Just thought I’d upload a couple of charts I produced at a conference a week or so ago. A group of about 50 doing a world cafe conversation with a bit of a circus theme. Had much fun and games with the world cafe banner in the “circus-ey” font. Took ages!
Yesterday morning I got the call that all trainers and facilitators have, in some way, been preparing for their whole careers.
A good friend and colleague called at 7.30am to say he was ill…..too ill to facilitate a 4 hour workshop and would I be able to step in for him.
One of the things I instill in my “trainers in training” is that in this line of work, there is no such thing as a sickie. In fact, you need to be on your death bed before you will call in sick.
Andrew was not on his death bed by any stretch, however his vertigo meant that he couldn’t stand without falling down! Not a good look front of room!
So, I bravely took the brief, dressed and headed out. I rationalised my position in the following way….I really couldn’t lose! I knew I wouldn’t stuff it up, I’m too experienced for that, yet I also knew that the audience would probably be particularly generous, knowing I had stepped in at the last minute.
Truth is, that’s pretty much how it went. AND … I stuck to the basics…using my engagement formula up front
(Tx3) +K + (Ux3) + S = Group on side!
(If you don’t know what that formula means….sorry - you’ll need to come to my training *grin*. )
Then, I followed a simple facilitation process - small group discussions, self managed synthesis and then a plenary capture. I must say, however, they were impressed with my capture! Not too many graphics, but a fairly neat result. I was keeping it simple, remember.
Then a future pace wrap up……(what’s this? Again - see you at my training!)
A check in with the client at the end revealed we had met her outcomes. Job well done!
I think it is a true test of skill (sorry for blowing my own trumpet here). In some respects, it now seems easy to get a brief 3 weeks before an event, spend several days preparing and having things under control at the front of the room. I feel like all my training for the past 15 years, experiences, skills and intentions were put to the test. And by all reports, I passed!
I must confess to feeling a little outraged! I feel a rant coming on….
I had a lengthy conversation with a colleague yesterday and we got around to (again) this notion that the Cert IV has become a meaningless piece of paper that for some reason anyone who wants to train feels compelled to have.
I don’t know what’s worse….that people feel compelled to have it and feel “choice-less”, or that some employers insist on using it as a recruitment benchmark.
*sigh*
I think that many people have missed the point. This qualification is not a general training qualification and was never meant to be. It was always a qualification that was required for people who were training in the Vocation Education & Training (VET) sector. So, if you wanted to teach at TAFE or at an RTO, you needed it.
And I get that. If you are training and assessing someone towards a formal qualification, you should be appropriately qualified.
What I don’t get is that trainers and facilitators who are working in corporate, government and not for profit environments running general skills training (communication, teamwork, time management) are not only getting the qual, but being forced to by their employers. It’s so not necessary….AND….generally it is not well taught. So much money being wasted on poor, poor training……*another sigh*.
Our recent research (which will be published in an upcoming article) showed that 64% who get the Cert IV are simply looking for the piece of paper. They go to the training without any expectation of learning anything! Seems gobsmacking to me that anyone would go to a training about training and learning and not expect to learn anything.
A bit sad, considering our research showed that the average spend for a Cert IV course was around $2,700.00. A lot of money for just a piece of paper!
The other thing our research showed is that of the 36% of people who did go hoping to actually learn something, only 12% felt that they learned something new. The remainder said that they did not add anything to their existing skill set.
What a waste of time and money!
I have decided that I am starting a cause! This cause is to rid the world of worthless Cert IV trainings that add no value! If people are going to spend time and money on a qualification, they should also expect to learn something of value!
So, I have designed a Cert IV course that I would be happy to attend. I have partnered with a like minded RTO and we are determined to provide people value for time and money! Check out the details here.
Let me know what you think!
Oh, and if you liked this rant…you would probably love the one from my colleague on the same topic, but with a slightly different spin, Di Granger.
You know, generally I hate the “feel good” e-mails that come around, full of soppy sentiment. I know that sounds harsh……
However recently I was sent a message that hit the mark for me. A friend sent it to me and it didn’t have any references, so I don’t know who to attribute it to.
Just to be clear, I didn’t write this, but I wish I had.
Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven’t thought about it, don’t have it on their schedule, didn’t know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.
I got to thinking one day about all those women on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back.
From then on, I’ve tried to be a little more flexible.
How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn’t suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word ‘refrigeration’ mean nothing to you?
How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched ‘Jeopardy’ on television?
I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, ‘How about going to lunch in a half hour?’ She would gas up and stammer, ‘I can’t. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast. It looks like rain.’ And my personal favourite: ‘It’s Monday.’ She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together.
Because we cram so much into our lives, we tend to schedule our headaches.
We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect!
We’ll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Steve toilet-trained.
We’ll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet.
We’ll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.
Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer.
One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of ‘I’m going to,’ ‘I plan on,’ and ‘Someday, when things are settled down a bit.’
When anyone calls my ’seize the moment’ friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you’re ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of roller blades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord.
My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It’s just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.
Now…go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to……not something on your SHOULD DO list.
If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?
Make sure you read this to the end; you will understand why I sent this to you.
Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round
or listened to the rain lapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight
or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
Do you run through each day on the fly?
When you ask ‘How are you?’ Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done, do you lie in your bed
with the next hundred chores running through your head?
Ever told your child, ‘We’ll do it tomorrow.’
And in your haste, not seen his sorrow?
Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die?
Just call to say ‘Hi?
When you worry and hurry through your day,
it is like an unopened gift…..thrown away…..
Life is not a race. Take it slower.
Hear the music before the song is over.
I am in the middle of running a Certificate IV in Training & Assessment….my way.
This generally means that I’m teaching people to actually train, and train well…rather than understand the bureaucracy that is the AQF/AQTF. Now, don’t get me wrong, I do teach what is necessary and written in the competencies, but I do have a strong focus on delivery because I want to be able to put my hand on my heart, for all of my graduates, and say that they can stand and deliver….and get their participants to stay and play.
Today was a delivery day. The group had to present a 20 minute piece which was largely a chance to demonstrate their understanding and use of the 4-mat model in training design and delivery. Not only did they nail it, but they also demonstrated stuff that I did not teach them. Stuff that I consider “advanced”. Stuff like:
I’m sure there was much more that I did not consciously notice, however these were the things that blew my mind!
As I said, I generally teach these specific techniques in advanced courses…..however I use these techniques all the time in my own delivery……so, this begs the question…
How did they learn them?
Was it unconscious modeling? I reckon that’s the case.
Please excuse what may be a bit of blowing my own trumpet, but I was pretty proud of the sessions delivered today, and I am publicly willing to say, that at this point in their training, they are demonstrating skills that would make seasoned trainers envious.
I saw the latest Star Trek film again last night (for the third time). This time in IMAX …. a bit overwhelming, even for me.
Anyhoo - I was reminded of a book that is sitting on my shelf that was a gift years ago, entitled “Make it So. Leadership Lessons from Start Trek the Next Generation” I think it was meant as a joke, but as I review it this morning….maybe there’s something in it.
It lists (and then provides captain log entries for each) the following leadership principles that they believe are demonstrated in Jean Luc Picard (captain of the Enterprise).
Just felt like writing about this today… or is this just a very weak way for me to claim IMAX tickets as a tax deduction?
I have been thinking about this a lot lately….and done some thinking around the usefulness of knowing learning styles.
Generally, they are taught because it’s good to know there are differences in the way people learn…for example (and, rightly or wrongly, these are compliments of Wikipedia):
NLP gives us:
Honey & Mumford give us:
McCarthy gives us
Kolb gives us
All of these are valid and well proven in the research and literature….my question is “when I am designing and delivery training, how do these add value to my process?”…. or in simple terms “so what?”
Most of you would answer that you need to design training that suits all of the styles so that you hit them all. And I would agree with you.
What I will add, is that I think there needs to be more emphasis on the order in which things are done, which will then appeal to the bulk of learning styles. I used to think it was using the 4-Mat model….in order… Why, then What, then How, then What if….but I think there might be more.
So, I think I have something to add to the thinking about this:
First, as a trainer, you need to create a connection between you and then group, and your content and the group. McCarthy’s “why” frame has always focused on getting people to be motivated about your content. The piece that is missing is the connection between the trainer and the participant. So, I think CONNECT is the first piece.
The second piece is CLARIFY. Making sure that the theory is taught and understood. In the PEP factor model, any of these without some Passion or Energy for the topic, makes it a dry and boring lecture. So, in CLARIFY we are providing the information in a way that makes sense to the group.
Then, we need to CREATE an opportunity for the group to experience the theory. Get them into an exercise where they are able to play, make mistakes, change and experiment with the material. The distinction here is not just use the theory, but a space to really pull it apart and be creative in their use of the material.
Finally, CONFIRM (or this may be contextualise…not sure yet) where we make the appropriate links back to the ‘real world’ and reflect on what else is possible.
I agree with any of you who are saying there is some familiarity with other models. In my mind there is a subtlety here about the order they are done in, and what that means for the learners, and the take up of the material.
Welcoming comments……..
Just did 2 days in Sydney with the fabulous Matt Church.
Matt’s promise is to put you in touch with your expertise and offers a system that if you follow, can bring about $1M in 36 months.
So - best bits for me…..using models to crystallise your thinking, diversifying your message and thinking in book titles.
Loved it!
I recommend it unreservedly. Check the course out by clicking here. I have recommended this a couple of times lately….so apologies if it appears I am obsessed…..the course was simply very very useful.
Attached are a couple of pages of my visual notes from the program.
You may be familiar with the TED conference that happens in the United States. Top thinkers on Technology, Education and Design come together and share new ideas and thinking. TED.com is a great source of short sharp videos and recordings on everything from Dog Training through to Amazing new technology.
I recently attended the TEDx Sydney version of this, which is an independently run event involving Australian Thought Leaders.
There was a combination of live speakers from Australia and New Zealand, and video clips from the US TED conference.
I have attached here my graphic notes.
I have been playing around with a new idea of getting people participating in training. For a long time now, I have been using strategies that build a positive relationship with the group, and recently I began to think more about what prevents people from wanting to be in the training room.
So - I scratched out the following model to get more understanding of what is going on.
I don’t yet know if this is useful - but it has certainly got me thinking differently about how I build the relationship with the group.
This is something I am playing with in terms of turning my ideas into models. Picked up the idea and technique from the recent Thought Leaders program I attended, and it has added to my problem solving, or thinking different toolkit.
This particular technique is rather simple, and is a visual way of doing contrastive analysis.