Three Types of Learning

Learning usually takes place in one of 3 different of timescales:

Just too late: Learning after the event – not the best option as you are always playing catch up and can be downright dangerous! In Health and Safety for example, just too late was too late to stop the factory burning down.

Just in time: Quick, bite sized learning where you have access to it when you need it. Characterised by short videos that show you HOW TO: eg repair something, improve your interview skills before the event, deal with giving feedback to a colleague, or even how to use a fire extinguisher.

Just in case: Learning in advance skills that take time to master. For example: leadership skills are not something that you can learn over night as they consist of many parts. Some skills take practice such as Presentation Skills and often benefit from having a coach or someone to “hold your hand” during the learning process. Even with H&S learning how to have the right culture and signage prevents accidents from happening.

What sort of learning takes place in your organisation?

Three Sources of Conflict

In my experience working with organisations there are three factors behind most organisational conflicts:

1. Differences in behaviour and communication styles

2. Differences in priorities and values

3. Workplace conditions, including poor communications from leaders

Some personalities just seem to clash. It's important to determine why two people rub each other the wrong way. Do they have opposing behavioural styles?

For example, an extrovert who is open and expressive could view an introvert as hard to read and perhaps untrustworthy. Likewise, a time-conscious, highly organised employee may harshly judge a spontaneous colleague. Someone who is highly analytical and precise might view an intuitive person as impulsive and flaky.

Teaching team members to understand basic human differences can help them overcome tendencies to judge and make assumptions. They can learn to accept coworkers’ differences. Consider using any of the commonly accepted assessment tools, such as PRISM or Belbin.

Workshops provide another option. An extrovert can learn to ask questions to draw out an introvert. The highly organized team member can learn to set more realistic deadlines.

Understanding personality differences can help prevent clashes and conflicts before they become ongoing problems.

I offer several options for learning about personalities in the workplace to help deal with differences and conflicts.

Expectations and Assumptions

People have different needs, values, beliefs, assumptions and cultural frameworks. Our expectations are fed by past experiences. If you erroneously assume that others are essentially mirror images, your lack of clarity can create strife.

Leaders and teams must explore others’ expectations, assumptions, underlying values and priorities. This can be accomplished in group or individual sessions, led by a manager or coach.

When there is an elevated degree of conflict, it's wise to retain a professional who is trained in interpersonal skills and mediation.

Behind every complaint is an underlying value that goes unsatisfied. Asking questions like “What’s really important here?” often allows people to uncover competing values and priorities. You will facilitate more authentic conversations when you ask the right questions.

What do you think about these ideas? What do you see as a major source of conflict in your organisation?

Training trends 2013

 

Whilst over the past few years organisations have been sitting on their budgets and rationing training more heavily than usual, the trend for 2013 seems to be that new spending is on its way. Training (and marketing) your way out of a recession has often been quoted as the way forward and as new shoots of growth begin the appear, this can be expected to rapidly take off.

But the recession has changed the training world. Here are 5 trends that we expect to see more of in 2013.

Trend #1. No longer is it as common to have a class full of participants who have been sent because "it might be useful". Far more is the trend towards personalised learning using a wide range of resources, from classroom based training to on-line and on-mobile resources.  In fact, a training manager is now far more a resource manager providing knowledge based learning opportunities. Their role is to find and disseminate learning opportunities and reinforce learning to ensure it is embedded in the organisation.

Trend #2. Senior executives are taking more interest and applying more influence in the learning requirements. The potential impact of learning on project outcomes is being seen as critical as organisations move forward. Learning initiatives are about increasing the productivity and effectiveness of the organisation.

Trend #3. Another trend has been the rise of the knowledge repositories. Using social media, such as closed and open groups on Facebook and Ning, members of the organisation can share information with their colleagues. Whilst file sharing has been around for years, opportunities for sharing content have become much easier and more widespread. Content creators and curators will become far more important as they collate and collect libraries of information for use in the future.

Trend #4. All things video are set to dominate over the next few years. Video traffic reached 51% of online activity in 2010 and is set to climb to 70-80% by the end of 2013. And with the growth of smart phones and tablets enabling us to watch video anywhere and everywhere it has to be the key trend of the year.

Trend #5. And finally, we are seeing the rise of virtual online video based training. Products such as Livestream, which allow you to join and watch live events are becoming all the rage.

So where will your learning take you in 2013?

7 Ways to Say Something Difficult

Have you got something difficult to say?  Check out this Prezi which will give you a few ideas about how to approach it.




Find out more in the A Useful Guide to Resolving Conflict

Schools shouldn't just be exam factories!

The Confederation of British Industry, the employers' organisation, made the recommendations in a report released at the start of its annual conference. (19th Nov 2012)

CBI's director general John Cridland said: "In some cases secondary schools have become an exam factory.

"Qualifications are important, but we also need people who have self-discipline and serve customers well. As well as academic rigour, we need schools to produce rounded and grounded young people who have the skills and behaviours that businesses want."

I whole heartedly agree, my daughter is currently taking her GCSE's and the pressure to get higher and higher marks by taking a resit when you already have an 'A' are ridiculous. But I also have to question whether businesses are placing too much emphasis on the school turning out a well rounded person and not enough on their own responsibility to see learning as a lifelong activity and hence give their employees the training and development they deserve.

"We're in a recession, we can't afford to provide training." This is a cry we on the provision side of the fence hear frequently. But there is evidence to suggest that organisations who spend on training in a recession are the first to emerge and grow rapidly at the end of it. It makes sense after all. If you look after your staff and develop their talents whilst your competitors are failing to do so, then your company will be in a much better position to take advantage of an upturn when it does come along.

Not only that, you will weather the storm itself much better. Flexible staff, who are committed to the organisation, inspired by new ideas and commitment from their managers will certainly give more of their best than those who are told "Now's not a good time."

Presentations should never be boring again!

Presentations should never be boring again!

How many boring presentations have you sat through? Be honest, how many have you given? What is it that makes presentations boring? The material? The presenter? The space that you are in?

Ok, so you may have limited options over the latter but you do have some control over the former. And if you follow some basic rules you are a fair way to being there.

1. Make it personal. After all it is YOU that is standing up there. You're not boring are you? You are someone with an opinion, full of knowledge that you want to share with your audience. So when you are preparing for your presentation, think about how you can use your personality, your thoughts and opinions to bring it alive.

2. And making it personal also applies t the audience. Why should they listen to you? What has it got to do with them? What are they going to learn and why is it important?

My 15 year old daughter regularly asks the questions of her teachers "Why do I need to know this stuff? How am I going to use it later in life?"

A difficult question sometimes for a teacher to answer, but one which they don't often have an adequate reply to. But it is a question that you need to consider because without it your presentation is a NICE to have not a NEED to have.

3. Too many words! How often do you come across a presentation with too many words! Words on slides - lots of them! Words in the script - too directive, instructive, patronising, jargon filled. Remember your audience want to be engaged. Using pictures rather than words maybe a cliche, but that is because it works!

4. Start at the end. When planning a presentation I will think about where I want the audience to be at the end and the call to action that I am going to raise. The rest of the presentation is then a journey to get them there. There may be highs and lows, questions and answers, but they should all be leading one conclusion.

Enjoyed this? You might like to read Stand and Deliver, Improve Your Presentations at Work, part of the Cherrystone Collection

 

Ways to Design Stories For Business and Presentations (part 3)

 This is the third in a series of posts about designing stories for business and presentations. Stories are so important because, done well, they evoke emotion. And as John Medina explains in Brian Rules:

"When the brain detects emotion the amygdala release dopamine into the system - aids memory and information processing. "

1.                  Create a picture association. People relate to pictures in very different ways to words. Pictures can be absorbed and read at very different levels. There has been a lot of study to look at people's eye movements in relation to pictures and which elements of a picture they go to first.  

2.                  Create a word association. If the important part of a story is to get people to remember particular points then using certain key words that evoke an emotion each time they are used can be very powerful. If for example you have 3 key concepts that you need to get across, can they be reduced to simple words or phrases and how can you build a story around them?

3.                  Start at the end. A trick often used by Hollywood. By starting at the end and then going back to provide an explanation of how the characters got there.

4.                  When, Where, What, Who, Why, How? Ask these questions and fill in the gaps. Goes well with no. 5

5.                  Use Mind Maps. If you haven't used Mind Maps before then learn how to do so. They are great for creating ideas and then finding the links.

6.                  List of characters, emotions, place, time. This is another way to find different elements of a story.

7.                  Look at storylines of films/books/TV and substitute different elements. Most stories have already been written. Whether it is in great classics or soaps, stories remerge, reworked and with new names but often the same outcomes.

8.                  Create a journey. Most stories are about journeys from A to C via B. They are journeys of discovery about self, about others, about power and frailty, about selfishness and selflessness. It is the settings that change.

If you would like help finding your stories, get in touch.

Creating Your Own Stories for Business and Presentations (Part 2)

Looking to create stories for your business? Stories are so powerful as they combine emotion, action, heros and villains and can really bring your business and presentations to life.

To start with you need to ask yourself a series of questions.

◦             What is the goal of your story? What do you want to happen as a result of telling your story?

◦             What’s in it for the audience? Why should they be interested? Why is it important that they listen?

◦             How much do they already know? If an audience is new to an area, how can you make your story simple enough to introduce them to a brad concept when they don't have the detail?

◦             What do you want your audience to spontaneously recall? What do you want people to walk away with?

o   That the lemon was orange? (ie not what they first thought.)

o   That the product is fun? (ie: it makes them smile when they think about it.)

o   An image of the bright red balloon? (ie. a specific picture.)

o  It made me sad, but happy? (ie. a specific emotion)

o A shocking fact (one that is difficult to shift from your mind)

◦             Where is the best place to use your story in the presentation?

o   The beginning - to capture attention and make sure that they have got the gist.

o   The middle - to recapture attention.

o   The end - to leave them with an emotional feeling to remember.

People's attention span is short. So using stories at strategic points cannot only be used to create contrast,  evoke emotion, explain difficult topics well, but it can also bring people's attention back to your narrative. Have fun with them!

Using Stories in Business (Part 1)

Using Stories in Business

I recently watched a comedian strutting his stuff on stage and was struck by his ability to tell a simple story and have the audience respond with gales of laughter. What was it he was doing that was so successful? After all he was only telling a story about buying Christmas presents with his wife. The trials and tribulations, the misunderstandings, the ultimate denouement and the punchline. The story itself was very simple and ordinary but what he was doing was very clever. He was tapping into other people's perceptions and experiences and turning them on their head. Like most great comedy, it was taking the ordinary, making it extraordinary and evoking emotion along the way.

For centuries we have used stories to pass on information. But in much of modern business life we have forgotten how to use them effectively. This is particularly true when it comes to presentations. We all know that there are millions of presentations made every day, the majority of them less than riveting. So what can you do to stand out from the crowd and make you presentations really memorable?

 Stories Stick

But why are stories so powerful? The impact of stories lies in the fact that they provoke emotion which is known to be a major influencer in maintaining interest and memory retention.

The brain processes meaning before detail. So starting your presentation with a story so that people get the gist of what you are going to say and then going into the detail improves both concentration and understanding.

It provides a series of hooks on which to hang further explanation. So you can refer back to the story and say "so when the comedian said....the audience rocked with laughter!"

By adding relevant stories at suitable intervals throughout the presentation it is possible to introduce new ideas and spark new interest and re-engage through emotion at a point when the attention might be flagging.

So next time you create a presentation, try starting with a relevant story. It doesn't have to be funny unless you are confident that you can make people laugh. If you can't immediately think of one, pinch a story line from somewhere else such as a movie or a fairy tale. Just make sure you create a relevant link.

Want to find out more about creating stories for presentations or training? We provide story telling coaching to help you find your own stories.  

Stress - The 7 C's

Stress - The 7 C's

In time for National Stress Awareness Day, here are the 7 C's behind Stress and what you can do about them.

Stressor No. 1 - Poor COMMUNICATION

•       Poor communication leads to misunderstanding, missed opportunities, bad feeling. 

•       Assertive communication helps deal with these. Learning  good communication skills can help you at work and at home.

Stressor No. 2 - Lack of CAPABILITY

•       If you have not been trained to do a job then is it fair to expect you to do it well?

•       Give yourself the best possible chance to do well by getting the best possible training for the job in hand.

Stressor No. 3 - Too little CAPACITY

·        Not having enough capacity to deal with day-today issues can lead to a sense of overwhelm which can be overpowering and cause you to want to give up or walk away.

·        This may be a case of needing to review your work life balance or getting yourself organised.

·         It may be the case that you need to learn how to say "No."

·        Make sure you review where you are in your life, the things you want to keep and the things you want to walk away from. Now work out a plan to do just that.

Stressor No. 4 - Loss of CONTROL

•       People get stressed about a situation because they feel out of control.

•       Different people react in different ways to loss of control and will use different strategies to  get back to a level of acceptable control for them .

•       Learning how you react to loss of control and the strategies that you use, can help you to understand what you might do differently.

Stressor No. 5 - Dealing with CHANGE

•       Many people don’t like change and get very stressed as a result.

•       The first steps to dealing with change is to accept it is inevitable and then deal with the consequences rather than the fact itself.

•       Learn to embrace change so it doesn’t scare you as much.

Stressor No. 6 - Resolving CONFLICT

For those of us who don’t like conflict, it can be a major source of stress. Learning to deal with it can be a major benefit. There are many ways of dealing with conflict, dependent on your situation. Here are a few:

1.       Don't take the bait.

2.       Consider the underlying causes. Is it obvious why someone is upset?

3.       Pause before you react. This will give you thinking time.

4.       Check your own behaviour. Is it part of the problem?

5.       Listen.

6.       Acknowledge that they may be correct in part of their concern.

7.       Be willing to negotiate if appropriate.

8.       Remain assertive.

9.       Stay in adult.

10.    Look for warning and danger signs.

11.    Check your distances.

12.    Avoid competing.

13.    Think Win/Win.

14.    Be prepared to deal with emotion and anger.

15.    Be aware, be alert.

16.    Know your legal position.

Stressor No. 7 - Dealing with a CRISIS

•       We all have to deal with crisis from time to time, whether it is personal or at work. Knowing how you are likely to react will help you plan on how to deal with things in the future.

•       Crises can hit us at anytime. Illness, a death in the family, divorce, bad debt. Unfortunately they are all too common. And can really knock you for six when they happen.

•       If you are dealing with a crisis, make sure that you have the support mechanisms in place to help you as much as possible,. This might include medical and legal professionals, friends and family, a coach or counsellor.

Want to find out more about how you can manage stress more effectively? Here are some useful links:

De-Stress You- Kindle Version

Useful Guides from Pansophix including:  A Useful Guide to De-Stress You,  A Useful Guide to Resolving Conflict, A Useful Guide to Create a New You - by Berry Winter

For Stress Coaching - http://www.jamberry.co.uk/coaching/coaching_home.html

For a variety of online products - http://www.jamberryonline.co.uk/index.html

Managing Conflict - CUDSA

When you are in a conflict situation, in the heat of the moment it can sometimes be difficult to remember what to do. There are a number of acronyms that may help you to remember. The first is:

CUDSA

Confront the behaviour

Understand each other's position

Define the problem

Search for a solution

Agree

Activity	Explanation	Example
Confront the behaviour	Concentrate on the behaviour not the person. Ask then to modify their behaviour so that you can talk about the issue.	I feel uncomfortable when you say xxx. Please can we discuss this calmly so that we can get to the problem.
Understand each other's position	Take the time to understand the other's position. Is it a real issue, or is it based on misunderstanding? Have you got all of the information, or only part of the story? Respect their position and ask them to respect yours.	Please tell me slowly what you think the issue is. Please then listen to my reply.
Define the problem	Get into the detail, but try not to react by becoming defensive, sulking, aggressive or other negative behaviour. Repeat back to the other party, your understanding of their side of the story. Stay in adult.	I understand that you feel ..., and that you have an issue with ..., and that the reason behind this is ... Is this correct? My position is ...
Search for a solution	This involves cooperation. Search for a win-win solution wherever possible. The best solution is one where each party feels that they have gained at least part of their point if not all.	I suggest that I will agree to ... if you are happy to give me ... This way we both gain something positive.
Agree	Get an agreement - even if it is an agreement to differ. Make sure any agreement is stated clearly and unambiguously. If necessary, write it down.	In these (...) circumstances, I agree to ... and you agree to ... If things substantially change then we will review this agreement.

Find out more in the eBook Lets Agree to Differ: Handling Conflict at Work

Ever wondered what a Johari window was?

The Johari window is named after Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham. It is a model of human interaction, leadership and influence and how and what we choose to reveal about ourselves.

Check out the video.

Keep a log

Need to keep your motivated? Try keeping a log or diary of your daily events?



To find out more visit www.getmotivated247.com

Team building with drama (video)

Great day using masks and drama to explore communication skills

7 Pitfalls when Making Presentations

Making presentations is one of the key business skills that many of us fear. Here are some thoughts on the pitfalls that can befall us and how you can overcome them.

Pitfall 1. Not being prepared.

Even the best presenters need to know what they are talking about and what they are going to say. You can be the expert in your subject, but if you haven't ordered in your mind how you are going to put that across, then you may well fail to engage your audience and fail to get your message to them. Take the time to do your preparation well and thoroughly. It is also worth checking where you are in the running. What is the speaker before you likely to say? Will it be easy to follow it? Can you incorporate it into your own material by reference?

Pitfall 2. Believing your slides will do the talking for you.

Spending too much time designing slides to support you and not enough time thinking about what you are going to say. There is nothing more boring than just talking through you slides. Make sure that you are the star of the show not them. That is not to say that your slides should be boring, far from it. You must make sure that you slides are simple, visible by your whole audience and use colours wisely. Use them to illustrate your talk, not dominate it.

Pitfall 3. Not thinking about your delivery.

Good presenters have variety - variety in their voice, their stance and their material. People judge you on your body language so it is worth thinking about how you stand - feet apart with your weight evenly distributed. Use your voice to introduce variety into the presentation. Think about which points require emphasis and then how you can use your voice. Slow down, speed up, louder or quieter. Watch what others do. Listen to some great speakers from the past.

Pitfall 4. Not checking about the technical equipment.

How often do you turn up to talk to find that the PC and the projector are not compatible? Or there is no extension cable? Will you be using a microphone? Is it fixed or mobile? Will you get a chance to practice? It is worth spending sometime find out as much as possible about the venue, the facilities and the organisers expectations as possible.

Pitfall 5. Not knowing who your audience are.

Expecting an audience who know your subject well and understand all the references and get an audience who are new to the subject? Or get a group of experts who are looking for something new of the subject? Expecting 300 and only get 30 or maybe the other way around? The size and knowledge of your audience can make a huge difference about how you are able to interact with them. So check them out beforehand if you can.

Pitfall 6. Failing to practice.

Regular speakers making the same speech may not need to practice much. But for the rest of us, it is important to practice to ensure you are familiar with the material. Check you material isn't going to cause to you overrun your allotted time slot. Or that you are not going to run out of material half way through. Also think through any questions that might be asked and how you are going to answer them.

Pitfall 7. Failing to have a backup plan.

What happens if your worst nightmare happens and things go wrong? By thinking through all that things that might happen and planning for them you will feel more confident and able to relax. If the equipment is not working, does it really matter if you know your subject and can talk about it with confidence and ease? If you audience is bigger than you expected, embrace the challenge and work with them. Good planning will ensure that you can get through your presentation with the least possible trouble.

Good luck!

Get Motivated, Stay Motivated

Want to get motivated in 2010? Visit www.getmotivatedstaymotivated.co.uk and sign up for the FREE Webinar.

Motivation is about a state of mind. It is about the iner need that creates a compelloig desire to act. On the Webinar we will cover

• A few concepts about motivation
• Some things to do to improve your motivation and that of others…
• …and, a Special Offer!

So if you would like to get motivated in 2010 come and join us on 18th February between 4 and 5 pm GMT

14 ways to Keep your Head when All Around are Losing Theirs

Keeping calm when all around you are in a panic. Here are some simple thoughts on how to Stay Calm! Enjoy

7 Ways to Deal with Difficult People

Dealing with difficult people is about staying in control of yourself, of the situation and the conversation. Sometimes you have to brave it out. This doesn’t mean fighting back but it may mean waiting until they have vent their spleen. Here are a few ideas on how you can deal with difficult people.

Listen – people like to talk about themselves so let them have their say. By listening you are creating an opportunity for that person to release pent up feelings. The trick is to know when to say stop, now I have listened and it is time to move on.

Build empathy – empathy is about being able to respect each others different points of view. You have opened up the communications channels. You do not have to sympathise with someone to build understanding about someone else’s position.

Build rapport – by listening you have started the process. It enables you to find the points of connection and build on those to create a good working relationship.

Be patient – difficult people are not always the loud ones. Sometimes quiet people can be just as difficult to deal with. They may come across as shy, sullen, uncommunicative etc. Give them the opportunity to overcome their reluctance to communicate in a non-threatening environment.

Stay in adult – if someone is acting in a childish way, don’t react by becoming childish as well. Stay in adult mode and wait for them to catch you up. Remember how frustrating toddlers are to deal with. Give them some space to work things out for themselves.

Bring them back to the point – the difficulty may be someone who likes to talk too much. Each time they go off the subject bring them gently but firmly back to the matter in hand.

Watch your language – you can’t always understand someone else’s feeling, but you can accept that they have the right to have them. Avoid “I understand how you feel…” and substitute “I understand that you are feeling…” Always comment on the behaviour not the person.

Give Yourself a New Job Title

How much does your job title define your job? How much does it determine your approach to your job? How does it affect other people's approach to you? The name of your job very often tries to describe what you do. so on that premise if you want to do something different, or want your staff to, then change the name!

Imagine you had a new job title. Not any old title but one that would make a difference - to you and your team. Take for example Director of Making a Difference. What is the difference that you would make? It could be a different way of getting things done, or it might be making the difference to your customers.

What about Head of Momentum? Where might you find momentum in your organisation? How would you go about creating it?

Here are a few more different job tiles you could use:

Company Journey Planner
Director of Money Matters
Head of Executions
Company Team Tracker

Changing the name of your job may change the way you view it and where you place the emphasis - so go on give your job a new name!