The most amazing events that I have ever delivered were the ones when I felt nervous. I was going to do something new, something different, something outside of my comfort zone.
I was excited about the possibility of finding a new, even unique, way of creating a learning zone, whilst still nervous about it all going rather wrong.
For one event, I wanted to teach my students about communication through real experience. Instead of some dry exercises about words, or tone, or pace I wanted them to have a direct experience that impacted on their minds and challenged their perspectives. Before a break, I asked them to clear the room and place their seats in a circle then come back in silence.
Even those instructions changed their mood: they came back curious, attentive, charged up (which is no mean feat at 8pm after a very long day). We started with silence and darkness. And I let that experience be savoured before adding in anything else.
I then added in elements gently, one at a time. They listened to some music. We handed around a torch for them to shine beneath their face as they shared what they had experienced. Gradually we built in new elements - for them to feel first hand the impact of various elements such as light, music, images, video, sounds and language.
I gave them no handout for this session, asking them only to write a reflective piece for their own records. The results were amazing - their reflections showed how inspired they had felt and how it had shown them new and different ways of thinking about their impact on their learners.
I challenged every single element of this event - no plan, no notes, no slides, no light even, nor much discussion at first, as I wanted each of them to feel and be fully involved in their personal experience not that of the others in the group.
If you never feel nervous, never feel that you are taking a risk, never wonder if your new exercise will bomb or boom, then you are probably not being creative enough.
Creativity is a risk - but whatever happens you will gain greatly from taking that risk - in learning, in new skills, in new confidence, in a whole new approach.
So next time you are designing a learning event, don't ignore that amazing idea that you have (that gives you butterflies). Embrace it. Go with it. Leave Your Comfort Zone behind and soar.
Thursday, 30 October 2008
Tuesday, 21 October 2008
The Girl Effect
I have just been watching the most amazing clip on the internet and it moved me deeply.
In less than one minute I had a powerful, emotional experience.
It combined two very powerful aspects of learning:
1) the WIIFM factor
2) the story factor
WIIFM is the 'What is In It For Me?' question that we all have when we are learning.
Why should I learn this new skill or information? How will my life benefit? How will I benefit?
Learning is a process that involves creating new thought processes and getting rid of old ones, so it is vital that your learners know how that effort will be rewarded, for them, personally.
This video clip doesn't tell you WIIFM, it helps you experience it, at an emotional level.
Stories are incredibly powerful ways to help embed learning and create powerful WIIFM elements. By sharing your own experiences (or those of others) you can demonstrate how these skills or information have effected your own life or those of others.
Use great story telling principles, so instead of using a phrase such as "by mastering these skills you could save an hour a day", use a character instead. Your story might then become:
"Sally was feeling overwhelmed juggling all the things she had to do. By using the simple steps you will learn today, she was able to save an hour every day and got to spend that in the park with her young son, having fun and relaxing."
The video I am talking about can be found at www.girleffect.org, so please check it out.
It will give you a first hand experience of the power of a simple story to engage and inspire people.
In less than one minute I had a powerful, emotional experience.
It combined two very powerful aspects of learning:
1) the WIIFM factor
2) the story factor
WIIFM is the 'What is In It For Me?' question that we all have when we are learning.
Why should I learn this new skill or information? How will my life benefit? How will I benefit?
Learning is a process that involves creating new thought processes and getting rid of old ones, so it is vital that your learners know how that effort will be rewarded, for them, personally.
This video clip doesn't tell you WIIFM, it helps you experience it, at an emotional level.
Stories are incredibly powerful ways to help embed learning and create powerful WIIFM elements. By sharing your own experiences (or those of others) you can demonstrate how these skills or information have effected your own life or those of others.
Use great story telling principles, so instead of using a phrase such as "by mastering these skills you could save an hour a day", use a character instead. Your story might then become:
"Sally was feeling overwhelmed juggling all the things she had to do. By using the simple steps you will learn today, she was able to save an hour every day and got to spend that in the park with her young son, having fun and relaxing."
The video I am talking about can be found at www.girleffect.org, so please check it out.
It will give you a first hand experience of the power of a simple story to engage and inspire people.
Thursday, 16 October 2008
Yawnbuster - great idea, wrong solution
Today I read with a mixture of astonishment and horror about a new product that has been launched called Yawnbuster (visit www.yawnbuster.com to find out more)....
This product (costing several hundred dollars) is designed to help create a more interactive learning environment. They have (rightly) recognised that some presentations can bore for [insert country where you live]. But they have (wrongly) decided to design some add-in facilities so that you can use PowerPoint to run quizzes/ polls and so forth.
The principle is sound. People do need to interact with information, share their experiences, discuss and debate approaches to certain situations, and generally get involved.
But is reading more colourful images from a projector really the way to add variety and interaction. The most jaw dropping option is the "Show of Hands". For goodness sake!
When did you need a slideshow add-in to get people to put their hands in the air?
For me, that is time completely wasted on pointless pretty technology, which should be spent thinking about what your learners need.
I despair sometimes that trainers are like technological magpies - looking for the newest, shiniest answer to their problems, instead of looking to themselves for the answer.
Great training does not need any of this stuff.
It doesn't need technology.
It needs passion, enthusiasm.
It needs someone who cares about their topic and wants with all their hearts to pass that onto other people.
It needs consideration for your learners, for where they are, what they know and what they really NEED TO KNOW.
Step away from the computer.
Put the mouse down, slowly, on the floor.
Raise your hands up, tie them behind your back, and now design your training event.
Hands-free.
email me at emma@lightthespark.co.uk for a copy of my free ebook "Beyond PowerPoint".
This product (costing several hundred dollars) is designed to help create a more interactive learning environment. They have (rightly) recognised that some presentations can bore for [insert country where you live]. But they have (wrongly) decided to design some add-in facilities so that you can use PowerPoint to run quizzes/ polls and so forth.
The principle is sound. People do need to interact with information, share their experiences, discuss and debate approaches to certain situations, and generally get involved.
But is reading more colourful images from a projector really the way to add variety and interaction. The most jaw dropping option is the "Show of Hands". For goodness sake!
When did you need a slideshow add-in to get people to put their hands in the air?
For me, that is time completely wasted on pointless pretty technology, which should be spent thinking about what your learners need.
I despair sometimes that trainers are like technological magpies - looking for the newest, shiniest answer to their problems, instead of looking to themselves for the answer.
Great training does not need any of this stuff.
It doesn't need technology.
It needs passion, enthusiasm.
It needs someone who cares about their topic and wants with all their hearts to pass that onto other people.
It needs consideration for your learners, for where they are, what they know and what they really NEED TO KNOW.
Step away from the computer.
Put the mouse down, slowly, on the floor.
Raise your hands up, tie them behind your back, and now design your training event.
Hands-free.
email me at emma@lightthespark.co.uk for a copy of my free ebook "Beyond PowerPoint".
Wednesday, 1 October 2008
Beyond PowerPoint
Today I have been pulling together some tips on Beyond PowerPoint. In mentioning creative training and the need to avoid PowerPoint, one person reacted by saying "I'd be interested to see what she does instead"....
Are we really so wedded to this software that we cannot think of anything else?
Do we really believe that the best way for people to learn is to absorb facts and information through their eyeballs?
So here are my suggestions when it comes to taking your training Beyond PowerPoint:
* firstly aim only to cover NEED TO KNOW information. Think about this in advance and you may find that your event is substantially reduced. The best trainers are ruthless editors.
* next get your learners to tell you what they need to know about the topic. Use a cocktail party style icebreaker where everyone stands up and when they meet someone else, shares one thing they would like to learn from the session. Combining all these at the end on a flipchart gives you a great focus for your session.
* next find out what people already know about your topic. So ask small group of around 3-4 people to brainstorm things that they know (perhaps about specific elements) and to write these on a flipchart. You may be amazed at how much they already know - one person within a group might know quite alot and they will have already taught their colleagues, and by asking each group to summarise their flipchart, they teach the rest of the class. Anything that is inaccurate or wrong, please correct at this point and add key missing items to.
Now you have a clear focus for your event and you haven't even touched your projector.
When it comes to covering the information that bridges the gap between you have a number of alternative options:
* Card Exercises. Here small groups (2-3) are given a set of cards with words or phrases on them. They then have to either put them into some sort of order (first to last, most important to least important) or categorise them (true/ false). Even with little prior knowledge of a topic, people will start thinking, discussing and will do most of this without help. You can then coach them on a few cards they are unsure about. This is a powerful way to interact with information and works for a wide range of topics.
* Case Studies. You provide some scenario or case study for small groups to discuss. If need be, you can also give them some summary information, books or reference material, where they can search for further help. This helps people get to grips with what they already know or don't know and you can provide the information or skills they need to improve dramatically.
* Stories. Find someone who has a powerful, emotive story relating to your topic. If you cannot actually invite them to the session, then video their story. Imagine the power of someone who has your widget keeping them alive in their artificial heart to inspire your technicians to tighter manufacturing tolerances. Imagine the impact from a mother who has lost a child to gang violence.
* Quizzes. By setting simple or complex questions, you can test and evaluate what people know. By providing clear answers, you can teach them a whole range of vital information. Quizzes are very flexible and you can ask questions aloud (preferred as you can alter the questions to suit your learners on the day), and then ask teams to hold up cards with their answer, move to somewhere in the room based on a multiple choice answer (a, b or c for instance) or write their answer down.
Here I have shared just a few techniques to help you go Beyond PowerPoint. I hope you are inspired the next time you are designing some training to step back from the keyboard, and write some cards, or a quiz and a case study, to inspire your learners in new ways.
Are we really so wedded to this software that we cannot think of anything else?
Do we really believe that the best way for people to learn is to absorb facts and information through their eyeballs?
So here are my suggestions when it comes to taking your training Beyond PowerPoint:
* firstly aim only to cover NEED TO KNOW information. Think about this in advance and you may find that your event is substantially reduced. The best trainers are ruthless editors.
* next get your learners to tell you what they need to know about the topic. Use a cocktail party style icebreaker where everyone stands up and when they meet someone else, shares one thing they would like to learn from the session. Combining all these at the end on a flipchart gives you a great focus for your session.
* next find out what people already know about your topic. So ask small group of around 3-4 people to brainstorm things that they know (perhaps about specific elements) and to write these on a flipchart. You may be amazed at how much they already know - one person within a group might know quite alot and they will have already taught their colleagues, and by asking each group to summarise their flipchart, they teach the rest of the class. Anything that is inaccurate or wrong, please correct at this point and add key missing items to.
Now you have a clear focus for your event and you haven't even touched your projector.
When it comes to covering the information that bridges the gap between you have a number of alternative options:
* Card Exercises. Here small groups (2-3) are given a set of cards with words or phrases on them. They then have to either put them into some sort of order (first to last, most important to least important) or categorise them (true/ false). Even with little prior knowledge of a topic, people will start thinking, discussing and will do most of this without help. You can then coach them on a few cards they are unsure about. This is a powerful way to interact with information and works for a wide range of topics.
* Case Studies. You provide some scenario or case study for small groups to discuss. If need be, you can also give them some summary information, books or reference material, where they can search for further help. This helps people get to grips with what they already know or don't know and you can provide the information or skills they need to improve dramatically.
* Stories. Find someone who has a powerful, emotive story relating to your topic. If you cannot actually invite them to the session, then video their story. Imagine the power of someone who has your widget keeping them alive in their artificial heart to inspire your technicians to tighter manufacturing tolerances. Imagine the impact from a mother who has lost a child to gang violence.
* Quizzes. By setting simple or complex questions, you can test and evaluate what people know. By providing clear answers, you can teach them a whole range of vital information. Quizzes are very flexible and you can ask questions aloud (preferred as you can alter the questions to suit your learners on the day), and then ask teams to hold up cards with their answer, move to somewhere in the room based on a multiple choice answer (a, b or c for instance) or write their answer down.
Here I have shared just a few techniques to help you go Beyond PowerPoint. I hope you are inspired the next time you are designing some training to step back from the keyboard, and write some cards, or a quiz and a case study, to inspire your learners in new ways.
Friday, 19 September 2008
Make Your Information Come Alive
When it comes to learning new information or skills, one of the things that any learner benefits from is knowing that people like them have already been there and done that.
Your learners need to connect with your expertise during any learning event. One of the easiest ways of doing this is to use names and personalities to create mini stories that help illustrate how other people (like your learners) have used your expertise in your own life.
In order to protect the innocent, I would recommend having a composite character who you name and talk about.
If your audience tends to be mainly female, then use a girl or woman's name, such as Agnes, or Amelia or Annie.
If your audience tends to be mainly male, then use a boy or man's name, such as Arthur, or Adam or
Alex.
After you have decided on a suitable name, then flesh that character out - with an age, a business, a lifestyle that relates to your ideal learners.
If you tend to talk to retired people about financial planning, then use a 65-75 year old character called Agnes or Ethel who is worried about how she will manage if her arthritis gets any worse.
If you talk to young people about career choices, then use a hip-hop boy called Dizzle who would like to emulate his hero (say 50 cent) and go into the music bizness.
Then use this character throughout your seminar or workshop. You can use them to introduce each new section - at the start the character has a similar problem to the group you are teaching. As you tackle and resolve each issue, then your character moves on and is curious about what comes next. At the end, you can finish the story with what happens next. To make that ending really powerful, if you can then show a photograph of the real Dizzle or real Ethel and give a little more information on how successful their lives have been, that would be fantastic.
There are two main reasons to use a named character:
1) It is far more personable - your learners will feel like they can relate to someone with a name, a background, with the same problems or issues as their own. By showing how that character has benefited, they can see how your topic will transform their own lives.
2) A character can be used to introduce subtle humour into your event. For instance, if your event is around business finances and you wish to illustrate a calculation of your hourly rate, you may introduce a character named Ms P Hilton, who wants to earn one million pounds/ dollars a year, but only wants to work 20 hours a month, 10 months of the year. How much does she need to charge to do so?
So think about your area of expertise.
What sort of character will be most similiar to your ideal learners, those who attend your training events?
What name would they have? How old would they be? Where would they live? What problems might they be facing? What story might they follow from where they are now to where they want to be?
If you have some real case studies, then feel free to borrow from these, whilst protecting the personal information of your clients or customers.
So bring your topic or expertise come to life using real characters, real people, real stories to really connect with the people listening to your information. Capture the journey in a simple story and you have a powerful tool to help people remember and help inspire them to use your information to transform their own lives.
Your learners need to connect with your expertise during any learning event. One of the easiest ways of doing this is to use names and personalities to create mini stories that help illustrate how other people (like your learners) have used your expertise in your own life.
In order to protect the innocent, I would recommend having a composite character who you name and talk about.
If your audience tends to be mainly female, then use a girl or woman's name, such as Agnes, or Amelia or Annie.
If your audience tends to be mainly male, then use a boy or man's name, such as Arthur, or Adam or
Alex.
After you have decided on a suitable name, then flesh that character out - with an age, a business, a lifestyle that relates to your ideal learners.
If you tend to talk to retired people about financial planning, then use a 65-75 year old character called Agnes or Ethel who is worried about how she will manage if her arthritis gets any worse.
If you talk to young people about career choices, then use a hip-hop boy called Dizzle who would like to emulate his hero (say 50 cent) and go into the music bizness.
Then use this character throughout your seminar or workshop. You can use them to introduce each new section - at the start the character has a similar problem to the group you are teaching. As you tackle and resolve each issue, then your character moves on and is curious about what comes next. At the end, you can finish the story with what happens next. To make that ending really powerful, if you can then show a photograph of the real Dizzle or real Ethel and give a little more information on how successful their lives have been, that would be fantastic.
There are two main reasons to use a named character:
1) It is far more personable - your learners will feel like they can relate to someone with a name, a background, with the same problems or issues as their own. By showing how that character has benefited, they can see how your topic will transform their own lives.
2) A character can be used to introduce subtle humour into your event. For instance, if your event is around business finances and you wish to illustrate a calculation of your hourly rate, you may introduce a character named Ms P Hilton, who wants to earn one million pounds/ dollars a year, but only wants to work 20 hours a month, 10 months of the year. How much does she need to charge to do so?
So think about your area of expertise.
What sort of character will be most similiar to your ideal learners, those who attend your training events?
What name would they have? How old would they be? Where would they live? What problems might they be facing? What story might they follow from where they are now to where they want to be?
If you have some real case studies, then feel free to borrow from these, whilst protecting the personal information of your clients or customers.
So bring your topic or expertise come to life using real characters, real people, real stories to really connect with the people listening to your information. Capture the journey in a simple story and you have a powerful tool to help people remember and help inspire them to use your information to transform their own lives.
Tuesday, 16 September 2008
Let's Start at the Very Beginning...
If we are on a mission to design and deliver fantastic and awesome training, then we need to design every step to inspire and engage our learners.
So think about it - what is their very first experience with your learning event, be it a workshop, presentation or seminar?
In many instances, you first chance to inspire your learners is with the invitation you send, or any advertising you do.
So you could just send out a blanket email, giving the time and place of your event.
But is that really creative? Does that really say to them: "This event is going to be different"?
Here are some ideas of ways in which you could make that first impression really stand out:
1) Send out personalised invitations, with handwritten names, by snail mail, that look like an invitation to a wedding or a party. Give your event a sense of occasion or fun.
2) If you have an event for people who work together, why not put up some posters that hint at what is to come, before anyone is even invited. For example for a session on Work/ Life Balance, you could print out posters of different aspects of Work and Life and ask people to choose which are most important to them.
3) Send out a small item that is related to your event - a photograph, a map, or a quotation perhaps. Before an event on creativity, you could send out a large brightly coloured paperclip, with the words "can you think of a thousands uses for this?" on a piece of paper. That will get people thinking and curious about it.
4) Use a quotation or cartoon to associate your event with fun or laughter - why not use Dilbert cartoon strips to get people talking about great leadership or bureaucracy for example?
5) Use a powerful, emotive poster. The "Your Country Needs You" poster would work well in a number of different circumstances. If you are running an event on Health and Safety, you could use a photograph of a spanner falling over the head of someone and point to the person below with the words "She/He needs you".
Think about your next event or workshop.
How could you do something different in the way you both advertise and invite people to your event?
What prop or item could you send them by post that is related to your topic?
What could you ask them to bring to the event, which would get them thinking or curious about what will happen?
So think about it - what is their very first experience with your learning event, be it a workshop, presentation or seminar?
In many instances, you first chance to inspire your learners is with the invitation you send, or any advertising you do.
So you could just send out a blanket email, giving the time and place of your event.
But is that really creative? Does that really say to them: "This event is going to be different"?
Here are some ideas of ways in which you could make that first impression really stand out:
1) Send out personalised invitations, with handwritten names, by snail mail, that look like an invitation to a wedding or a party. Give your event a sense of occasion or fun.
2) If you have an event for people who work together, why not put up some posters that hint at what is to come, before anyone is even invited. For example for a session on Work/ Life Balance, you could print out posters of different aspects of Work and Life and ask people to choose which are most important to them.
3) Send out a small item that is related to your event - a photograph, a map, or a quotation perhaps. Before an event on creativity, you could send out a large brightly coloured paperclip, with the words "can you think of a thousands uses for this?" on a piece of paper. That will get people thinking and curious about it.
4) Use a quotation or cartoon to associate your event with fun or laughter - why not use Dilbert cartoon strips to get people talking about great leadership or bureaucracy for example?
5) Use a powerful, emotive poster. The "Your Country Needs You" poster would work well in a number of different circumstances. If you are running an event on Health and Safety, you could use a photograph of a spanner falling over the head of someone and point to the person below with the words "She/He needs you".
Think about your next event or workshop.
How could you do something different in the way you both advertise and invite people to your event?
What prop or item could you send them by post that is related to your topic?
What could you ask them to bring to the event, which would get them thinking or curious about what will happen?
Wednesday, 3 September 2008
Do Something That Scares You
This week I had the serene pleasure of spending some time in Wales in a cottage with some friends. There were no modern conveniences: no mobile signal, no phone, no tv, no WiFi, no laptop. Just a stream, a swing, a lovely lush garden, stunning scenery, a few sheep and the luxury of complete peace and quiet.
On our last day, I had been paddling in the stream, toying with the idea of having a swim. This was my last chance, yet I was reluctant. I kept telling myself that paddling was fine, was enough.
I went inside to dry off and something inside me snapped back. I couldn't shake off a feeling of disappointment in my gut. I knew that if I didn't do it now, I would miss my chance. Suddenly all my lovely logical reasons for not swimming were just not enough. The scales tipped in favour of going in.
So I dashed up to my room, put on my swimming cossie and dashed out again (before I changed my mind).
My friends were just coming in, having paddled like me, perhaps wanting to swim but not having the courage or needing some encouragement.
As I launched myself down the grassy bank, I shouted "turn around, we are going in"....
I kept up my momentum, throwing down my towel and wading in as fast as the current and pebbles would let me until I just sank down, drenching myself from head to frozen toes.
As I lept into the water, I gave the reason for my madness - a phrase I knew: "they say you should do one thing every day that scares you. This is mine....(yeee hah)!!!"
We let the water flow over our bodies, as our goose bumps rose in miniature peaks over our skin. We splashed and played like children. We all laughed and screamed at the cold. It shook us to our bones. And it was utterly magical - a sensation I can still feel on my skin as I smile in remembrance.
What things are there in your life that you are putting off?
What are you waiting until the right time to do?
What are you going to do when you are (fit, slim, old, rich) enough?
Why are you really not doing it already?
Go on - live a little.
In fact - live a lot.
You can live a life full of reasons and excuses (like nearly everyone else), or you can have a life full of life and stories and magical experiences.
Which would you like?
On our last day, I had been paddling in the stream, toying with the idea of having a swim. This was my last chance, yet I was reluctant. I kept telling myself that paddling was fine, was enough.
I went inside to dry off and something inside me snapped back. I couldn't shake off a feeling of disappointment in my gut. I knew that if I didn't do it now, I would miss my chance. Suddenly all my lovely logical reasons for not swimming were just not enough. The scales tipped in favour of going in.
So I dashed up to my room, put on my swimming cossie and dashed out again (before I changed my mind).
My friends were just coming in, having paddled like me, perhaps wanting to swim but not having the courage or needing some encouragement.
As I launched myself down the grassy bank, I shouted "turn around, we are going in"....
I kept up my momentum, throwing down my towel and wading in as fast as the current and pebbles would let me until I just sank down, drenching myself from head to frozen toes.
As I lept into the water, I gave the reason for my madness - a phrase I knew: "they say you should do one thing every day that scares you. This is mine....(yeee hah)!!!"
We let the water flow over our bodies, as our goose bumps rose in miniature peaks over our skin. We splashed and played like children. We all laughed and screamed at the cold. It shook us to our bones. And it was utterly magical - a sensation I can still feel on my skin as I smile in remembrance.
What things are there in your life that you are putting off?
What are you waiting until the right time to do?
What are you going to do when you are (fit, slim, old, rich) enough?
Why are you really not doing it already?
Go on - live a little.
In fact - live a lot.
You can live a life full of reasons and excuses (like nearly everyone else), or you can have a life full of life and stories and magical experiences.
Which would you like?
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