Training from the BACK of the Room! (TBR)

Sometimes, in the middle of the hectic holiday season, with global newspapers full of fear, I search for (or create) articles or slide presentations that give me hope. Such are the following 3 items in this post – gifts of hope for you and me for this holiday season and 2016.

An “RSA Short” (tagline: “Espresso for the Mind”) is a short (obviously) animated video created by RSAnimate that covers one specific concept. In this video, Sir Kenneth Robinson speaks about the importance of flourishing and how both education and organizations impact this essential human need. His unforgettable ending to this RSA Short makes it well worth the two minutes it takes to view it.

Sometimes the simplest ideas make the most sense. If you have children (or you have friends with children), here are some simple tips to help your children learn. These tips will also help them become happier and more successful both at school and at home.

Here is a simple Thanksgiving slide presentation – with a few unexpected things to be thankful for! Wishing you and your families and friends a Happy Thanksgiving (in the USA) and a Day of Thanks (everywhere else!).

I know trainers who have totally let go of PowerPoint in face-to-face instruction – they don’t use ANY slides at all! They have recreated their content delivery strategies so that the focus is entirely on the learner and not on a slide screen. How? Read on to find out …

I can’t help it: I find these great articles on how the human brain learns – information that hasn’t been easily available until fairly recently – and I just have to post them here so that you can feel as excited as I have about these “brain-based learning” discoveries!

In the last class I facilitated, “Training from the BACK of the Room,” the participants talked about scattering “corn-seeds” throughout their training worlds – taking the content they learned and teaching it to others (think: mustard seed parable).

Maybe you’ve never heard of the global, 2-day train-the-trainer program titled “Training from the BACK of the Room!” (from the book by the same name). Or perhaps you’ve considered attending the class but you’re not sure if it applies to what you do as a trainer, teacher, or classroom instructor.

You’ve just been told: “The adult learners you’re going to be instructing are a tough group – very serious-minded and not at all willing to participate in activities. They just want the information given to them via a lecture, without any fluff.” What do you do?

My job – as an author, adult instructor, and small business owner –  requires that I sit for long hours in front of a computer doing the behind-the-scenes stuff that forms the foundation of my books, training programs, and business. I hurt – I mean REALLY hurt – at the end of a computer workday.

While school bells are ringing for kids in countries around the world this month, a record number of adults are taking to classrooms (both in real time and online) as well – to learn new skills, improve work performance, or expand their own knowledge.

Her name is Sue Anne Dunlevie, and she is a prolific writer and blogger who gives away tons of practical, useful content FOR FREE! Her blog is not only about how to create a successful blog, but about how to create inspiring content, period!

The questions usually appear at the end of a train-the-trainer program that I’ve facilitated: “How can I do what you do? How do I begin creating my own (speaking, training, consulting) business? How do I become an independent, professional trainer or speaker?” Here are a few suggestions “from the field.”

You’ve just completed a train-the-trainer day with lots of great information to use and new instructional strategies to experiment with. So how do you keep from falling back into traditional, lecture-based methods of instruction?

There is a simple but profoundly important question to ask yourself whenever you teach, train, or present information to others: “Who’s doing the most talking, moving, or writing?” If the answer is YOU, then YOU are doing the most learning!

Once in awhile I come across something so inspirational and life-changing that I just have to share it with everyone. This short, powerful video is one of those things. 

Maybe creating a better website is not your goal. Maybe you just want to know more about the brain and what it pays attention to, whether looking at a website, a slide presentation, a handout, or any visual display of information.

Sometimes it’s the most obvious thing that you might need a gentle reminder about, especially when the pace of your workday feels frenetic and leaves you exhausted at the day’s end. So when I came across this informative slide presentation, I thought you might find it interesting and helpful. Grab one or two ideas and try them out – and enjoy!

While this short slide presentation speaks to parents with school-age children, I found the 5 tips to be great for adults, as well. When we, as adults, find ways to beat summer “brain drain,” we also energize and refresh our own thinking and learning skills. Happy summer all!

Ever heard of “RSA Shorts?” How about “Espresso for the Mind?” One of the first “fast-draw” companies, RSAnimate, makes these delightful, short, fast-paced presentations that brilliantly capture one question or concept in an entertaining and visually interesting way.

One of the stress-inducing issues I have with instructing others in large, face-to-face groups, is remembering names. And, from the conversations I’ve had with many other trainers, teachers, and instructors, it seems I’m not alone – many of us have a hard time remembering names. What to do?

What is is about travel (especially to countries other than our own) that makes the human brain sit up and pay attention? What happens inside the brain to make it change itself, rewiring neurons and making new synaptic connections?

Knowing the Lower Order Thinking Skills (LOTS) and Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) is all well and good, but what do you DO with that information when you’re instructing others? Let’s find out.

Bloom’s Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain (a fancy term for six critical thinking skills) has been around for a very long time and is still taught as part of educational pedagogy in most colleges and universities across the USA. Although many educators and trainers are familiar with Bloom’s, the percentage of them that deliberately design courses and programs using Bloom’s is probably quite small. Why?

Once in awhile, you come across a slide presentation that says, in a couple of simple icons, what most folks take hundreds of words  – or years – to say. The ongoing debate about “heart versus head” or “emotion versus logic” in education and training today is captured in this simple slide presentation:

Extroverts LOVE interacting with dozens of people during a class or training. They relish the exchange of information and energy. However, even the most passionate trainer who happens to be an introvert often feels overwhelmed just THINKING about the upcoming interactions. I know because I’m an introvert at heart.

Just about the time I thought I had written enough about the power of images in helping the human brain to learn more and to remember information longer, I came across this fabulous slide presentation that truly proves a picture is worth a thousand words:

We all have “gremlins” – bad habits that keep us company, even when we’re determined to transform them into more benign companions. One of mine is procrastination, that time-stealer that can make or break both business deals and personal relationships. Here’s a short-but-great video on how to manage this gremlin.

You’ve just attended a great train-the-trainer class and the excitement there has been replaced by the busyness of your daily life. Here are 5 ways to hold onto what you learned:

Take a moment right now to roll your neck, stretch your arms above your head, lean back in your chair, and take a few deep breaths. I’ll pause writing and do this quick Body Break with you … There now, you probably feel a bit more alert, and perhaps curious, as well.

Got too much content to teach in too little time? Can’t stop for lengthy learning games because the important information you have to present takes up all the training time? No problem! Read on … 

Brain scientists call them “priming” – getting the human brain ready to learn.  I call them “Warm-Ups” – short, quick, optional activities that will introduce you to some of the concepts from the March 20th Super Session in Sacramento, California. Here are five “Warm-Ups,” the first being the most important one to do:

You walk into the training room and immediately realize that this exciting train-the-trainer event will be dramatically different from other training programs you have attended. What are the clues that lead you to this conclusion? 

In keeping my promise to the Training 2015 Conference and Expo Certificate Program participants that I would post some of the brain research about how digital technology is affecting the human brain, I have collected an assortment of informative and provocative articles.