We’ve all been there. There’s a problem with our computer/device/appliance/thingy and we’re left with no choice but to call the dreaded tech support. A maze of menus (“listen closely as our options have changed”), seemingly endless hold times, and –…
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Masterful Virtual Trainer Case 2: From Dull to Dynamic
How do you gauge the success of your virtual training? Is good feedback more than enough? Apparently, not. While getting ideas and reactions from learners, good feedback alone is not enough to assume that your session was delivered. Learners need…
Masterful Virtual Trainer Case 1: Delay Dismay!
Have you ever wondered how others are feeling when you do your virtual sessions? Even in training, understanding others is crucial to making your sessions work. Empathy is a key part of emotional intelligence that will help you gauge the…
Just What Are You Driving At – Tip #282
I have a confession. I’m not a fan of auto racing. NASCAR, sprint car, Indy car, Formula-1… you can have it all. Even if you took me out to a live race, and sat me down in a prime spot…
Digital Disruption – Tip #281
October 23rd, 2001. A day that will live in infamy. The day the music…lived. Up until that point, people listened to their favorite tunes on physical media – CDs, cassettes, 8-tracks, and records. And while this date likely didn’t mark…
Maneuvering in These Crazy Times (And We’re Not Talking COVID) – Tip #280
By now, we’re probably familiar with the term The Great Resignation, whereby employees seem to be leaving the workforce at unprecedented rates (though it can be argued this trend can be traced back as far as 2009), impacting everyone from…
Prepping for Turnaround – Tip #279
Turnaround can mean many things to many people. For some, they hear the first two lyrics of Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse Of The Heart. Others may think of a dance move while still others may consider it to be the…
Case Study 2: How to Manage a Customer Service Rep with Poor Customer Service Skills
Customer service can often become stressful and anxiety-inducing. But no matter how hard this task can be, customer service reps need to have focus and self-control — even when their customers don’t. The Challenge: How to teach Managers to use…
Critical Thinking for Better Judgment and Decision-Making
The last few weeks have been pretty risky for me, work-wise. Not “lose your job” risky but still… To put it another way, I’m stepping up to the plate and taking a huge swing. Either the ball is going out…
Critical Thinking Case 1: How to Get Managers to Use Critical Thinking
The Challenge: How to teach Managers to use critical thinking to solve a real-life issue such as, how to handle an incompetent employee. The Fix and Key Insights: 1. Tell a Story that Captures Their Attention To capture the…
What Managers Don’t Know… Can Help Them! – Tip # 276
Employees are doing something all managers and L&D leaders never know about, but should. Individual employees are constantly figuring out how to solve problems or work better, faster, and smarter. Often they are meeting challenges that other employees just ignore,…
How I Learned To Train Senior People Who Think “Training” Is Just for Lower-Level Employees! – Tip #275
An American Fortune 50 company was unexpectedly running into competitive challenges in countries around the world where they’d dominated the markets. Although their offerings were limited, the local competitors were positioning themselves as understanding local needs. When the company’s CEO…
How to Write Very, Very, Very Short Stories for Your eLearning – Workshop Tip #256
To start this off, you don’t need long storytelling in eLearning. They are a waste of time and even if you try hard to perfect them, the results will be of low quality. That’s quite an unkind indictment of stories.…
The Learning Sparks – Adding Reflections To Your Learning Programs – Workshop Tip #254
Whenever I design and deliver learning programs for webinars, eLearning, or workflow learning, I always get curious and excited to witness the sparks of learning. I eagerly anticipate the moment when learners can finally connect the dots and leap up…
Are We Training Too Fast That We Don’t Allow Learners to Reflect? Workshop Tip – #241
During a regular training session, the trainer asked the participants in the workshop, “Do you have any questions?” The participants answered, “None for now, but I am sure I will have questions when I get back to work.” This is…