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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30Sep 2019 by Katrina Kennedy No Comments

Stop Confusing Presenting Information With Training People

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The table by the doors has fresh orange juice and cookies awaiting everyone before they exit. It's your turn to push up your sleeve and give blood. Pause for just a moment and think about your phlebotomist's background. How do you want them to have learned their job? I'm just going to guess that you'll say you want them to have practiced. On someone else's arm, right? Now, translate that perspective into your own training. Are you training or presenting? It matters, my friend. If you are talking at length, you are not training. If learners never practice what you are covering, you are not training. If you go through fifty PowerPoint slides at great length, you are not traning. If your training objective is to reduce conflict, learners need…
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30Sep 2019 by Katrina Kennedy No Comments
Stop Telling Learners What They Should Get Out Of An Exercise

Stop Telling Learners What They Should Get Out Of An Exercise

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Imagine the activity you've planned for the last few months has worked! Learners were engaged and you can see the learning occurring. You get the room back together and say, "here is what I want you to take away from this exercise." Oops. You just missed your most impactful training moment. We each learn best when we are active learners. Active learning doesn't require moving around the room, talking to people for the duration of a training session. While we need movement, active learning is much more about engagement of our minds. When we shift our comments to questions, we create a more active environment. Instead of telling people what they should take away from an exercise ask: What happened in this exercise?What did you like about this exercise?What was…
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27Sep 2019 by Katrina Kennedy 2 Comments

Stop Cramming So Much On A PowerPoint Slide

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"I know this is hard to see in the back." How many times have you heard those words as you watch a slideshow crammed with so many words, you could barely read them from the front of the room. Government codes, lengthy definitions, examples of forms and documents. You know the culprits. Funny thing is...if the learner can't see it, they aren't going to get much value from it. And if every slide is crammed with stuff they can't decipher, they are walking away with almost nothing. PowerPoint sides are cheap. Having "too many slides" isn't really a problem. What you do with those slides is the bigger issue. How Many Words Are Too Many? I've been around long enough to have lived through the Rule of 7x7 which morphed…
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15Sep 2017 by Katrina Kennedy No Comments
Make It Stick: Helping Learners Retain Information To Apply In The Workplace

Make It Stick: Helping Learners Retain Information To Apply In The Workplace

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Learning is fundamental to training. It's easy to focus on the information we want to disseminate. Create a handout, make a PowerPoint. Talk. Not so hard. We put the responsibility on the shoulders of our learners to take in the information and decipher how to use it when they return to work. Training gets trickier when we focus on how we want people to learn to use the information we share in a productive way when they return to the job. When we design our sessions so that we not only provide information, but give people an opportunity to practice, we have created training. As trainers we need to focus more on learning and less on telling. How do we go about providing more opportunity for learning to really occur?…
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05Sep 2017 by Katrina Kennedy 2 Comments
How To Make Training Learner Centered And Performance Based

How To Make Training Learner Centered And Performance Based

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I'm on a mission to elevate our profession. My mission begins with an understanding that learning is an active, engaged process. People need to DO IT in training in order to DO IT on the job. It doesn't matter what the IT is. Knowing is great, but doing DOING is where it's at. We can't ask our learners to sit listening to us drone on (even if we are energetic and knowledgeable) expecting them to magically return work with the skill and ability to perform in the way we've described. They've got to DO IT. Yes, knowledge is important as a foundation to help people understand why they perform their jobs. But we can't exist on knowledge alone. Imagine the airline pilot who understands physics but has never landed a…
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09Jun 2017 by Katrina Kennedy 2 Comments
The Fundamentals For Professional Trainers | ATD Sacramento Chapter

The Fundamentals For Professional Trainers | ATD Sacramento Chapter

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Thank you for a great class! Here are tools I mentioned plus a few extras. Best of luck in all of your training! PowerPoint From Class Connecting Exercise - 20 Minus 13 Training Design Template Myths & Facts About How We Learn (longer version than we used in class) Bingo Cards Bingo Calling Sheet Dealing With Challenging Behaviors More from Cathy Moore Learning Design Learning Styles Don't Exist Books To Help Support Your Training Websites To Visit GetKahoot.com Association for Talent Development, Sacramento Chapter Training Industry Trends Report FREE Training for Trainers Coaching Call Join me October 3rd @10AM for a FREE, one-hour coaching call. We'll discuss projects you are working on and get ideas and inspiration for issues and challenges you might be facing! Register here.  My Upcoming Public Classes The…
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23May 2017 by Katrina Kennedy No Comments

Peer Today, Boss Tomorrow | CalSTRS

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Thank you for a great day! Here are resources we used in class and a few extra for your management journeys. I wish you all great success! Leadership Readiness Assessment for Peer Today, Boss Tomorrow Don't hesitate to be in touch if there are other resources I can help you find!   Articles From Management Meeting Presentations Transitioning Into A Supervisory Position How To Become A Motivational Leader Managers Must Delegate Effectively To Develop Employees Gilbert's Model for Performance Management Situational Leadership Theory: Providing Leadership Through Flexibility 1/18/2018 Red Group PowerPoint For Delegation Recommended Reading Classic Management/Leadership Books     Recommended Reading Newer Management/Leadership Books     A Few of My Favorite Resources Resources Mentioned By Managers On The PTBT Panels (past and present)   Mentioned during 6/6/2018 Panel Ted…
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12May 2017 by Katrina Kennedy No Comments
How Do I Handle Incorrect Responses?

How Do I Handle Incorrect Responses?

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You ask your question and wait. The first hand shoots up in the air and they share their answer. And it's wrong. What now? This is a situation every trainer is faced with and every trainer grapples with just how to handle it. You want to preserve the enthusiasm of your learners, but you don't want them to leave with incorrect information. What to do? Keep in mind, it is our first priority to make sure people leave the training room with correct information. When you ask a question that people respond to incorrectly, you’ve got to gently suggest the correct response. Sometimes that will naturally happen with someone else in the room correcting the incorrect information. Depending on the situation here are a few suggestions: Show Me Your Work…
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21Apr 2017 by Katrina Kennedy No Comments

Training For Trainers | CalHR

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Thank you for a great class! Here are tools I mentioned plus a few extras. Best of luck in all of your training! Connecting Exercise - 20 Minus 13 Training Design Template 52 Instructional Methods Myths & Facts About How We Learn Bingo Cards Bingo Calling Sheet Dealing With Challenging Behaviors Books To Help Support Your Training Websites To Visit GetKahoot.com Association for Talent Development, Sacramento Chapter My Upcoming Public Classes May 1-2 The Trainer As Facilitator of Learning, Sacramento May 19, Training Design That Aligns With And Supports Organization Need (T4T Follow Up), Sacramento June 7,8,9 The Fundamentals for Professional Trainers (Train the Trainer), Sacramento  
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