Each New Year we are always excited about starting anew. Perhaps we resolve to eat healthier, spend more quality time with loved ones, or stop procrastinating; however, as time marches on, it’s likely that temptation gets in the way, other things take priority, or we simply don’t accomplish certain tasks. We eat that extra slice of pizza. We opt out of family movie night in order to finish a work-related project. Or, we simply just don’t get around to cleaning out the garage. In other words, we relapse. Just as relapse can happen with breaking a new year’s resolution, it can also happen with regard to learning. It’s probable your participants will learn valuable skill and knowledge during a training course; however, shortly after the course, they can relapse. They may revert back to old habits, allow themselves to be influenced by negative factors, or simply not use the skill and knowledge they were taught in training. The potential for relapse is real and must be addressed. We can hope it doesn’t occur, but I feel it’s best to be candid about the fact that relapse can, and does, happen. My recommendation is to have a brief discussion about relapse prevention strategies toward the end of each course. By discussing relapse, and more importantly, its prevention, we’re encouraging our learners to develop their very own relapse prevention plan. I suggest addressing three factors during this relapse prevention discussion. Identify environmental barriers/obstacles Part of relapse prevention planning requires your learners to think critically about their work environment. You might encourage them to ponder these questions:  "Will I return to a work environment where I’ll be supported by my manager and colleagues?"  "Once back at the job, will I have ample opportunity to practice and refine what I learned in training?"  "Will I face distractions that will prevent me from using my newly acquired skill and knowledge?" Thinking about these questions prepares your learners to better navigate the work-related barriers and obstacles when they eventually present themselves back at the job. Recognize signs of relapse Another part of relapse prevention planning is getting your learners to recognize when they’ve actually relapsed. Perhaps they could brainstorm a list of possible warning signs to be aware of. Some warning signs of relapse might include: Not accomplishing action plan items Never referring to job aids or other training take-a-ways Forgetting major portions of the course content Reverting to the "old" or former way of doing tasks Once your learners know the warning signs of relapse, they must proactively do something about it. Determine strategies to overcome barriers/obstacles Lastly, the most important part of relapse prevention planning involves determining how to overcome or work around possible barriers and obstacles. It’s highly likely that your learners will face various issues, but what are they going to do to work around them? You might encourage them to consider the resources and individuals that are available to assist them. Hopefully, the learners will return to a working environment that is equipped with useful tools and self-help resources, a knowledgeable management team, and supportive colleagues that are ready to assist when needed; however, if those factors are lacking, it’s important to let the learners know that the training staff is always available. As a training staff, our responsibility doesn’t necessarily end when the course ends. We should be available to assist with determining ways to combat learner relapse, among many other ongoing developmental opportunities. If the learners know what resources and support are available, they’re more likely to utilize them if they begin to fall into the "relapse trap." Relapse. From my experience, it’s not a matter of will it occur, but realistically, when will it occur. If we encourage learners to be proactive by creating a relapse prevention plan, it’s possible that relapse won’t be such a challenging issue.  They’ll be prepared to face their relapse barriers and obstacles head-on and get back to the business of implementing their newly acquired knowledge and skill. What other tips do you have for preventing learner relapse? Jeff

Building climate and rapport with our participants is an important skill as an instructor. Courses are often designed to be instructor-focused and not learner-focused. This means that the emphasis is primarily on the instructor delivering the content without much thought given to climate and rapport-building. Studies have shown that learners retain more when they are having an enjoyable experience in the classroom through some positive connection with the instructor and other learners. The following are formal and informal ways to build climate and rapport during the course. Greet participants with a smile. Arrive early and have everything prepared so you can be mentally and physically prepared to welcome learners. Learn their names early on. There is so much power in a name. All of us feel acknowledged when our names are used and remembered. Strike up conversation with your learners early on to make that connection. Use name tents to reinforce retention. Serve refreshments. Food has always been a great connector so be sure to have light snacks and beverages on hand for your learners. Play music. Having some nice music playing softly in the background creates an atmosphere that is warm and inviting. I’ve had some wonderful conversations with learners early on that often relate to the music that is being played. Use Brainteasers. Beginning the class with a brainteaser allows the learners to interact with their table mates early on. Continue to use them throughout the day (i.e. after breaks and after lunch) and make sure they’re short and simple. Use Icebreakers. Engage the learners with icebreakers that highlight shared experiences. This also deepens the comfort level in the class. Again, use them throughout the course and keep them short and simple. Ask more and tell less. It is important when working with adult learners to allow opportunities for them to share their experiences and ideas as often as possible. This fosters a feeling that their voice matters and is valued. Implementing the tips described above has never failed me during my career as an instructor. I’ve had trainers share that once they have introduced themselves, they dive right into the content without any climate-setting being done. Often times it is due to tight time constraints; however in the same breath, they complain that the courses delivered this way are often unsuccessful and that they are constantly dealing with difficult participants/situations. By using the tips above, I have experienced "prisoners" transitioning into explorers because they discovered something that they have in common with the instructor and/ or the participants. I’ve also found that I save time up front so that I’m not spending time modifying poor behaviors. It’s so rewarding to witness a class that may start off cold eventually feel like family. I wish you all happy climate-setting using these seven tips. What other techniques have you used in the classroom to build climate and rapport? Linda

Have you ever purchased a product that said, "Some assembly required" only to find that it should have said, "Some instructions included"? All too often we, as consumers, are given poorly constructed job aids because the creator of the job aid forgot one important detail—the audience. To set your trainees up for success, I’d like to offer five tips on creating user-friendly job aids. Use simple language. This technique involves using clear wording so the reader doesn’t struggle with meaning. Instead of using lots of technical terms or industry jargon, keep your descriptions short and to the point. Employ action steps. Limit each step to only one action. That will keep the process very clear in the mind of the reader. Consider numbering your steps for even greater clarity. The only time multiple actions should be taken in the same step is when two things need to happen at the same time. Include pictures. Having a verbal description and a matching picture will help to make each action even clearer. The picture can be an actual picture or a realistic illustration. While black and white is more cost effective, consider using color to really clarify objects and actions. Speaking of actions, it’s also a good idea to use arrows, highlights, or close-ups to "illustrate" your point. Provide contact information. While the intent of a job aid is to provide stand-alone assistance in performing a task, there will be times when further assistance is required. To allow for such assistance, include a contact phone number or email address. I’ve even seen some job aids that list a web site where the user can watch videos that show how to perform the specific task they are working on. Limit it to one sheet. Each job aid should fit on one sheet of paper. It may be front and back, but it’s still one sheet. If there are so many details that the job aid would be multiple sheets, consider multiple job aids. The one exception to this is in the case of a detailed checklist. I know of many industries where some of the basic checklists are three or four pages. In these cases, segmenting specific parts of the checklist to specific pages is a solid technique. When creating a job aid, remember to focus on who will use it. As a result, your participants will enjoy training packaged with "useful job aids included". What are your tips for creating user-friendly job aids? Jim

I cannot stand poor customer service. How about you? You don’t have to think very long to come up with examples of poor customer service from your everyday life. For example, I had a doctor’s appointment about four months ago and I received a bill for a charge that was incorrect. So I called my health plan and requested some assistance. After five telephone calls to both my health plan and my doctor’s office, and four months of waiting, I finally received a resolution. Everyone involved made mistakes and no one kept me in the loop. Needless to say I have less respect for the people who were involved in this situation. In the future, I will deal with both parties with skepticism. As professional instructors, we can put our credibility in danger like this as well. We need to be aware of our reputation with our learners and enhance it whenever possible both inside and outside of the classroom. Why you ask? Well, in short, if our learners do not trust us, they will not be open to learning from us. So, what can we do to boost our credibility? There’s certainly more ways than five but here are some of my favorites techniques for boosting credibility: 1.    If you put someone’s question on a "parking lot" during class and promise to get back to them, do it as quickly as possible and be sure the information you give them is accurate. 2.    If you need to communicate to a learner that their tardiness to class is problematic, do it in such a way that you maintain their self-esteem while still addressing the behavior.  Do not embarrass them in front of their peers. 3.    If you have the time, let learners know that you can spend time with them before or after class if they need extra help. 4.    If you are teaching a new group of learners who do not know you very well, greet them at the door with a smile and a handshake to make them feel welcome. 5.    If someone gives an incorrect answer to a question, instead of saying, "You’re wrong!" say something like, "That’s an interesting response; can you explain why you think that?" If you apply these five tips regularly when you train, you will boost your credibility. Remember, credibility must be earned and then maintained both inside and outside of the classroom. Oh, and don’t forget to keep your reputation in mind at all company parties! What do you do to enhance your credibility with your employees? Lynne

In a recent blog post, I explained that there are training lessons to be gleaned from playing solitaire on our computers. In the last blog, I pointed out that: Learning can and should be fun. You can "undo" something that didn’t go according to plan by altering your approach the next time you train. Overcoming the learning curve makes training easier. Here are three more lessons trainers can take away from this beloved game: You don’t have to take the cards you’re dealt. In solitaire, you can always reshuffle the cards (F2). You can’t request a new draw of learners in your classroom, but you do have other choices. If you anticipate a resistant learner group, you can structure an icebreaker that may manage that resistance. One of the icebreakers I like to use asks the participants, in their table groups, to list all the reasons why they shouldn’t be there in training. Once done, I ask them which items on their list they can directly control. I then offer to make the best of the training time by dealing with what they can control—a good learning opportunity. While you can’t request a new draw of learners in your class, you can actually reshuffle the learner deck; do this by simply orchestrating a table change to adjust the dynamics in the classroom. Put the strong personalities together; break up the cliques; separate the side-bar talkers. In short, reshuffle the deck. A good start makes for a winning game. In solitaire, the first ten cards showing hint how the game will go. If you can see that you’ve got some good moves from the cards showing, you’ve got a good chance of winning. In the training room, building in activities to ensure a good start makes you, and the learners, more comfortable with the day. If the first thirty minutes go well, the day may continue well. Doing things during those first 30 minutes, like greeting the learners as they arrive, using a brainteaser, conducting an active icebreaker and introductions, delivering an instructor credibility statement, covering housekeeping, presenting a course overview, and surveying learners for interests and priorities, is a great way to start. Statistics count. In solitaire you don’t win every game. One thing playing the game on a computer does for you is that it will give you game statistics including percentage of games won. Even the best trainers don’t "win" every time they walk into the classroom. Resistant learners, unfamiliar content, or an "off" day will result in a class that doesn’t go as well as we would like. Recognizing that most supervisors and organizations look at trends versus the isolated results of one class gives even a perfection-oriented trainer some breathing room. What do your numbers look like in the long haul? Your results over time tell the story. Statistics count. In our world, learning opportunities abound—even in a game of cards. What have been the sources of some of your most unlikely places to glean lessons learned in an effort to improve your own instructional techniques? I look forward to your comments! Paul

The CEO of Comcast states it so well: "With an overwhelming amount of content choices, we need to make them personalized, make them easy to interact with, make them simple, make them fun, and make them beautiful and easy." So, why are we constantly being romanced by all the bells and whistles of technology when, as designers, we know this does not always lead to learning? In an effort to remind us all how to get back to basics, here are ten instructional design tips for keeping your web courses simple, yet effective. Content Tips Remember that the goal of effective training is improved performance. Good content flows from the simple to the more complex, and follows the process of the job. Write sentences that are short and powerful by deleting unnecessary big words. Use bullet points where appropriate; concise key points can be very effective. Create real-life situations and scenarios that your learners can relate to; avoid creating complex and outrageous situations that might decrease your credibility. Create content that is clear, concise, and engaging. Visual/Audio Tips Use lots of white space. Use simple graphics, pictures, and shapes (even if "A picture is worth a thousand words"). Avoid using more than two different colors or font types.  The same concepts apply towards audio as well - keep it simple! Be cautious of the rate of speech, and avoid using jargon and slang. When creating e-learning, it is easy to get caught up in all the "awesome" things the tools can do. Whenever I encounter instructional designers who are faced with deciding whether to use these bells and whistles, I always ask them, "Will it help your learners perform better on the job?" Learners’ intrigue with all the bells and whistles lasts only seconds before boredom sets in so if you’re going to use these options, make sure they will reinforce learning and ultimately, impact performance back on the job. In a rapidly shrinking world, we need to design courses that will be easily understood by a world-wide audience. Whenever you get tempted to "romance" the technology too much, stop and ask yourself, "Who are you trying to impress, and who is going to benefit?" I think you’ll soon realize, keeping things simple is best! What are your tips for simplifying online learning? Ron

Well, here we go again. Soccer pre-season has arrived. For those of you who have read my previous blogs you know that I coach a semi-pro soccer team in Ontario, Canada. I am often amazed at how transferable my corporate training, facilitation, and presentation skills are to my soccer coaching—everything from giving a demonstration to conducting practice sessions and giving feedback. This season we have some new players and lots of brand new equipment. We also seem to have a fresh, positive attitude as the competitive season gears up. As a coach, I have also been looking to freshen up my approach. I’ve looked at many coaching websites and found new warm-up activities, drills, and strategies that I intend to use this season. For as much as sports coaches need to continually find new ways to keep things fresh, so do corporate trainers. The first, and most obvious, place to look is at your course content. Even if your content is up-to-date or you are not able to change it, there are many other aspects of your courses that can benefit from a little freshening up. Here are 10 simple ideas to keep your training fresh: Change the music you play on breaks. Get new table toys. Hang motivational prints in the training room. Use new brainteasers. Use new icebreakers. Find new ways of calling breaks. Use new creative review techniques. Use creative lecture variations. Find relevant, non-offensive cartoons to support teaching points. Keep your attitude and outlook on training positive and passionate. By implementing some of these ideas you will make your training fresher not only for your learners but also for you. Keep in mind, a few simple changes can make a big difference. What are you doing to keep your training fresh? Steve

Role Play. Ever notice how those two words can send a chill through an entire training room? "Yuck!" "Do we have to?" "This is silly." "I’ve done this before…why do I need to do this again?" Learners more often than not shy away from participating in role play activities and, to be honest, I would, too, based on some of the role plays I endured years ago when I was in the corporate world. But the truth is, role plays are an extremely powerful tool in your bag of instructional techniques—so long as they’re properly designed. With that in mind, I’d like to share four tricks that can help you design role plays that everyone will like! One of the most common reasons adult learners don’t like role playing is because too often the exercise is set up so that the two or three learners playing the scenario are the only people engaged in the role play; everyone else is in the audience. Adult learners don’t like audiences, as it is still true that many people are quite uncomfortable speaking or acting in front of a crowd. The way to avoid this is to design the role play activity so that triads (or small groups) are formed where everyone has a role to play and nobody really gets an audience. When everyone is engaged in the activity, there are less distractions and the group is easier to manage. Another common complaint that training facilitators often face is that one or two learners feel that they are simply "too grown up" to role play, or they feel the activity just isn’t "their style." While we never want to force anyone to participate in any given activity, everyone must be engaged in the application part of the session, as it is a key element of learning. Anyone who is reluctant to role play can float around from triad to triad as a process observer with a performance checklist, annotating the various applications of the behaviors previously modeled by the instructor. While these individuals walk around and make notes of their observations, they are also learning without being pushed into a learning pattern that may conflict with their style. They can later get involved in providing feedback, after the activity. One of the biggest culprits for role playing’s bad reputation is the "script format." When learners are handed a script to read, the participation often turns from realistic to comedic. The entire idea of the role play method is to present the learner with a realistic situation that provides the opportunity to practice how to incorporate desired best practices from the workplace into their own style of communication. But how do we accomplish this? Each role play character should be given an information sheet designed to be read only by the learner playing that part. Each player, therefore, receives information about their character’s position, perspective, preferences, previous history with the company and with other characters, values they are driven by, etc. This information allows the learner to be realistic in his/her portrayal of the character. But if you want to know what most Langevin clients tell me is their number one trick to having great role plays, I’ll tell you—it’s this: DON’T call it a role play. Yep. Name it something else: skill practice, skill assessment, real-life scenario—call it whatever you want…but don’t call it a role play! I know, it may sound silly, but if people have been programmed to have an adverse reaction to the words "role play," just call it something else. I’d like to hear some of the ways in which you design your role plays in order to make them a more attractive application method for your learners. Share with our readers what spins and twists you’ve come up with to spice up learner enthusiasm and participation during role plays. I look forward to hearing from you. José

As a training professional, you may encounter situations in your career where you find that you have lots of responsibility, but little to no authority or power. I found myself in that situation when I was a project manager on various instructional design projects. In most cases, my fellow team members were not my direct reports. I was not the boss of my instructional designer, subject-matter expert, or IT colleagues. Even as a Langevin course leader, there are times when my power is limited. My workshop participants don’t report directly to me; I’m not their actual supervisor or manager. This situation is especially evident when I’m hired as visiting instructor who’s been outsourced to facilitate a course at a client site. So, this brings me to the question:  How do you get others to do what you need and want, when in actuality you have no real authority or power? The answer might lie in the concept of influence. I recently read a book titled The Agile Manager’s Guide to Influencing People. John R. Hook, the book’s author, gives some sound advice on using influence as a tactic to move others toward your point of view, thus accomplishing your goals. Mr. Hook, a former instructor at the US Military Academy and Johns Hopkins University, maps out a very methodical process of applying influence to get what you want in various business situations. Although I won’t attempt to summarize the entire book, I will focus on the author’s insight as it relates to understanding and using influence styles. Hook focuses on three influence styles: logic, common vision, and mutual participation. Understanding these styles may help you find specific, persuasive arguments that work best on the person or people you’re trying to influence. I will address each of these influence styles separately in a three-part blog post. This first installment will focus on logic. This influence style relies heavily on offering factual data and concrete evidence. The logic style requires the influencer to do his/her homework by researching and presenting information in a concise and logical manner. Facts and statistics must be included in each argument, and counter-arguments may have to be used as rebuttal. I find this style works best when interacting with individuals who have an analytical personality type. Although a bit stereotypical, analytical people are often described as precise, systematic, and structured. From my experience, a person who possesses these characteristics will usually connect best with the logical style and approach. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I once used the logic style when interacting with a subject-matter expert from the accounting department at a former job. I was required to partner with a gentleman to gather financial information for a course I was designing. As the project progressed, his schedule became very hectic, resulting in his cancelling or rescheduling meetings and conference calls. When we did eventually connect, he was often hesitant about divulging much needed information regarding his department and their processes. At the rate things were going, I knew it would be difficult to get necessary information from him unless I adjusted my interactions with him. I assessed the situation and analyzed his personality type. I realized that he was a busy individual who was extremely numbers-driven and results-oriented. I determined that a logical approach was the best way to influence him to provide me with quality information. I achieved greater success when I gave him solid, chronological deadlines with ample advanced notice. He seemed to respond better to concise communication which focused heavily on the "dollars and cents" of the project. Lastly, I made a conscience effort to show him how his contributions were significant in moving the project toward completion. Using logic proved to be successful for me in this particular influence attempt. How have you used logic to successfully influence someone without having any authority or power over that person? I’d love to hear your success stories! Keep an eye out for part 2 of this blog series in which I’ll discuss the second influence style: common vision. Jeff

Remember when you were a kid and your mother wanted you to do something that you didn’t want to do? How did she respond when you asked her why you had to do it? She probably answered, "Because I said so, that’s why!" Well, that approach may have worked well for mom but it doesn’t work for trainers and training managers in the business world. Business people don’t give us want we want simply because we ask them for it, even if they do have the knowledge and expertise we require. So, what are we to do? We can improve our ability to influence others by applying a specific process and practicing our skills! In our workshop, How to Influence People and Events we teach you the process of how to influence others as well as many other useful topics. This workshop is great for people in all professions including trainers, as we all must use influencing skills every day to help us get things done at both at work and at home. Since I am a trainer and this is a training tips blog, I will focus on the benefits of improving our influencing skills in the world of training. I have come up with five benefits, but there are certainly many more! We can use our influencing skills: As instructional designers to negotiate for more time to design and develop effective training programs. As instructors to convince our managers we can use a variety of instructional techniques to present content and not just rely on PowerPoint slides.  As training needs analysts to enable managers to see the big picture regarding job performance and realize there are non-training solutions to business problems as well as training solutions. As training marketers to promote our training programs and encourage more participation. As training managers to increase our training budgets, increase our training staff, and increase our department’s influence as a whole in the entire corporation. Now that you see how increasing your influencing skills can improve your world, I’d love to hear how you use these skills to get what you need! Lynne