I have taught hundreds of people over the years–everything from verb tenses in German to social media marketing–and I’ve come to some realizations. Teaching isn’t easy. It’s not for those who think because they know something, they can impart that knowledge on others. Teaching (and its cousin, Training) is, when done well and with purpose, exhausting, frustrating, exhilarating, satisfying, and fun (there may be a few more descriptive words I’ve left out!). There are few occasions in one’s professional life so fulfilling as when a learner “gets it.” It’s even better when that learner takes the new knowledge and applies it.

I never intended to become a teacher (instructor, trainer, education specialist). Somewhere along the line, the excitement of standing in front of a group of people and helping them learn something made me want to do it again and again. And, I wanted to get better at it.

I am certainly not the only one to focus on “train the trainer” topics. Nor am I the most experienced. I do possess a great deal of intellectual curiosity though, and sharing my discoveries and thoughts about workplace training and professional development is my way of helping my peers to sharpen their skills.

Who knows where this will lead us. We might discover a new way to approach a common problem. We might have an opportunity to laugh at some of the silly things that happen in classes. I might get a chance to vent now and then. Hopefully we’ll learn, too. That’s what it’s all about, right?

P.S.–Why “Two Minutes to Learn”? We’ve all been in those classes–interminable bore-fests we can’t wait to flee. Even great topics can be flogged to death. I try to structure learning in short snippets, easily comprehended and put into action. That’s my goal here, too: Short bites of learning for those times when you only have or want to take “Two Minutes to Learn.”