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Article #12

Copyright © 2006 George Ritacco (All Rights Reserved)
 

Hark!  Your Training Program Was Created By Bruce Springsteen.
By, George Ritacco 

Some performers are so much better live than in the studio.  The same can be said of so many training presenters.  Although some can deliver a good training presentation and class, others have difficulty in effectively creating material that gets trainees engaged and interested to learn more. 

How to “Create Raving Fans” inside and outside of the classroom.

Mastering the art of musical showmanship is the vital component to a powerful, rock and roll show. 

Learning the essentials of good public speaking is just as important whether you’re creating elearning courses or standing in front of a live group of trainees. 

Throughout my career, I’ve listened to literally hundreds of speakers on many different topics.  I’ve come to a conclusion that there is a key insight to public speaking and teaching:  You can take every course on public speaking, learn all the right jokes and quotes, use all the right body language and dress for success.  Yet, if you leave yourself out of the recipe, you’ll never have a lasting impression on your audience.

Injecting a bit of you.... kicking up your delivery skills just a notch by infusing a touch of showmanship into your “gig”, will inspire your participants to clap, cheer, give you a standing “O”, or “flick their Bics”.

Here’s what you need to know.  In the case of classroom training, there is a certain camaraderie amongst attendees.... similar to a rock concert where everyone is gathered together in a room... all there for the same reason... for two hours or more.... to witness your favorite “tunes” (in this case your presentations/courses)... and hopefully by the end – you have them singing in unison as the lights come up... and they sigh “That was Phenomenal!”

Here are the 10 things you can do to have them screaming in the isles.... (and that’s a good thing!)

1-Before the class is scheduled, get your PR machine working.. cranking out the “BUZZ” about your class, well before the time arrives.

 

2-Visualize your outcome before you start.  See yourself speaking and teaching.  See your audience reacting positively.  Feel great about what you about to accomplish.  See the end goal – people are inspired.

 

3-When you begin to speak – imagine you’re just having a conversation with another person... it has a calming effect (and you’re very good at it – you’ve been doing it all your life).

 

4-Frame your talk.  Tell them what you’re going to tell them.  Tell it to them.  And then tell them what you just told them.  It helps to keep everyone focused.

 

5-Your Voice.  Ahh, your voice.  The most powerful communication weapon you have.  It can be one of the most powerful weapons for persuasion.  Do you use it well?  Things like melody, pace, volume, tone and pitch... can make you or break you on the music scene.  When you use all 5 components correctly, you will have total control over your voice and the sounds that come out when you speak.  Your voice can control the high and lows, can get attention, can cause people to sway (monotone), move back (loud) and draw them in (soft).  When you can master how and when to control your voice – you’re on your way to becoming a great speaker.

 

6-Tell your stories / keep them brief, relative and enjoying.  People love stories.  They love real-world scenarios where certain principles have been applied successfully for a benefit or gain.  Find your stories and use them every step of the way... but don’t be boring.  Knowing how to effectively use your voice is key, as well as intermittent sprinkles of the final four in this list.

 

7-Get them to laugh and they will listen.  Comedy club...  – when you are entertained and something is funny – you laugh until the drink shoots out of your nose.  When the comedian goes to tell another joke, you try and stifle your laugh to hear what’s coming next.  Laughter is the key to listening. 

 

8-Need to include at least one AHA!  What are your key points?  Do they have impact?  There must be a need for your audience to sit up and take notice and go “AHA!”

 

9-Be Spontaneous.  I know this sounds so easy... but it does take a bit of work and proper preparation.  Deliver your material in a different way.  Your audience may know your set list, so shake it up a bit.  Strive to create a new show every time.

 

10- Give them hope and extract emotion from the audience by sharing yours.  Try and be compelling.  A better life, better job, more money... encourage them to learn and why it will help them to do so. The key is to not to try and motivate them.  The key is to inspire them. 

You can be motivated for a moment.  You can be inspired for years.

Now what about outside of a classroom?  It’s not always feasible to run training classes a few times per year.  It is very costly to fly people in from all over the country to attend a 3-5 day training seminar or workshop.  It costs money to “house” them for the week, as well as the intangible costs of removing them from the field, from their daily jobs.  Productivity suffers as a result.  So when scheduling your training classes, money is definitely an object and careful planning and consideration must go into each endeavor.

Can you have the same “engaging” affect on your trainees through long distance learning?

Yes you can.

The key is to follow the 10 steps when you create your elearning training courses.  The same presentation you give in front of a live audience can be delivered with just as much impact and emotion and interactivity.

Putting your training program online allows you to accomplish a couple of things:

1. Save time – no training class
2. Save money – no training class, etc.,
3. Quality of presentation will not change
4. Engage and interact on autopilot

#3 and #4 above can be true for you if the elearning training and tracking system that you utilize affords you these benefits.  Make sure when you implement an elearning training and tracking program – your needs are met.

The right system will provide you with powerful course authoring tools that allow you to incorporate PowerPoint with voice over, imbed videos, flash, and audio for a full contact experience with your viewer.  In addition, your courses need to be incorporated into a powerful automated delivery and tracking system that literally allows you to engage and interact with your trainees on a set schedule, on autopilot.

AND, because this approach to course authoring and delivery really does involve their senses, your trainees have an easier time of remembering the message, as well as being able to view your material on their own time (not pulled from their jobs to attend a training class).  Involving their senses through site and sound has a greater impact on the subconscious and their ability to recall the information later (just like the after-effects of a rock show).

What does this mean to you?  Bottom line – you don’t always have to be present.  Just because you’re not up in front of a packed house of raving fans.... doesn’t mean you can’t inspire them to learn, retain and recall.  Your online training presentations can be just as effective if you follow the 10 steps outlined above.

And the quality of your training doesn’t go down... in fact, it gets better and better.

But I think the best part is this.  You won’t need to schedule training or track progress for new hires anymore... your training program will literally run on cruise control, allowing you to be more “objective focused” than “detail focused”.  The “devil is in the details”, but he can surely screw you and your program up if he never let’s you come up for air.

When you learn how to pull away from the number one time killer for all training professionals - administration – you’re on your way to achieving training success.

By having a consistent “automated engagement” plan in place – your “fans”, will love you and beg you to come out for another encore.

Learn from The Boss and you can’t go wrong.

Rock and Roll!

George Ritacco

About the Author:

George Ritacco is the Director of Client Services for Global Vision Technologies, Inc (GVT)., www.globalvisiontech.com a premiere software developer specializing in powerful,  easy-to-use Internet systems for online training and development, sales and marketing intelligence, pharmaceutical sales ops, case management, and court reimbursement.  GVT’s primary goal is to provide our customers with tools for improving productivity, profitability, employee morale and turnover.