Matthew Richter posts daily comments in LinkedIn—well, almost daily. You can follow him and join the conversation by going to http://linkedin.com/in/matthew-richter-0738b84.
For the benefit of our readers, we decide to compile and reprint some of his provocative pieces from the past. Let us know what you think.
Questions About Your Training Program
If you are designing a training program, ask yourself these questions:
What is the overarching goal of the program? What do you want participants to do differently as a result of the program? As a result of being trained, what business issue(s) do participants help resolve?
How will you test participants have developed those skills? In the live or virtual classroom? How will you test they are applying these new skills on the job? Evidence is key—not just self-reporting or anecdotes.
Are you sure? Do you know? How do you know that implementing this course will indeed resolve your business issue? If you don’t know, why do it? If you do know, how will you prove it?
If you have good, affirmative answers for 1-3, are you letting logistics, politics, and money contribute to the design? If so, then perhaps the business issue getting resolved isn’t so important to your stakeholders. Or, perhaps they don’t believe the evidence you provide them. Or, you haven’t demonstrated a clear value for your program. If so, go back to question 1.
A Scientific Approach
I recently heard Neil deGrasse Tyson describe how he so effectively communicates complex science concepts to non-science people. He distinguishes between the goal of an academic lecture (getting all the possible ideas to the audience) and finding a captivating connection that communicates a single concept. His audiences engage because of the connection and they stay for the science, he says.
I love this idea. It implies several things:
You better understand your audience before spewing information at them.
Unless you are training them to be pros or academics, you don’t have to tell them everything— keep it simple and connected.
Find the hook that connects. Jargon will kill. The best teachers I experienced in my life rarely used jargon unless it was necessary. They conveyed the idea simply— but no simpler than needed.
Be playful. Nothing wrong with playfulness. I am not advocating training need be fun— I am advocating that communication can be playful.
I am talking about communicating ideas, not training skills. In this day and age of science deniers, climate change deniers, anti-vaccine supporters, and debunked learning tools, it is ever more important we communicate effectively and engagingly.
Emphasize Nuances
Einstein famously said, though apocryphal, that things should be as simple as possible... but no simpler. Though his quote could have been a lot simpler, it is perhaps the most profound phrase in today’s world. Forget fake facts. We live in a world where oversimplifying has become an art form. Leadership is a four-box model. Personality and disposition fit into neatly organized categories. Design thinking can be achieved through a set of simple steps.
I’m all for simple. I like simple. But life is not as simple as that. Things are more complex and nuanced, usually. One cannot learn or develop complex skills in a transactional one-day training. One cannot reduce complex ideas into a 2x2 chart. Re-embrace nuance and support the patience required to explore textured understandings of the world around us.