| A friend recently attended a cross-cultural | | | | than a trainer who teaches but has never done the |
| communication workshop. The trainer had twenty | | | | job. And they quote that old line, "if you can't do, |
| plus years working around the world and a very | | | | you teach. And if you can't teach, you teach gym." |
| impressive resume. But at the end of the week, my | | | | Sure, there's no substitute for real experience and |
| friend explained to me she wasn't sure what the skills | | | | knowledge. But there's also no substitute for a |
| of cross cultural communication were. "Are there | | | | professional trainer who can take that real |
| principles or rules that I can apply?" she asked me. | | | | knowledge and experience and turn it into practical |
| I asked to see the learning outcomes or course | | | | skills used in the workplace. This is where companies |
| outline. There were no learning outcomes, and the | | | | waste thousands of dollars on training. They hire |
| outline was a list of vague descriptions about topics | | | | people who don't understand how to make training |
| the trainer would cover. I asked how the trainer led | | | | work. Because of their lack of knowledge of the |
| these sessions. Did she draw on the participants' | | | | science of learning, they run theater shows which are |
| experiences then link them to a set of principles or | | | | often not much more than "show and tell" |
| rules to follow when working across cultures? The | | | | experiences. |
| answer was no. She told stories of her own | | | | Now not everyone who leaves a job and hangs out |
| experiences working internationally and mostly | | | | their shingle as a trainer offers bad training. Far from |
| ignored the experiences of participants in the room. | | | | it. But there are enough people who can't train or |
| This went on for the whole week. | | | | coach who give training a bad name. And when you |
| She assured participants they'd be encouraged to | | | | hire a training provider, you need to find trainers who |
| share experiences. But her stories kept running | | | | both know what they teach - preferably from |
| overtime so participants' opportunities for interaction | | | | experience - and understand the science of turning |
| kept fizzling out. | | | | knowledge into a practical skill that will add to a |
| Not all training is training | | | | company's bottom line. |
| My friend didn't attend a training workshop. She sat in | | | | What to look out for |
| on the trainer's "show and tell" session. It was merely | | | | There are two mistakes amateurs often make when |
| a theater show starring the trainer or perhaps an | | | | they hang out their shingle to offer skills training, |
| opportunity for self-aggrandizement. Unfortunately, | | | | without knowledge or qualifications to teach. The |
| there's a lot of really poor skills training being | | | | first, is approaching learning sessions as theater |
| delivered by people who either don't have the | | | | shows, like the cross-cultural communication trainer |
| qualifications to facilitate vocational skills learning or | | | | we talked about. This means they spend much time |
| are simply poorly organized. I see it all the time both | | | | developing flashy presentations and practice telling |
| in soft skills and media production training. Why is this | | | | their old stories. |
| so? | | | | You can spot these folks because they tend to talk |
| The story usually runs something like this. Roger is a | | | | about what their course covers, not the tasks your |
| TV news director with ten years experience. He was | | | | staff will be able to perform at the end. Good |
| a reporter for ten years before that. His record isn't | | | | trainers understand the science of human |
| sterling but it's not bad either. In fact he's well | | | | performance and skills development. They're happy |
| regarded and competent. Roger is about to hit the | | | | to put reputation on the line and talk about |
| magic age of 50 and sees the TV world changing all | | | | performance outcomes. Amateurs avoid this like the |
| around him. He's going to have to learn new skills to | | | | plague and hope for the best. |
| stay competitive. And he's sick of early morning shift | | | | When workplace learning professionals talk about the |
| work. | | | | skills, they usually express them in terms of |
| At about the same time, his employer sends around | | | | behavioral objectives. Behavioral objectives are also |
| an email saying the company needs volunteers to | | | | known as learning objectives and learning outcomes. |
| take early retirement. What does Roger do? Well, | | | | Professionals follow a specific grammar which |
| twenty years ago he taught softball to local high | | | | explicitly describes the tasks learners will be able to |
| school kids. Why not take a package and teach | | | | perform at the end of the session and the standard |
| cameras skills and video production? Six weeks later, | | | | they perform them to. This of course make learning |
| Roger hangs out his shingle and approaches his | | | | effectiveness quick and easy to measure. |
| network of old buddies who hire him to train cadets. | | | | The second mistake is designing curriculum around a |
| "They don't churn the kids out of college with the | | | | trainer's experience rather than their client's |
| same skills we got in the old days, Roger" they tell | | | | work-flow. "Oh, I always did it this way, so it must |
| him. | | | | be right." Wrong. Times are changing and often these |
| Roger is not a trainer. He's a good communicator, but | | | | days with new technologies, new techniques are |
| he hasn't studied the science of how adults learn. Or | | | | discovered and evolve during training classes. |
| the exciting new techniques designed to speed | | | | The most important thing for curriculum is that it |
| learning up and ensure people walk out of workshops | | | | belongs to the learners and the organization. Try and |
| with real skills they can use. So, he does theater. He | | | | tie your curricula to the work-flow of your |
| lectures. He doesn't use some of the oldest learning | | | | organization. |
| tricks of drawing on participant experience and | | | | Invest in training |
| stimulating interaction. | | | | Don't waste your money on your skills training. Having |
| He doesn't follow the cognitive science of breaking | | | | amateurs provide learning to your organization is |
| knowledge into manageable chunks which are easy | | | | wasting money when you can't afford to waste |
| to learn and the various interactive techniques to | | | | money or fail to develop the skills staff need to keep |
| make sure they're remembered and applied on the | | | | your company competitive through the recession. |
| job. Because Roger is a newsman, not a trainer. | | | | Make sure you talk first about what you or your |
| Teach gym | | | | staff will be able to do at the end of the course. Ask |
| Now some people argue that having industry | | | | your trainer to be specific and give you learning |
| experience is more important. They don't want a | | | | objectives that describe the tasks you'll do and to |
| so-called trainer who has never done news or met a | | | | what standard. Then ask them to explain what |
| deadline. They want a news professional to teach | | | | techniques they'll use to reinforce the learning. |
| news skills. They argue that there's nothing worse | | | | |