered TO during my undergraduate studies of Theatre Education at Western Michigan University. I was part of a group that used the techniques to help high school students talk about bullying. Today, I use my favorite Theatre of the Oppressed activity, Forum Theatre, to engage whole classrooms in solving real-life problems that are relevant to their jobs and lives.
Forum Theatre is different than role-play in a couple of important ways.
Of course, there are pros and cons, challenges, ways I have seen it go horribly wrong, and some tips I’ve picked up for avoiding that outcome in the future. However, this is a post, not a novel, so I’ll save the details for a future article.
In the meantime, if you’re interested in learning more:
Alexis Fielek, MLIS, CAWC, CC, CL, is Senior Operations Training Specialist, at United Heartland, has 20 years of experience in education and training, and is an SEWI-ATD Member. Alexis has earned her Master's Degree in Information Studies from UW-Milwaukee; Bachelor's degrees in Theater Education, English, and German; is a Certified Authority in Workers’ Compensation; and has recently acquired her Competent Communicator and Competent Leader Toastmaster's designations. Her passion is engaging adult learners by any means necessary, including relying on her Theatre Education background to bring new ways of learning to her audiences.
The ATD Certification Institute (ATD CI) is creating a new certification for talent development professionals who are in the early part of their careers or whose professional roles and aspirations are focused on a few areas of expertise. It may be a destination for some or a stepping stone to the CPLP for others. Click here to register for the March 30, 12 pm CST webcast with ATD's Holly Batts, who will answer all your APTD questions.
"Over the past 50 years, changes in the workplace sector of the economy have taken place driven by science, technology, engineering and math. This evolution of workplace behavior has largely been determined by forces of global competitive innovation, technical development, communication and economy. Interestingly, this powerful and sweeping change was never labeled by a specific collective term. However, now viewed in the light of the educational imperative, it can contribute an important new definition of the term STEM." Read more.
Written by SEWI-ATD Guest Blogger, Craig Bodoh
The turn of the calendar from one year to another often motivates people to set, or ponder setting, a New Year's Resolution. But time and time again people set themselves up for failure if they don't follow a few simple rules.
The opportunity to reflect upon what went well and what didn't in the current year and what one would like to change in the new year can be a great way to make a difference in how one's life changes.
But what's that quote? “If nothing changes but you expect a different result, it's called -----”.
Habits good or bad are a huge part of your daily routine. How you brush your teeth, or put on your clothes are examples of habits that serve you. What is your natural reaction to a stressful situation? Raise one of your five fingers? Say something you might regret? When you are driving along and the railroad crossing gates come down and you are forced to wait, how do you react? These reactions (your habits) can be changed over time.
The R.E.A.L. simple formula to follow for setting New Year's Resolutions:
R = Realistic; Get clear and be specific about the new behavior.
E = Enjoy the process; It takes a minimum of 21 days for a new habit to become a part of your life. And if you stop the new habit during the 21st day of the habit formation period, it is day ONE the next time you begin the new habit. That's right, it takes daily focus and regular practice for the new habit to become part of your life.
A = Action; Regular focus on the new change, supported by affirmations, brings change into reality.
L = Long term goal; Determine the what, the how, and the why you want this new habit or goal to become a part of your life.
Far too many people expect quick results - The “get rich quick schemes,” the infomercials that offer a better body in minutes. The easiest path is what everyone wants to take. When in reality, changes can happen, but not at the speed the marketing department wants you to believe it will take. Constant, regular, focus will make changes happen. Understanding the process of how new habits can be brought into your life makes a huge difference in how things end up.
Instead of the earlier quote, “If nothing changes but you expect a different result, it's called -----,” you now can understand and believe,
“If you make simple positive changes on a regular basis, anything is possible.” ~Bodoh
About Craig Bodoh
Craig has been an active SEWI-ATD member since 1990. He is president and founder of Personal Effectiveness Plus, a personal development coaching practice specializing in time management. As a certified Master Life Coach and trained time management consultant he has helped hundreds of people begin a path to a fuller, richer life. Craig is also an adjunct instructor for Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC), a workshop leader, a public speaker, an author, a figure skating coach, and a music director. He works from his passions, using his skills to do what he loves; making a difference in people's lives through personal development. Contact Craig if he can be of service to you!
Email: timeman@earthlink.net
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/craigbodoh
Website: www.gainingtime.com
Twitter: @gainingtime
If you haven't yet met, worked with, or taken advantage of a learning opportunity with Master trainer Sivasailam Thiagarajan, AKA Thiagi, find a way to do so! He is a prolific writer, blogger, and thought leader in challenging learning processes with creative, serious games. This article from the January 2017 issue of Training Magazine will give you some insight into how he is rewriting the way we learn.
As a bonus from the Thiagi Group GameBlog, try out Envelopes, a flexible structure for an effective follow-up activity to review to content of lecture.
To ensure mindfulness initiatives are having a meaningful impact on the workforce and the organization’s bottom line, measure their effects. Learn more in this essay by Max Dubowy, an executive mindfulness coach and the CEO of Your Success Launch.
Contact Usadmin@sewi-atd.orgPhone: 608-204-9815Association ManagersSeth TrickelHeather L. Dyer, CAE
