The car in front of me pokes along at 20 miles per hour. I clench the steering wheel as I try to push down my road rage. The concept of “steam coming out of my ears” feels very real… And then I suddenly, falsely, crazily, I bark out the word “JOY!” and force a grossly …
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Blog Posts to Boost Your Skills
Smiling, Presenting, and Chopsticks
Can a Room Kill You? Yes!
Presenters, prevent “Death by Room”! These three tips will help ensure your physical space works with you instead of against you.
Using the “Six Limbs” of Facilitation to Make Meetings Work
Understanding the “six limbs” of facilitation will help you juggle meeting dynamics better. What Are the “Six Limbs?” A facilitator needs to keep six avenues of awareness open to facilitate effectively. Awareness of the “six limbs” is a kind of hyper-awareness that we don’t tend to need during other parts of our lives. This hyper-awareness …
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Mini-Van or Ferrari for Presenters?
To go shopping, would you use a minivan or Ferrari? What if you were going to race? The choice is a no-brainer. Yet when speaking publicly, many of us want to take a minivan when we should be gearing up to drive a Ferrari. The Role of Adrenaline in Peak Performance Driving a Ferrari takes …
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What is a Trainer? What is a Facilitator?
Be honest! You can really confuse your participants if YOU aren’t clear which role you are playing…trainer or facilitator?
Enthusiasm in Training
As a trainer or presenter, enthusiasm goes a long way in making you the best you can be. As your joy excites your participants, their energy rises to meet yours. People feel good. Work gets done. But what if your enthusiasm has taken a hit? How can you regain a sense of joy while giving …
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Focus on the Uncommitted in Your Audience
Presenters, do you fear waves of animosity coming from your audience? Or have you ever believed your audience to be friendly and accepting, only to receive a terrible shock? One of the best “Presenter Tricks” I know is to present as if everyone in your audience is “uncommitted”. Doing so allows you to effectively deal …
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Elevate Your Training! Assessing Training Skills in Your Organization
I have been fascinated with the question “What makes a great trainer (or adult educator)”? for years. Through exploring research, examining my own practice, and evaluating hundreds of other trainers, I formulated a set of effective training behaviors. I used these behaviors as the basis for an assessment tool called Elevate Your Training! Assessing Training …
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Presentation Disaster Zone: A True Story
Who wants to feel exposed and inept in front of an audience? No one! Yet recently, I observed a presenter obviously wish she could disappear…all for the lack of a sound check. This speaker had plenty of important content to deliver. The press was buzzing and there was excitement in the room. She was introduced, …
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The Myth of the Facilitator
Here’s a pet peeve of mine: Adult educators who call themselves “Facilitators”…and then go on to give a traditional, one-sided, PowerPoint-heavy training session. I estimate that 87.5% of trainers who call themselves “facilitators” are lying. Why? Because they model few skills of facilitation. Well Then, What is a Facilitator? A facilitator is content-neutral. Because of …
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