Creative Training Techniques - The Bob Pike Group

Got a deck of playing cards? Good! Then once you listen to this podcast from Becky you'll have all the tools you need to improve participation at your next session.

Becky has one simple test for when to use a webinar, tips for how to use them, and three easy ways for beginners to start.  Are you a webinar vet? Then Becky has some ideas for you too.   Service mentioned in this podcast:  Blackboard www.blackboard.com

Fun is an effective teaching tool. But just because you're having fun, that doesn't mean your learners are. Becky has some insights into what's fun for the latest generation of learners and how you can use fun to reach them.

Did that title make you curious? Motivated to find out what it means? Good! Then you're ready to learn from Becky about environmental motivation. 

Have you ever wanted something and had to persuade somebody? Here are Becky's best tips for matching, mirroring and selling to just about anyone.

You can use your experience as a teacher to win upper management support for your training programs. Becky has six tips that can make you a better persuader.

There are many reasons you need to break up and rearrange your groups of learners.  Becky has a ton of ideas on how you can do that and have fun at the same time. Grab a puzzle, some pens, cards and stickers and listen to her podcast.

Lectures may not be the best teaching technique, but sometime you need to use them. However that doesn't mean your audience has to take it sitting down. They can be standing up…and then sitting down...and then standing up again. Becky says it's all in how you tell the story and use short little activities to drive home a point.

70% of your learners are likely to be extroverted. 30% are likely to be introverts and 46% are likely to be Millennials who like to skim the reading material instead of thinking about it.  So how do you serve all these different learning types at the same time?  Becky says the answer is in the power of two.

There's more than one way to do things, and when you let learners pick the way to do it they'll become engaged.  Becky has some great ideas on how to reinvigorate your training by adding some options to that same old routine you've been using. Bonus: an excuse to eat M&M's! Resource mentioned in this video; www.movies4training.com

What was that? When we ask ourselves that question, we're ready to learn. Becky says you can use curiosity to engineer learning in your classroom.  If you're curious what the Oreo cookie effect is, you're not going to get it from reading this. You'll just have to listen and find out.

People don’t argue with their own data.  So why not use what your audience already knows to make your lesson points and get buy-in to what you’re teaching?  Becky has some tips on how you can get that to happen at your next presentation.

Review time is an important part of learning when you have the learners actually doing the review, not you. But how you set it up makes a big difference. Your job is to review using some of the fun, interactive ways she suggests.

Relaxed brains will learn and recall information better than stressed brains.  Becky says your surroundings, including the smell of where you are, can have a big impact on stress and memory recall.  She has several ideas on what you can do today to reduce stress and bring multiple senses into your learning environment.   Links mentioned in the podcast Brain Rules—John Medina  http://www.brainrules.net Made To Stick—Chip and Dan Heath http://heathbrothers.com/books/made-to-stick/ Dr. Caroline Leaf  http://drleaf.com 

Does tackling a big project make you feel overwhelmed?  Instead of trying to do it all at once, Becky suggests you make those big elephants into bite-sized 10 minute bits. Not only does it work on the things you have to do, but it also works with the things you love to do!

Becky confesses she isn't a planner, she's a crammer.  Some of her best work comes in the moment right before her presentation is due. When’s the most productive time for you to work? Becky has a few simple guidelines that will help you and your audience get the most out of your time.

Got a super important presentation to do and limited time to get it ready? Becky shares her method for pulling it together fast but successfully.

If you want an audience to show up to your next presentation, you need to do it at a time and place that works for them. That sounds simple, but it can be difficult to do unless you use Becky’s scheduling checklist.