ABOUT THE EXPERT
Steve Willis is a master trainer and vice president of professional services at VitalSmarts.
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I’m often asked how frequently I train our courses. Depending on the course, my answer is somewhere between “a lot” and “a whole heck of a lot.” My response is almost always followed by the same question: “Don’t you ever get tired of teaching the same program over and over again?” (I know that, in the back of these people’s minds, they’re thinking that even the Love Boat wasn’t as “exciting and new” as the theme song claimed during the 4th and 5th seasons).

So I reflected on my experience. Was I getting tired of teaching the same course, and if so, to what degree? To the surprise of many, including myself, I found that, while the content doesn’t change, I genuinely find the training experience fresh and new—even after so many “repeats.”

This realization got me curious. I started to wonder if others have had a similar or different experience, and what people consciously do to keep their experience fresh. One thing that I have found makes a difference is finding different ways to apply the training. For example, ask yourself the following questions: What group will I work with and what opportunities will be similar or different? How does this program relate to safety or how does it play out in project management? What are the applications to healthcare?

Share your experiences and ideas for keeping it fresh.

Steve Willis From the Road

ABOUT THE EXPERT
Steve Willis is a master trainer and vice president of professional services at VitalSmarts.
READ MORE

During my last trip to the United Kingdom, I found myself struggling to respond to what seemed like a simple question, “Blooming brass monkey weather isn’t it?” Even though the person addressing this question was speaking English, and even though I understood each individual word, I was completely oblivious to what he asked. Even when the conversation continued, I was stuck on that phrase—struggling to figure out the meaning.

After this conversation ended, I sat down to prep for my class. As I reviewed my material, I saw a lot of phrases and expressions that had the potential to create the kind of confusion I had just experienced. So this month, I wanted to talk about teaching VitalSmarts material to culturally diverse groups.

I’ve found the best thing to do in these situations is to translate. I try to identify jargon and VitalSpeak—phrases and expressions we use to name skills or describe ideas—before the class starts so I can be prepared to translate them during the session. For example, when training abroad and talking about a Sucker’s Choice, I might say something like, “We’re now going to look at a Sucker’s Choice, a perceived choice between two options that are both bad,” and follow that with an example. At other times translating is simpler. In Influencer, one of the videos mentions Chex Mix. Before this video plays, I say, “Dr. Wansink is going to mention something called Chex Mix. Chex Mix is a snack made of dry cereal and nuts.”

Then during the class, I’ve also found it very useful to have participants turn to a partner and summarize the main idea of what they’ve just learned. This helps them internalize the idea, and allows the trainer to clarify any misunderstandings. I’ve also had a lot of fun identifying local expressions and phrases for the terms in the material.

So good luck with your trainings, wherever you may be holding them, and always remember to “Eat what you can with your Grandfather’s fork.” Don’t ask me what that means.

Steve Willis From the Road

ABOUT THE EXPERT
Steve Willis is a master trainer and vice president of professional services at VitalSmarts.
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I recently delivered an extended speech to a group of doctors. But this was no ordinary group of doctors—it was a group of emergency room doctors who absolutely, positively would not tolerate any fluff-laden presentation. The organizers told me up front that this group wouldn’t tolerate any pair and share exercises, videos that were not 100 percent healthcare related, and without exception—at the peril of mass walk-outs—this group would not tolerate role plays or ANYTHING that even resembles practice.

Over the years, I’ve learned to distinguish the difference between a presentation that really resonates with a group and one that falls flat. And while it might seem counterintuitive, I’ve noticed that when I cut out the fluff (i.e., the practice-related activities), the group usually indicates that the presentation was lacking.

With this in mind, I worked with the organizers to create some space for practice, which they eventually (and reluctantly) consented to. And even though they had given me “permission” to do some practice exercises, I saw them wince at the mere hint of the word during the session.

The wincing soon ceased as the organizers saw the doctors really engage in the practice. They even willingly worked through practice sessions for longer than two and a half minutes—which was apparently a new record for them. By the end, the session organizers were convinced. In fact, one leader even said, “Wow, I guess we were wrong. We should have trusted you a little more. Who would have known that it even works with doctors?”

So, next time someone tells you practice isn’t necessary, ask them if they’d prefer a presentation that falls short or one that can engage even the most skeptical audience.

Steve Willis From the Road

ABOUT THE EXPERT
Steve Willis is a master trainer and vice president of professional services at VitalSmarts.
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Put yourself in this situation. You’re in front of a class, scanning the group carefully. All eyes are fixed on you. You’ve just asked a question of the group, and now you’re waiting each other out. Who will respond first? Who will break the uncomfortable silence? Waiting . . . waiting . . . waiting.

In my experience, whoever speaks first in this situation sets the tone for the session. When a participant breaks the silence first, it establishes a shared expectation that the session should and will be interactive. When the presenter speaks first—and this happens all too often—it establishes a different expectation that all the participants have to do is sit back and listen.

So here’s how I tell people to navigate this crucial moment: give ‘em the ol’ ask and wait. That’s right. This old standby always seems to do the trick. You ask a question and then—here’s the tricky part—wait . . . for at least 10 seconds. And while those 10 seconds will seem like an eternity, remember that you typically only have to wait them out once before the audience starts to respond and participate.

Don’t answer your own questions. Give ‘em the ol’ ask and wait and draw upon the wisdom that resides in the group’s collective experience.

Steve Willis From the Road

ABOUT THE EXPERT
Steve Willis is vice president of professional services at VitalSmarts.
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Hardly a training goes by that a participant doesn’t invoke the training version of the Vegas rule: What happens in training, stays in training. Let me explain.

Too often, trainers think the beginning of their course is the beginning of their participant’s learning experience. But if you think about it, the learning experience begins way before 8:00 a.m. on the first day of class (or 8:20, if your classes are like mine). When participants reach the class, they’re actually in the middle of their learning experience. They are bringing with them scenarios, frustrations, and context from past failures. And likewise, the end of the class shouldn’t be considered the end of their learning experience. Good trainers hope and expect that a person acquires much of their learning in the process of doing—of practicing the skills and approaches in real-life situations.

So how does the Vegas rule impede learning? I remember one participant, Angela, who parted with her learning as the training ended. I ran into her a couple of days later and found that although she’d rated the skills as “very useful” on the course evaluation, she was scoring low on her “actually applied the skills” score. What she learned in training had stayed in training—end of story.

So, what are you doing during training to make sure the learning continues outside the classroom? What’s worked and what hasn’t worked? Post your comment below and let me know. Angela needs help!

Steve Willis From the Road