Handy tools for trainers

Remember these?

Find a great screen capture utility
SnagIt is my personal favorite. It's an easy-to-use program to capture images and has a built-in editor feature. I use SnagIt to blur out sensitive information that I don't want appearing in my training materials, to highlight areas of the screen and to make my screen shots look professional. I think that including screen shots makes training materials and job aids more esthetically pleasing and easier to understand.

Educate yourself on Microsoft Office tips and tricks
If you're using MS Office as your suite of programs, obviously. Take a look at Microsoft's website to learn shortcuts, tips and tricks. Microsoft offers thousands of free templates to use: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/ Some are good, some aren't. But if you can find some that you like, it's worth the time spent. Some of my go-to templates include calendars and banners.

Learn how to use keyboard shortcuts
Save time when creating documentation by learning commonly-used keyboard shortcuts. Make it a point to use them and you'll find that you'll save yourself numerous mouse clicks. My personal favorite keyboard shortcuts are:
- Ctrl-A: Select all- when you don't want to scroll through pages and pages to select the entire document.
- Ctrl-C: Copy- to select the text that you'd like to copy or cut.
- Ctrl-V: Paste- to insert the text that you've copied.
- Ctrl-Z: Undo- if only life had an "undo" key!
- Holding down Shift key while clicking through a list: Selects everything on the list
- Holding down Ctrl key while clicking through a list: Selects specific items on the list (pick and choose)

Worst Trainer of the Year: 5 Easy Ways to Win the Award

This article has been published in the Learning 2011 Perspectives e-book (page 7), available here: http://learning2011.com/ebook/

There are many ways to go about polishing your facilitation and instructional design skills to win the coveted "Worst Trainer of the Year" award. Here are 5 quick and simple tips to guarantee your win!

1. Go with the flow. Instead of spending time preparing your material and searching for the next great quote or example, be spontaneous. Trainees will appreciate watching the process of how you work and how you are able to come up with thoughts and ideas on the fly.

2. Practice reading PowerPoint slides. Audience members enjoy having presentations read to them, so that they don't need to read it for themselves. It's best not to have details potentially lost in translation. Practice "being green" by minimizing your presentation's font size and maximizing the amount of information on each slide.

3. Theory, theory, theory. Participants will take you seriously only if you provide them with all of the research that back up the theories that you are providing to them. Don't waste time on real-life examples when you can create hypothetical situations to explain your material. Avoid telling stories to illustrate your point. Attendees might find them too engaging and focus on them, when instead, they should be concentrating on memorizing facts and figures.

4. Take the time to explain all of the details to your audience, no matter whether it relates to their job or not. After all, they might need to know about it later on down the road. It's best not to assume that they have experience in the subject matter you are training about. Give them all the information that they might need to know, while you have their attention. If you are training a technical computer system, explain and have a discussion about each and every button, window and field that appears. It’s best not to leave anything out. Your trainees will appreciate your painstaking attention to detail.

5. Speak in a slow and even tone. Participants might find loud and over-enthusiastic tones to be jarring. Try to keep your volume low and your pace controlled. You will know you are successful if your audience members embrace the full experience of your presentation by closing their eyes.

If you snag the award, it's likely that word about your skills will spread quickly and you might soon see an impact on your attendance levels. But have no fear, facilitating fewer classes will free up more quality time to work on winning this award again for next year.

Karen Hanson is a Minneapolis-based Professional & Technical Trainer. A passionate classroom instructor, Karen enjoys on-boarding new hires and training technical systems-based classes. Originally from Malaysia, Karen relocated to Minnesota to attend college. Karen holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration- Marketing & Management Information Systems and an MBA. Karen lives with her husband Bryan and their two children, Sophie and Jack. Her favorite food is mac and cheese (the real stuff, not the bright orange kind).

Learning 2011- live blogging

30 Under 30

I am so grateful for the opportunity that my company gave me to attend Elliot Masie's Learning 2011 Conference. As a 30 Under 30 participant, I was able to engage in extra speaker sessions and projects available only to us. The other 29 learning leaders under the age of 30 were an impressive group of well-educated and experienced professionals. It was an honor to meet them and I hope to continue to learn more about them on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. I appreciated the guidance we received from Elliot, Bob Baker, Nigel Paine and Meghan Cernera.

Some of of my highlights from the Learning 2011 Conference:

- meeting and working with the other 30 Under 30 participants and then getting up on stage with them in front of 2,000 conference attendees.
- learning about how CNN has shortened their technical training into "blitz" training. Nice to know vs need to know.
- hearing Doug Lynch from the University of Pennsylvania express his views about calculating ROI on training and what he thinks about management books like Good to Great (he's not a fan of either).

President Bill Clinton

- watching 2,000 people play heads or tails to win a night's stay at Cinderella's castle!
- Hamburger University @ McDonald's- transforming from traditional instructor-led classrooms to using simulations and blended learning. Amazing use of technology in their classrooms- electronic flip charts, pod-style tables, smart boards.
- meeting the producer of Undercover Boss, Stephen Lambert.
- getting advice from the founder of Boston Scientific, John Abele.
- hire the right people and train them for the job. They know how to have fun at Southwest Airlines. I'm curious how their training team will handle the AirTran merger.
- connecting IRL (in real life) with fellow Twitter-ers.
- listening to Bill Clinton give his keynote speech. He was amazing!

John Lithgow

- participating in the reverse mentoring session and giving advice to three "30 and older" leaders in the learning and development industry.
- meeting new mentors and having the opportunity to ask them a few (quick) questions during the speed mentoring session.
- learning about what it's like to work at Facebook and how they approach learning and development.
- watching John Lithgow perform his one man play, "Stories by Heart".
- thinking about ways to incorporate Creative Commons material/photos into what I do.
- getting inspired by the innovative mind of Dean Kamen, inventor extraordinaire.
- hearing more about non-profits such as Head Held High and FIRST Robotics.

Networking tips

http://everydaypeoplecartoons.com/


One of my personal goals is to improve my networking skills. Here are some networking tips, based on my own experience.

Networking tips

• Create personal networking cards to hand out. Even if you already have a job. The idea is that you are able to give our your personal contact info vs. your work email and telephone number and not limit yourself to your current profession, especially if you are looking to branch out and do something new and different. Vistaprint will give you 250 free business cards. Information to put on your personal card: name, a tagline (a quick description of what you do or what you want to do), email address, website and telephone number. I would suggest leaving off your mailing address, for the purpose of privacy and security.
• Be friendly and make friends with people because you want to get to know them, not because you want to sell them something, or need something from them. I'm not a fan of people who chat with me just to give me a sales pitch. I can usually smell them from a mile away and avoid them at all costs. On the other hand, I've built great relationships with friends I've met at organizations and will then help them out later on, or listen to what they want to tell me. Once credibility and a friendship has been established, I'll become a loyal part of their professional network. It's about building a relationship.
• Keep up-to-date about current events, so you have something to talk about. If you run out of topics, ask them questions about what they do, where they live, the company they work for. People love to talk about themself!
• Remember to follow-up! Send your new contact an email, or better yet, give them a call. Set up time to meet over coffee, or for lunch. Use this opportunity to get to know them better and remember to thank them for taking the time to connect with you. Don't forget to stay connected with your new contact. Add them on LinkedIn and periodically send them an email to stay in touch. That way, if you need their help one day, you won't just be going to them in times of need.

Places to network

Trying to figure out where to meet new people? Try these locations:

• Professional organizations- some organizations exist with the sole purpose of offering networking opportunities. Instead of avoiding them, try to embrace them.
• At the company where you work- get to know someone in your department. Or someone outside your department. You might find that you have a lot in common and can help each other out by collaborating on projects.
• Community groups- join your city's Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, Lion's Club, Young Professionals club or Toastmasters. This is a great way to meet other professionals living and working in your community, especially with others outside of the learning and development world.
• Via friends-of-friends/acquaintances- next time you're at a social gathering, strike up a conversation with someone that you've never met before. (They won't even know you're trying to network with them!)

How to become a trainer

This post consists of two parts. Part I is the story of how I became a trainer and Part II is about how you can pursue a career in training. A few times a year, I get asked by co-workers and friends who are in various roles about how they can become a trainer. This is the answer I usually give them.

Part I- How I got my job

After completing graduate school, I was in search for a job. The year was 2004 and I didn't have a ton of work experience to lean on. A friend of mine referred me to a training position at a new call center and with that personal recommendation, the hiring manager took a leap of faith and brought me on as a new trainer. Within a year, the company grew and I was promoted to Manager of Technical Training. Yipee! Unfortunately, shortly after, the call center ended up laying off most of its employees. Luckily, my job was spared, thanks to my director (the one who had hired me). But after seeing the light, my husband and I decided to make our move back to the Twin Cities. I applied for a training job in the tech support department of a healthcare company. With another friend's personal recommendation, I was hired! But at that job, I missed working as part of a larger training team, so after about a year, I applied for a training position at a health insurance company. I went through a couple rounds of interviews, auditioned and was offered the job where I still work, almost 5 years later.

Part II- How you can become a trainer

Join a professional networking organization
If you are in the Twin Cities, below are three organizations to consider joining. Attend the monthly meetings, meet and network with other professional trainers, instructional designers and e-learning developers.

PACT- The Professional Association for Computer Training is a local training organization that's been around for over 40 years. Monthly networking and speaker meetings are included in the $165 annual membership fee. Recent featured speakers include Tom Kuhlmann, from Articulate, Elliot Masie and Josh Cavalier, otherwise known as Captain Captivate.

ASTD-TCC- The American Society for Training and Development- Twin Cities Chapter is part of a larger national professional organization. ASTD-TCC hosts an annual regional conference every November in St. Paul, MN, along with monthly speaker meetings. First year memberships cost $130 per year, with $110 as a renewal rate. Monthly meetings cost $30 to attend (lunch is included). Recently featured speakers include Lou Russell and Bob Mosher.

ISPI- The International Society for Performance Improvement offers monthly meetings and presents on topics relating to training and learning theories. Meetings are included in the $50 annual membership fee.

Incorporate training into your current job
If you're currently working another job, think of ways that you can incorporate training or coaching into what you already do. Talk to your leadership about ways that you can help your department with learning and development. Create job aids. Document your knowledge and pass it on. Then add these skills to your resume. You don't need to be a trainer to train.

Volunteer or sign up to train a community education class
Google search "the name of your city" & "community ed" and see what classes your local community ed already offers. Think of something you're particiularly skilled at and offer to teach a class about it. Most community ed departments are always looking for new teachers and new topics to offer to their residents. If this works, you're now officially a paid trainer and can add this to your resume. It's a win-win for everyone!

Another option is to check out your local library to see if they need any volunteers in their training department. This is a nice way to give back to your community and pick up some facilitation skills.

Learn the training lingo
Get a subsciption to Training magazine, T+D magazine or CLO magazine. If you are on LinkedIn, Twitter or any other social networking websites, "follow" learning and development professionals. Read the articles, read their posts. Absorb all of the lingo from the training and development world. Learn about techniques, trends and systems. This will come in handy when you land your first trainer interview.

Impress during your interview and audition
Spend quality time preparing and practicing before your interview and audition. Ask other trainers for advice. Practice in front of your family. Don't read from your PowerPoint slides. Give candy out as treats :) Feel comfortable and confident with your training material before you walk through the door. If you can, bring a portfolio of training you've created, even if the interviewer doesn't ask for one, it's always nice to have something handy to show them. Keep searching for open positions, applying for them and networking. If you were meant to be a trainer, it will happen for you. Good luck!

PS. Tom Kuhlmann just published a great post about how to get an E-Learning job: http://www.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/get-an-e-learning-job-with-these-simple-tips/