Moments in training that make my heart sing!

This amazing email from a participant on the MCI Frontline Management program arrived in our inbox addressed to our head of learning and development, George:

"So this morning I put my watch on the opposite wrist....and couldn't bear it so put it back!  But I then drove a different way for the childcare/school/work trip, so does that count?" 

The topic of the training program was around change and the group was challenged to determine small ways in which they could build resilience to change so that when major changes occur there is less anxiety and more flexibility.  
This email from one of the participants highlights just how these ideas were taken on board and put in to action + followed up + followed through!
WOW - what would be possible if there were always shifts in thinking as a result of a training program!

Here are some tips to ensure that there are indeed more and more of those small and cumulative shifts that finally create major waves of change:

1. Encourage individuals to verbalise their commitments at the end of the session.  It is great to write them down and even more effective to say them out loud.  Research shows that we are more likely to keep to our word when it is verbalised particularly in front of our colleagues.

2. Ensure that the key messages are relevant to the participants.  By the end of the session, they need to know how the changes expected relate to them and how the tools and techniques provided can be implemented in their real working environment.  If they don't see that connection, they are not going to be passionate enough about the changes in skills and behaviours to in fact use them.

3. Participants need to recall the key points after the session has ended.  How many times do we forget what we learnt by the next morning? It is up to trainers to use every trick in the book to ensure that they remember what needs to be remembered:

• Use repetition - say it in many ways over and over again...Use all the communication media available and keep it visual

• Break training down in to small chunks so that the recency and primacy factors kick in - we tend to remember the first and the last thing we hear and therefore we need many 'first' and 'last' things said as the day is broken down in to smaller bite size pieces

• Ensure that participants take their own notes - you have a far greater chance of remembering what you write down in your own words.