by Guila Muir info@guilamuir.com As a trainer, do you struggle mentally as you develop a new course? Are you ever “stuck” when you try to think of ways to improve your class? There is a scientifically sound way to boost your brain power, pick up your energy, and improve your focus as a trainer. Although …
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Articles to Boost Your Training Skills
Sharpen Your Training Brain
Wild Classroom: How to Prevent the Chaos
by Guila Muir info@guilamuir.com Have you ever worried about your participants going wild, tuning out, or exhibiting other potentially disruptive behaviors? The concept of “classroom management” will help. Good classroom management is the ability to run your training sessions smoothly. Research shows that good classroom management enables students to learn and retain more. Surprisingly, research …
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Avoid Audience Overload: Less is More
Picture it: You’re a student in a classroom. The instructor is throwing out fact after fact. At first, you listen intently, trying to grasp everything that’s going on. After about 15 minutes, your attention drifts. After trying to focus a few more times, you feel so overwhelmed (and possibly irritated and bored) that you just …
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What Separates Great Trainers From the Merely “OK?”
Many training participants would respond, “Great trainers make the learning easy and fun.” If probed further, they might mention the use of engaging training activities, or the trainer’s personal style. But most won’t be able to identify an important action that differentiates expert trainers. This action is subtle and powerful. It helps lubricate the session …
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A “Train the Trainer” Tip: Start Your Sessions With a Bang
by Guila Muir info@guilamuir.com What’s the best way to assure your training participants groan inwardly and “turn off” when you first open your mouth? Simply by doing what you’ve always been told: By introducing yourself and providing your credentials. Why not generate your audience’s curiosity, interest, and investment from the outset? Use a “Hook” before …
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The Seven Laws of Training: What Managers Must Know
by Guila Muir info@guilamuir.com You oversee training and possibly deliver it. How can you ensure that your agency’s training actually improves workplace performance?
How Do You Know They Know? Designing In-Class Assessment
How serious are you about your students actually learning? Most of us would say, “VERY serious!” Yet many trainers and instructional designers actually have no idea what, and even if, participants have learned by the end of a session. Because trainers operate in organizations and businesses, we typically don’t issue grades. Even in preparing participants …
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So You Want to Do a Seminar!
Are you an entrepreneur or small business owner? Have you been asked to present at a professional conference? Giving a great seminar can increase your business, your status, and your memorability. Yet most professionals don’t feel 100% comfortable with their ability to develop and deliver an effective seminar. Here are 3 tips to ensure your …
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The Power of the HOOK
by Guila Muir info@guilamuir.com Capturing Your Audience in the First 30 Seconds What’s wrong with these pictures? 1. Helen begins her presentation by introducing herself and telling the participants at some length how happy she is to be with them. She then launches into her content. 2. Bill kicks off his training session by explaining …
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How to Help Adults Learn Best
Three Keys to Help Them Stretch! Here’s something for you to try. (C’mon, I’ll wait for you to get out of your chair!) Stand up and stretch your right arm out behind you, as far as it will go. (You may turn your body as you do so.) Now, come back to center and relax …
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Games, Simulations, and Roleplays: Do Differences Matter?
Which would you choose…and when? Long ago, I discovered I loved experiential learning and wanted to learn more about simulations. As a trainer in 1981 Thailand, I experienced the famous “Ba-Fa-Ba-Fa” cultural simulation. It blew me away! Years later, with great hopes, I attended an ASTD-sponsored workshop called Experience Simulations. To my disappointment, the workshop …
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So You’ve Been Selected
6 Tips for Conference Presenters “Someone’s got to do something, and it’s just incredibly pitiful that it has to be us.” — Jerry Garcia Some are chosen, some are forced…but in the end, most business professionals present at industry conferences, annual meetings, or other events during the course of their careers. Please allow me to …
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Presentation is Not Training
by Guila Muir info@guilamuir.com How Easy Training Strategies Can Help Make Your Presentations “Stick!”
When Leaders Train: How to Avoid the Pitfalls
by Guila Muir info@guilamuir.com Why don’t all leaders make great trainers? Perhaps it’s because they believe that training falls outside their (already large) job descriptions. As a result, leaders often strive to “cover the material” in order to get on with business. Yet the ability to facilitate learning, not just to cover the material, is …
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