True Confessions

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No one likes to be called out for their mistakes, least of all the teacher or trainer. When I was a newbie instructor teaching undergraduate college students basic German language skills, I lived in fear of not knowing the answer to a potential question. I prepared for class endlessly – or so it seemed – so that I wouldn’t appear to be less than an authority in the subject I was teaching.

Much of this over-preparation was due to my lack of confidence. For reasons I won’t go into here, I felt like I needed to be at the top of my game when I stood in front of a group of students. I had a detailed lesson plan for each class, and I prepared more material than we had hopes of covering in the time allotted.

I still teach from a lesson plan today. Frankly, I don’t know how to do it any differently. I create an outline for the class, then go back and refine it. When I refine the topics, I determine how much time we’ll need to cover each topic. Finally, I make sure I have more material than I need just in case we get through something faster than I anticipated.

This seems logical to me, but I’ve sat in too many seminars and continuing education classes where the instructor ran out of material or didn’t know how to use different techniques to manage the time better. Even more painful were the instances where the instructor didn’t know the material they were covering. I’ve seen this occur when someone is teaching a set curriculum and does not need to devise a lesson plan (or so they think).

Adults have little tolerance for instructors who waste their time or don’t present the material they thought they would get. People will vote with their feet and attend those classes and programs that deliver on their promises with engaging instruction.

Here are my recommendations for teachers and trainers who want to deliver great instruction:

  • Know your material: This might seem evident, but it’s worth keeping in mind. You will lose all credibility, especially with adults, if you appear to not know your subject. If you are teaching from a curriculum you did not prepare, you should study it thoroughly so that you are prepared to present it. Sure, there may be questions that arise that are out of the norm. It’s o.k. to acknowledge such a question and tell the student you’ll find out and get back to them. Do it and add the information to your knowledge base. There’s no excuse for not knowing the material you teach.
  • Prepare well: You may not be as persnickety as I am about lesson planning, but you do need to do something to get ready to teach. Maybe it’s a review of the topics or material you will be presenting. Perhaps you need to find some illustrations or pictures to help get your points across. Whatever you need to do to feel comfortable when you walk into the room, take time to do it. I like to have written notes to remind me of the points I need to cover. With the switch to online instruction, I swapped my full-page notes for small sticky notes around my screen so that I can see my points as I continue to look into the camera.
  • Practice: I never liked it when my mother would tell me repeatedly that “practice makes perfect,” but there is something true about the value of practice. When was the last time you practiced delivering your material for a class? I can hear you tell me that you’ve done it so many times, you don’t need to practice. I understand that. But what about the new material you plan to present? What about that new class you’ve been tapped to teach? You don’t need an audience to practice, just a willingness to feel uncomfortable as you perfect your delivery.
  • Be grateful: I think the ability to stand in front of a group of people willing to learn what I can teach them is special. I am very grateful I have the ability to be the teacher. I remind myself of this often, and especially when I am getting ready for a class. Maybe you want to say a prayer or meditate, or maybe it’s a gratitude list in your journal. It’s up to you how you express your gratitude for the opportunity to teach, but I recommend you do it. Your perspective will shift when you approach teaching with gratitude.

What you do before you step into the classroom defines what happens during instruction. When you know your material, prepare well, practice, and express gratitude, teaching is a transformative experience for your students – and you.

Treats

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My miniature Dachshund, Calvin, is addicted to dog treats, and it’s all my fault. I trained him to come when I called him by giving him a small treat – a dog biscuit or piece of Pup-peroni – if he ran to the door from the far corners of our back yard. It was a very effective technique, and I was careful to use treats intermittently to reinforce his behavior.

At some point, this reward system went off the rails, and now Calvin expects a treat each time we come in from a walk or potty break outside. I created a mini monster with short legs and the kind of nose that can sniff out his favorite treats in a bag of groceries left on the floor.

You’re probably wondering what this has to do with training. I’ve been thinking about testing a lot lately as I prepare a curriculum for a new client. We agreed that the agents moving through the modules of this curriculum should have to pass a short test or quiz to be able to advance to the next module.

There are different kinds of tests that people must take to enter or advance in a profession. In real estate, candidates must take pre-licensing education and then pass a license exam in order to be granted a license to practice. Most pre-license education aims to help students pass this license exam. The courses present the material and test students in the same fashion as the official license exam to both teach the required topics and acclimate students to the type of test they will face.

The reward at the end of this testing is the license itself. The license gives the holder the authority to practice the profession and thereby earn a living. Once someone is licensed, what’s the reward for going through additional training and education? We can pass out certificates and trophies, but unless someone really likes these outward expressions of their achievements, they will not be motivated to do the work.

Let’s complicate this further by looking at testing during online post-license education and training. These tests cannot be onerous chores that make it difficult for the student to advance to the next level. There are plenty of brokerages in any market that do not expect their agents to test out of training, so it’s not likely that this method will benefit the brokerage utilizing it. Agents will merely move to the brokerage where they don’t have to pass a test to be able to practice their profession. They already took a license exam that gives them the right to do that. Instead, testing needs to be more of a “treat” than a trial.

To make online testing a “treat,” I construct short quizzes with clear options for multiple choice questions and some yes/no questions. These quizzes reinforce the concepts taught rather than try to catch students in a trap where they are forced to question their answers. It’s important to use a platform that gives you the ability to give immediate feedback when the student selects an answer. If a student answers a question correctly, there’s positive feedback such as “Great!” or “That’s correct!” I sometimes add information about the answer to further reinforce the concept taught. Incorrect answers will give similar prompts to encourage the student to reconsider and attempt the question again. If the system allows for immediate retake of a quiz or test, enable it. Remember, the goal of the test is not to weed people out, but rather to reinforce the student’s need to pay attention and learn the material.

There’s a psychological component to positive reinforcement during testing. “Learning accompanied by positive feelings and associations is more likely to be remembered, even beyond the end of the reinforcement schedule,” according to an article on positive reinforcement in psychology. Positive reinforcement allows an instructor or trainer to encourage the behavior and learning they desire. My example earlier of giving my dog a treat to get him to come to me when I called him is an example of positive reinforcement.

I have resigned myself to my dog’s expectation that he’ll get a treat every time he does something I ask him to do (and sometimes just because . . . ). As long as he doesn’t gain too much weight, I can live with feeding him little treats to reinforce his behavior. Likewise, I enjoy giving real estate agents positive reinforcement when they take my courses. My aim is to help them have the kind of results from their business that they desire. That’s the ultimate “treat.”

I Am Not Kim Kardashian

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Somewhere out there, someone is looking at the title of this post and my picture and saying, “Duh, no kidding!” I do not have long, dark hair, a famous husband, a TV show, or millions of dollars. So why the declaration?

I spend a good amount of time wondering what I can do to get more attention for my training business. I don’t have a television show or millions of Instagram followers. I don’t even have the resources to advertise a lot. Right now, we can’t travel to conferences and meet people in person. Conferences have gone virtual, too, and no matter what platform they use, virtual networking groups are difficult to manage. So I have opted for some old- and new-fashioned ways to connect with people.

Guess what – The phone still works! I call people regularly and leave a lot of voicemail messages. Sometimes I text them, too. If I can talk with someone, I have a good chance of connecting with them on some level. I can ask questions to determine if there’s a need I can fill or a challenge I can solve for them. Phone conversations are a way to get appointments for meetings where I can demonstrate my abilities. The one issue with phone calls is the other person needs to pick up the phone.

I have started to use LinkedIn more purposely to connect with people. Some are in my industry and might want to use my services. Others are in related industries who I have found on the platform and their work interests me. I always send a note when I ask people to connect. I offer my assistance with connections to people in my network. I have found that people are more likely to accept my offers to connect if I am not trying to sell them my services in my connection request note.

Once I’m connected with someone, I ask for a “virtual coffee.” This is an opportunity to get to know someone and find out if there’s a connection on a personal and professional level.  I schedule these “coffees” for 30 minutes, but sometimes they go longer, sometimes shorter. Again, unless I’m asked, I don’t sell my services. I tell about my work and how I got to where I am today, but this is not a sales conversation. If it looks like my connection might have a need, I ask for another meeting where I can go into more detail about my training and how it can help their people.

I can’t stress enough the importance of connecting with people on personal level. You can send them stuff, post on social media, write blog articles, and go on Facebook Live to talk about your training business, but unless you can talk with them about their goals, anxieties, achievements, and desires, your messages will fall on deaf ears. You have to care about people if you want to help them achieve their goals.

I’m really talking about authenticity here. Being open and honest about who you are with people who might not know you very well. Being willing to listen and relate to another person where they are in life. You do this all before you start selling your programs, courses, webinars, or online platform. It really doesn’t take a lot of time. It just takes a willingness to connect.

I don’t have to be a Kim Kardashian or any other famous person to talk with people who might need my services. You never know what might happen when you connect with someone. You just have to be willing to make the attempt.

My Favorite Teachers

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September is here and it’s back to school time! Sure, it’s different this year for many students and teachers, but it’s nevertheless a good time to reflect on education at all levels. I’ve been fortunate to spend some time as a high school teacher and as a professor at the college/university level. Fall has always been my favorite season because it meant returning to the classroom. Now, I spend my days immersed in training adults, and the academic year plays only a small role.

Advancing through the grades is a rite of passage. Parents take pictures of their children on the first day of a new school year and compare them to last year’s photos. Textbooks change, supply lists grow longer or shorter, pens take the place of pencils. We encounter a number of teachers over the years, too.

I reflect periodically about the teachers and professors I had over the years, and especially at this “back to school” time. Many of my teachers were memorable and some were not so much. Teachers can inspire and motivate students to learn and grow. The best teachers help you understand your potential and instill in you the desire to achieve and do better. Sometimes you realize just how impactful a teacher was only in hindsight.

I’m fortunate to have had many excellent teachers during my school, college, and graduate school years. Here’s a sample of what made a few of them stand out.

Storytelling: My fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Wire, had been my siblings’ teacher also. I was the fourth child in our family to grace her classroom. I didn’t like her at all when I was nine years old. She was very strict and didn’t tolerate my penchant for talking during class. When I didn’t finish my penmanship workbook on time, I had to stay in the room during recess and complete the exercises. But one thing Mrs. Wire did almost every day was read to us after our lunch break. She read classic stories and entire novels to the class. She encouraged us to write our own stories, too. We had to learn how to speak and read aloud also. Whenever she read a book to us that I liked, I would go to the library and find others by the same author and read as many as I could. Mrs. Wire gave me a love of a good story, told well.

Construct an argument and substantiate your claims: In ninth grade, I sat in a meeting at the end of the school year and learned about the high school debate team and what it would take to join. I immediately signed up and thus began my three-year career as a debate team member. Richard Hill was our coach and an English teacher at the high school. I learned how to research a topic, pull evidence, and formulate an argument. I also learned how to deliver a speech for maximum effect. Mr. Hill was a quiet presence with a quick wit and a caring nature. He nurtured us, exposed us to new ideas, and encouraged us to keep going when we wanted to quit. In the English classroom, he taught us to think about words and sentences as building blocks to understanding the world around us. His creative writing prompts were legendary. The skills I learned from Mr. Hill have served me well throughout my life.

Push for more: My journey in higher education lead me to pursue a doctoral degree at The Ohio State University. I ended up there because my professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee knew faculty members at Ohio State and it seemed like the best fit for what I wanted to study. They were not wrong. When I needed a dissertation advisor, I approached Professor Helen Fehervary. She was well-versed in the type of literature and authors I wanted to write about, and she was willing to serve as my advisor. Some doctoral students give up at this point. Choosing a topic, researching, and writing a dissertation take time and a lot of effort. There were many times when I got frustrated and didn’t know what to do or how to approach my topic. There were times when I got angry with her for pushing me to examine something more closely or to write in my voice, not someone else’s. Professor Fehervary guided me through the process and challenged me to keep going through the doubts and rough spots. I completed my dissertation and successfully defended it with her assistance and insistence that I could make a contribution to the field.

It’s true that your parents are your first teachers and the voices you hear when you think about the lessons you learned from them. I hear these teachers’ voices, too, when I consider the knowledge I’ve acquired and what they taught me along the way. I can only hope that the people I teach and train might remember me, too.

3 Realizations About Training Now

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It’s been awhile since you’ve been in a classroom, hasn’t it? If you haven’t delivered a class/course/workshop online yet, you’re probably in the minority of active trainers. At the very least, you’ve likely been a participant in a webinar or some other online training.

We’ve gotten used to accessing Zoom or GoToWebinar or Adobe Connect.

We know how to share our screens and conduct polls.

We use a microphone we like (or have tried).

We monitor chat and Q & A closely.

We teach online, live and in-person – just not in the same place as our students.

So why do I feel like something’s missing? I’ve come to realize three things about the difference between live, in-person and live, online instruction that I’d like to share.

  • I get very tired when I teach online. At first, I thought it was just me, but after speaking with a number of other trainers I’ve come to the conclusion that online training is exhausting. When I am in a room with a group of people, there is a give and take that occurs as I present and we discuss a topic. I can feed off the energy in the room. I use different kinds of activities to change the pace of instruction. When I teach online, no matter how much I utilize breakout rooms, polls, Q & A, or chat, I am always on. I must maintain a high level of energy to keep students watching and participating.
  • I miss seeing students’ reactions. If I am using Zoom Meetings, I can see students’ faces on video if I take the time to look. Most of the time, though, I’m busy presenting and running the class. And let’s face it, not all of our students understand the concept of lighting the face or proper camera angle (I do tell them I don’t want to see ceiling fans). There are times, though, when I’m presenting a webinar with no view of students. In a classroom, I can quickly take in the room and see the students’ reactions to the material I present. I can adjust my delivery based on the expressions or body language I see. I’m grateful for the ability to see faces in the online classroom, but I do miss seeing the non-verbal cues I have often relied on.
  • The informal interaction with students is missing. Sure, we have Q & A and chat options available for students to ask questions or comment. I use these functions to create engagement in the online classroom. I have found that people are less likely to ask a more individual question or make comments of a personal nature in an online class. I like fielding questions during a break or after a class because I get to hear other perspectives or help someone understand the material more fully. I miss these informal conversations. I always invite students to connect with me in other ways after the class (email, website, social media), but we lose the immediacy of the need to speak with me as the instructor when the online class ends.

These “realizations” are my observations after several months of teaching online-only classes. Others may share these or not. I am not advocating for an early return to in-person instruction to satisfy my wants and desires.

Online instruction will not go away with the end of the pandemic. With more dispersed workforces and the need to bring current, relevant training to them on a regular basis, online training will continue to be one vehicle we choose to supply that training. These realizations inform how I approach my role as the trainer/teacher in the online space. I need to be aware of them and constantly work to ameliorate their effects on me and the students.

Power Outage: 5 Tips for Restoring Your Energy

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The power went out shortly after 9:00 am today. Thankfully, all of my devices were charged up and I have a mobile hot spot for internet access. I can respond to emails, hold Zoom meetings, and write this article. I’m all set. Eventually the power will go back on and I can plug in again.

What do you do when your power goes out? What happens if you aren’t charged up and ready to go? We’ve all seen the articles and videos about taking care of yourself. Eventually we all experience some level of exhaustion when we keep working without pause. Sometimes it’s just brain fatigue. Sometimes we are so tired and worn out that we need physical rest. Everyone has their own preferences for addressing this, but indulge me as I give you my go-to ways to restore my energy.

  • Sleep: Once upon a time I was the last person to go to bed and the first up in the morning in my house. I operated on five to six hours a sleep. This affected me in several ways: I used food to prop my energy level up during the day, I was irritable and moody, and I had to fight to stay awake while driving to remote training locations. Adequate sleep is important for many reasons. I have learned that I really need seven and a half to eight hours of sleep a night to function well. The 15 minute “power nap” has never been a solution for me.  Instead, I go to bed at night and get up when I’ve had enough sleep. Now that I know how much I need, I can gauge when I’ll awake naturally according to the time I go to sleep. If I have to get up earlier than usual, I go to bed earlier.
  • Good Nutrition: The days of grabbing a Snickers bar out of the vending machine to get me past my 3 pm slump are over. Not only did that habit lead to weight gain, I also didn’t give my body the nutrients it needed. Now I work at making sure I get a balance of protein, carbohydrates, and fat over the course of the day. I’m more alert and able to think clearly when I’m not riding the peaks and valleys of erratic eating and poor food choices.
  • Ride the bike: Exercise looks different for each person. I enjoy riding my bike whether it’s out on the road or trail, or in the spinning studio. I’m not sure it matters what you do, but some kind of regular exercise helps. In addition to the health benefits, exercise gets me out of the office and away from my desk. Sometimes my best thinking happens when I’m riding my bike or walking.
  • Read a novel: Reading has been a hobby as long as I can remember. I love to lose myself in a good book. Reading has many benefits as well as being entertaining. Although I read a broad range of topics, I find novels most entertaining when I want to relax and recharge. I read classics (yes, Jane Austen) and contemporary fiction (I’m partial to spy thrillers and romance novels). I’m happy that my local library lets me borrow physical books, Kindle books, and audio books (yes, audio books count). I will often read two or three books concurrently. Although you can read anything for fun, I think a good novel is a great way to unwind and spark your imagination.
  • Gratitude: Sometimes the pity party goes on too long. We wallow in the unfairness of our situations and can’t see a way out. We are unhappy and unsatisfied. One way to break a cycle of negativity is to focus on gratitude for what you have or experience. A coach once had me list five things each day in my journal for which I was grateful. Some days it was difficult to come up with five, but I did it for a month. Now, I return to this exercise when I find myself succumbing to negative thoughts and feelings, if only to focus on something positive for a while. Expressing gratitude has the makes you happier and more optimistic. Try it!

These are just a few ways I have found to be helpful when my tank runs low or I find myself feeling depressed or negative. If we don’t take care of ourselves as trainers, how can we expect to engage our students and help them learn effectively?

If you have other ways to rest and refresh yourself, leave a comment below!

7 Tools To Build Your Training Materials

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I get emails every day from companies promising me that they can produce wonderful, beautiful training materials for me – for a fee, of course. I suppose there are trainers out there who don’t want to bother with making their own materials, and maybe you’re one of them. I am not. Perhaps it’s the control freak in me coming out, but I prefer to do it myself.

When you’re a department of one with little resources, you learn how to put things together on your own. I’ve been creating PowerPoint presentations and course manuals for years. As more course content went online, I learned to create and edit videos. I also learned to make my own promotional materials instead of waiting for the marketing department to do it for me. Does this all take time? Yes, it does. But as you become more proficient with the tools, you can create materials quickly, efficiently, and you can keep the look and tone of the content consistent, regardless of the type.

Here are the tools that I use most often:

  • Google Slides/Google Docs: Many people use Microsoft products such as PowerPoint and Word to create presentations and documents. I, too, used these programs almost exclusively until I learned the benefits of Google Slides and Docs. First, I don’t need to remember to hit save while I’m working on a project. (How many times have you inadvertently closed something before saving? Or perhaps your computer crashed unexpectedly?) The Google programs automatically save changes to your work to your Google Drive. The other aspect of Slides and Docs that I really like is the ability to share editing responsibility with other team members. You can also share presentations and documents with others for review. You have much of the same functionality as you do in PowerPoint or Word, and if you want to, you can download your presentations and documents in those formats.
  • Canva:  I’ve written about Canva previously (I’m a fan). Not only can I create eye-catching designs for a multitude of purposes, I have access to more templates than I can count for many different purposes: presentations, social media posts, documents, website, and more. Canva makes it easy to create visuals for presentations and documents. If you upgrade to the Pro version, you get access to many more photographs and templates, as well as the ability to save your brand colors and fonts. I create all of my images for this blog/website, social media, and presentations with Canva. It’s easy to use and convenient to have everything in one place.
  • Camtasia: It’s fairly easy to make screen capture videos on a Mac or PC, but if you want to use those videos as part of online training, you’re probably going to want to edit them. You may want to zoom in to specific places on the screen, add callouts or animations, or add music or voice-over tracks. I have found Camtasia easy to work with, and it produces good results. Some of its features can be achieved with iMovie, but Camtasia does give you the ability to produce your final video in a variety of formats including those needed for some online learning platforms. To me, it’s worth the cost of the license.
  • Laptop Stand: I acquired a laptop stand several years ago as a way to help myself sit up straight while typing and viewing the screen on my laptop. Not only do I no long hunch over my laptop, I also discovered that I look at the camera at eye level when presenting webinars without sacrificing my ability to use the keypad. The bonus feature of the stand I purchased is that is it convertible. I can create a “standing desk” with it and stand up to present also. Save your back and neck and give yourself an eye-level camera angle at the same time with a laptop stand.
  • Microphone: Most laptops have built-in microphones somewhere on the side or back of the computer. Most of us will get better sound if we plug in a microphone and use it to capture our voices when presenting during webinars or making videos. This is also true if we use our smart phones to create videos for training. There are a number of different microphones you can purchase. I have both a lapel mike and a standing microphone. I also have a headset with microphone that I use for webinars if I am not on camera.
  • Smart Phone Tripod: You can shoot good videos using your smart phone, but you’re probably going to want to use a tripod to keep the image stable and lined up correctly. You can find cell phone tripod adaptors that fit on a standard tripod or you can purchase a tripod specifically for use with a smart phone. I found one that has a removable smart phone adaptor and bendable legs. I can use the adaptor with a standard tripod or use the bendable legs to place my tripod on sign posts, benches, and railings. My camera stays in place once positioned.
  • Zoom: There are plenty of video conferencing and webinar platforms out there. I mention Zoom because of three main things: The video quality is better than most platforms, it’s easy to place participants into “breakout rooms” for small group discussions or work, and it can be integrated with Facebook Live for streaming to a broader audience. Zoom Meetings gives you the ability to look at all of your participants, too. You can record webinars or meetings and repurpose the video. Whatever platform you decide to use for live, online training, be sure to learn the options and determine how you can best utilize them for engaging online sessions.

In most cases, there are online resources you can use to familiarize yourself with these tools. Learn how to use them effectively and efficiently so you can create training materials whenever you need them. What tools do you like? Leave your suggestions in the comments!

5 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About Training

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During my years as a training director, I learned that everyone in the organization knows how training should happen. I listened to a myriad of opinions about what we should train, when, and where. Don’t get me wrong–there were good ideas, too. I happen to believe that the training department should partner with managers to learn about needs and direction of the program. I learned that along with that comes several misconceptions about what “training” is and how to do it effectively. Here are five things everyone gets wrong about training:

  • Anyone can train. Subject matter experts are just that: Experts in the subject matter they perform. Sometimes subject matter experts (lovingly referred to as “SMEs” in the training field) are good presenters, sometimes not. If confronted with the idea that Bob the mortgage loan originator can teach a class on mortgages, my duty was to confirm that Bob could, indeed, teach the content. Not everyone can teach or train. When I evaluate a prospective trainer, it’s to determine whether the person wants to present in front of people and if yes, how can I best help them to accomplish that without sacrificing the standards of the program. There are alternatives to getting the material into the hands of learners such as interviews, podcasts, videos, and articles.
  • Give them a handout. Somehow, having a handout legitimizes the training class. It should have as much information on it as possible so that when someone leaves the class with the handout, they will be able to remember the information presented. Such handouts, in my opinion, are wastes of time. If the participant can get just as much out of a handout after the class as they can participating in the class, why bother attending? The best handouts are those that require the participant to pay attention to what’s going on in the class to be able to follow along on the handout. The handout could have sentences that need to be completed, prompts to write down a number of points that were made, or illustrations that the participant could describe. The handout could be a simple piece of paper for the participant to take notes. The handout shouldn’t replace the content of the class.
  • Give them the slide deck. This is a kin of the handout and sometimes even a substitute for it. Giving participants a copy of the slide deck may seem a plausible way to help them remember content, but only if the trainer is reproducing a high volume of class content on the slides. I prefer to make my slides primarily visual aids for the presentation and limit the number of bullet points on them. A copy of the slide deck might not get the participant very far in their recollection of the session if they are relying on the deck having all the information. There are times, however, when providing the slide deck in handout form can be useful for participants. Give it to them when appropriate.
  • Training has to be in person. This admonition is fading away as more and more companies are looking for ways to train their staff remotely. It is very common, though, to hear managers declare that people need to go to training (read: to a specific place at a specific time to take part in a class with a live instructor). With people accustomed to watching videos online and taking tests and quizzes via social media, the need to be in a physical classroom has diminished. We are finding ways to train people virtually, either live, in person or through learning management platforms that provide on demand training. There is a benefit to having a community of learners for social learning. That community can be assembled in the online space, too.
  • You don’t need training if you’re experienced. It’s surprising that people believe we can stop learning once we’ve achieved a particular level of competence in our fields. With rapid changes in technology and how it’s applied to different professions, training to use these tools is essential. Even if you have “learned it all,” you forget or don’t use information or techniques as consistently as you think. Often we need to keep learning to advance our careers. Exempting experienced people from training does not benefit them. Training needs to adapt and be flexible enough to allow for participants at different stages of their careers and their changing needs.

Everyone has an opinion about training. When you’re the trainer, you need to listen to them and then separate the valid recommendations and ideas from those that are less helpful. You may be called upon to justify your decisions, and that becomes a training opportunity, too. If you’re a trusted partner, others will welcome the chance to understand why you do what you do.

5 Tips To Get The Most Out Of An Online Community

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We are all spending a lot more time online these days. It’s easy to find an hour has gone by and all I’ve done is watch some videos and read a couple of articles. This may seem like a waste of time, but I schedule my online “research.” I want to continue to learn new approaches and discover best practices for my use. This means using the resources I have available to me through online networking and social learning platforms.

Long before the pandemic I discovered that there are online communities of professionals who gather to learn and exchange ideas regularly. At one time, LinkedIn Groups functioned as great resources for information and exchange of ideas. Unfortunately, most of the posts in these groups do not get seen unless the member purposely goes to the group page. Just as any other social media platform, engagement dictates whether group members will see any content posted.

Other types of online communities include member-only platforms. Some require that you pay a fee to join, others have no fee. I joined Training Magazine’s online community, Training Magazine Network, several years ago to get resources and tips when I was researching Learning Management Systems. I stayed involved because I found that the multitude of topics covered in live and recorded webinars, e-books, and information on the site made it a good compliment to other industry-specific resources. I also enjoyed the interaction with other attendees on live webinars. Training Magazine Network also offers a place on the platform where I can record my insights as I watch a webinar, share my insights, and read others’ comments. This is all part of a social learning platform.

You can become a member of an online community and never watch, read, or comment on the content. For the best return on the investment of your time and attention (and perhaps money), I offer these tips:

  • Watch webinars live: Not another webinar, right?! I have learned about many training topics on webinars, and I’ve learned best practices for presenting a webinar just by observing a live webinar. If you watch the webinar live, you can also participate in the conversation in the chat. There are other professionals watching who contribute to the conversation. The webinar presenter will often use the chat to gauge interest and engagement, or a least to field questions. For best results, watch webinars live and be engaged!
  • Connect with other members, on- and off-line: Sometimes you meet someone on one of those webinars you watch and end up having conversations with them, connecting with them on LinkedIn, and even collaborating on a project. This only happens if you pay attention, strike up a conversation, and respond when someone invites you to connect with them. You never know where that connection could lead.
  • Participate in interest groups: Some networking or social learning platforms create opportunities for you to participate in small groups. Depending on the group, this may be for a finite period of time or an ongoing discussion. I find myself enriched by the conversations in the groups I have joined. You might discover that you create connections with the others in your group that last beyond the group’s dissolution.
  • Learn something new: As a training professional, I understand well the need to learn new things, but when was the last time you challenged yourself to learn something new? An online platform may give you the opportunity to stretch yourself and move out of your comfort zone. Think outside the box when contemplating which webinar to watch or what group to join. Consider topics you’ve always wanted to know about, but didn’t think relevant enough.
  • Contribute: It’s easy to sit back and watch a few webinars or videos, read a couple articles, and then move on. Sometimes you read something that makes you mad or resonates with you. If the platform gives you the ability to leave comments or engage with the author through a chat function, consider continuing the conversation. If you’re watching a webinar, use the chat function to contribute. Ask questions. Help someone else understand something. Contribute to the discussion. You’ll find your experience enriched in the end.

You only get out of it what you put in.

Make the most of online resources to help you with your professional development and to learn about tools that could help your department (even a department of one). Join an online networking group to find connections with other professionals. You may just find your new favorite place to hang out online.

Repurpose Your Content

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Once upon a time, to teach meant that you stood or sat in a classroom in front of people and engaged in activities designed to help those people learn something. You might have lectured or presented concepts, theories, or formulas. You might have demonstrated how to perform an activity or experiment. You might have engaged the people in the classroom in a discussion about a topic or a reading. When the time for the class was up, you left the room and interacted with the people only if they had questions or needs, and they most likely came to you during specific times when you were available for consultation.

The content for these classes was in a notebook or file folder, prepared and maintained by you, the instructor. If you shared anything, it was in the form of paper handouts. Sometimes you prepared manuals for distribution to the participants in your classes. In some cases, you may have added audio cassettes or CDs for participants to use when reviewing the lessons. Each person had their own set of materials for their own use.

Times have changed, haven’t they? We are less likely to be in a classroom these days, and the materials we provide may be documents, videos, or audio files stored on a website that participants in training access on their own, according to their needs. The ability to provide new materials and make changes to previous versions has also made updating course content faster (and easier, in my opinion). We are connected to students in a variety of ways: Email, text message, social media, and learning management systems, to name a few.

I believe that the nature of teaching and learning has also changed. We still conduct formal training sessions to present material and give students the opportunity to ask questions and practice; however, there are also informal, social learning opportunities as well. The content we prepare for formal learning can be repurposed and used for informal learning as well.

I have been creating short “Quick Tip” videos for some time. Each one explains to real estate agents how to do something for their business and in some cases, why it’s important. The content for these videos comes from the material I regularly train on in my classroom sessions. Because these are short “Quick Tips,” I use discrete lessons that can be presented in two to four minutes in a video. I typically use no visual aids, and it’s just me in the frame of the video.

These videos are distributed to my social channels (YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn). They also sit on a page on my website. I invite viewers to comment and subscribe, but most people will see the video through social channels as they view their newsfeeds. Recently I took one of the “tracks” we teach as part of the Floyd Wickman Program, the “Referral Lead Generator,” and created a short “how to” video:

I can use this video as a short reminder lesson for students in the program, to promote my business as a Floyd Wickman trainer, and to simply connect with past students who may have forgotten the technique and want to review it for their use. Eventually this video will be linked to my email signature where I invite people to view my latest “Quick Tip.” It gives a broad audience a taste of what I train on and how I present the content.

When I create videos, I order captions and a transcript from an online service. The transcript of the video can be stand-alone content for a blog post or website page. Many podcasts double as audio and video files, distributed to different channels for different purposes. Webinars can be recorded and offered for on-demand learning on a learning management platform or other website. Repurposing content is taking what you have already prepared and using it in a different way.

People learn in different places, at different times, and by different means than they did 20 or 30 years ago. By repurposing your training content and making it available via different channels, you are more likely to reach more students (and potential students) than you might by confining your teaching to the classroom.