04Nov 2019 by Katrina Kennedy 1 Comment
Should I Just Ignore Some Irritating Classroom Behaviors?

Should I Just Ignore Some Irritating Classroom Behaviors?

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Photo by Jason Rosewell on Unsplash Twenty minutes into class he was already complaining. "This is too touchy feely," he said directly to me. At this point I had shared restroom and break logistics and asked everyone to introduce themselves at their tables. Thankfully I know his type. When I had people stand and meet someone new, accompanied by questions they'd already answered to make the exchange easier, he grumbled. Fifty minutes into class, he spoke directly to me about the class being different than he thought it was going to be. I confirmed that the class he wanted was probably not the one he was in. The title and objectives clearly showed what he wanted was not what he'd been signed up for. He grumbled...again. If you take some advice on dealing…
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28Oct 2019 by Katrina Kennedy 1 Comment
How To Create Connection With People Who Don’t Want To Be In Training (But Have To Be)

How To Create Connection With People Who Don’t Want To Be In Training (But Have To Be)

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Photo by Andre Hunter on Unsplash The person who doesn't want to be in training, you know them too well. They let you know through their direct words or their subtle actions from the moment they walk in. They can be very unpleasant and impact the entire class. When dealing with any difficult behavior in the training space there are a few things to keep in mind: They have a story you don't knowYour response to them will determine their reaction in classIt's not your task to get them to like youDon't take it personally Your positive comments about class are not going to convince someone who doesn't want to be in training that it's a great place to be. However, if you can identify their reservations, you can connect with them: The…
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21Oct 2019 by Katrina Kennedy 4 Comments
Create A Positive Learning Environment From The Moment Learners Arrive

Create A Positive Learning Environment From The Moment Learners Arrive

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You walk in and scan the room for THE SPOT to plant yourself for the next seven hours. The room's off white, windowless walls loom around you. This is going to be a long day. You take a deep breath, find a seat, and settle in. You shift around a bit, skim through the workbook in front of you, and take a long drink of the tepid coffee you brought with you. In an effort to avoid looking at your phone, you do it again. You get your phone out. It's habit. A few other people filter in, scanning the room for familiar faces before they select tables, leaving a canyonwide space between their mobile devices and yours.  Finally the poor soul enters who must cross the divide, choosing a…
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14Oct 2019 by Katrina Kennedy No Comments
Calm Your Nerves In Front Of The Room With These Quick Strategies

Calm Your Nerves In Front Of The Room With These Quick Strategies

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You've prepared to present. You've organized your material. You've followed a routine. You are grounded, ready to be in front of the room. But you still have nerves. There is no more time to implement strategies before presenting. So what to do? Your nerves may not end the moment you stand in front of the room, in fact, that may be when they escalate. You need a few tactics to keep you focused and stress free as you present. Add these to your toolkit for the moments when you need them most. Breathe When we get nervous our breathing gets shallow and fast. If you're a zebra about to be attacked by a lion it's a natural stress response. You aren't a zebra, so focus on taking deep breaths from…
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07Oct 2019 by Katrina Kennedy No Comments
How To Calm Your Nerves Before Training

How To Calm Your Nerves Before Training

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You can feel the dryness creeping up your throat. Your thoughts begin to jumble and you can't remember what you are going to say. The room narrows a bit, you are unable to focus on a single face. Nerves Before we go any further, grab something to write with. Quickly, without over thinking, write down all of the things that might go wrong with your next training or presentation. Keep that somewhere safe for a moment while we continue on. We've all felt that surge of nervousness before we train. Maybe we feel it in the days leading up to training. Maybe yours arrives the morning you wake up. Or perhaps your nervousness shows up as soon as you open your mouth to speak. Nerves are real. And, they are…
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30Sep 2019 by Katrina Kennedy No Comments

Stop Doing Things Learners Can Do Themselves

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When my son was born it required me to do everything for him. EVERYTHING. Of course, over time that changed, and he became more able to do things himself. I remember the first time he looked at me and said, "mom, I can do it." As trainers I think it's in us to do things for other people. We are helpers by nature. Our help can sometimes go too far though. When we work to make things "easy" in training we are robbing our learners of the effortful work that learning requires. You are also making it harder on yourself. Think about it for a moment. Which of these do you do? Over explain conceptsTell learners what they've covered in prior modules of classExplain what learners should take away from…
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30Sep 2019 by Katrina Kennedy No Comments
Stop Counting People To Form Groups

Stop Counting People To Form Groups

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Do you use groups while you train? Forming groups to conduct activities during training is essential for engagement and active learning. Sometimes groups are formed to break up undesirable behaviors and to help move through material more quickly. How do you create those groups? If you said you count them like you did for third grade kickball teams, I'm going to scream. Really. I'm going to scream. It's not pretty. Please stop. Everyone (including my third grade self) will appreciate it. But, what are you left with then? Okay, before we get there, let's address a little bit of why you need to stop counting people. Quite simply -- it doesn't work. People forget their numbers. People confuse their numbers with other peoples. People aren't paying attention when you say…
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30Sep 2019 by Katrina Kennedy No Comments
Stop Asking Learners To Read Out Loud

Stop Asking Learners To Read Out Loud

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He sat in the back of the room with his head down. I could see the tiny pieces of eraser he'd been nervously tearing apart as his turn to read approached. I knew he wasn't listening, you could see it in every part of his body language. He was calculating. Which paragraph would be his? He was pre-reading in hopes of making it easier. And then his turn arrived and all eyes were on him. If you guessed this was a story of my son in third grade, you are correct. He is dyslexic. No, he doesn't see numbers and letters backwards. It's more complex than that and current research is showing it is a brain wiring difference beyond just reading. Click here if you are curious about what he…
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30Sep 2019 by Katrina Kennedy 3 Comments
Stop Going Around The Room For Introductions

Stop Going Around The Room For Introductions

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There I said it. Stop it. Please. No one benefits from it. And honestly, who has time? There are many things we do in the training environment because we've always done them that way. Around the room introductions fall firmly in that category. Think about the last class you participated in and try to recall the names around the room. My guess is you might recall the three people you already knew and the one person who was annoying and two other people. Or you may recall none. Every minute in the training room needs to be treated as sacred. Learners are investing their time and energy and their organization's money to learn something to make their lives better. Knowing twenty four names of random people is not going to…
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30Sep 2019 by Katrina Kennedy 1 Comment
Seven Things To Stop Doing In Training

Seven Things To Stop Doing In Training

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Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.Maya Angelou We've all been stuck in that spot as trainers. We do the best we can until we know better. It can be a harrowing experience to discover you've been doing things "wrong" right in the middle of doing them wrong. I'm here to help, even though you may not have asked! I am often asked in class what are the worst or best or strangest or most annoying things trainers can do in class. To answer the worst question (and maybe most annoying) I've created my SEVEN THINGS TO STOP DOING LIST. Ready? Seven Things To Stop Doing In Training Doing things learners can do for themselvesTelling learners what they should get out of an exerciseAsking people to read…
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