Improving your Training delivery

You have a great opportunity at this year's Trainers Meet Trainers in Kuala Lumpur to hear experts such as Thiagi and Ed Scannel. More details from grace@smrhrgroup.com

My colleague Karen Ong runs the programme Accredited Training Professional at several venues around the world. The programme based on my book The Magic of Making Training FUN attempts to increase learner effectiveness.

I came across David Sousa’s work. David A. Sousa’s ideas are valuable for all of us who would like to accelerate learner effectiveness at the workplace. We echo all of his ideas in our programmes.

Take for example the need for the First I – Introduction, in the programme, with the use of warm ups. The main objective is to create a positive environment for the learner, to get them excited about what they are going to learn. Sousa says : Relieve stress and help people feel positive about their learning environment. It will release endorphins in
the blood, which gives a feeling of euphoria and stimulates the frontal lobes.

We continue to emphasise the need for reviewing content presented several times. Quoting the works of Amunts and others, Sousa says practice does not make it perfect. Practice makes learning permanent. If practice is stopped altogether, the neurons that are no longer being used are eventually assigned to other tasks and skill mastery will decline. In other words, use it or lose it!

The use of stories during the Fourth I – Instruction is emphasised to deliver contet effectively with greater learner engagement. Sousa says that studies show that stories engage all parts of the brain because they touch on the learner’s experiences, feelings, and actions.

Reference: David A. Sousa, How the Brain Learns, Third edition, Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA 2006.

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