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This collaborative approach ultimately led to a successful and engaging presentation that resonated with the audience. By being open to different ideas and approaches, we were able to create a session that was both informative and entertaining, highlighting the importance of teamwork and flexibility in instructional design.

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When SMEs Know Best: A Case Study of Instructional Design/SME Collaboration - Endurance Learning

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When a technical expert approaches me to ask for help in putting together a presentation, I consider it one of the highest forms of a compliment I can

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One important part of the conversation with Darlene Christopher is her emphasis on the purpose of establishing a community of practice. She stresses the need for the purpose to align with the business value it can bring to the organization, beyond just improving training skills. By linking the purpose to the organization's objectives, it ensures that the community serves a strategic function and contributes meaningfully to the overall goals of the organization.

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For years I've facilitated presentation skills programs and train the trainer programs for Subject Matter Experts, hoping that they'd buy into the idea of adult learning theory, some basic instructional design principles and the need to abandon bullet point-laden PowerPoint slides. It's worked to varying degrees of success.

Later this month at the Association for Talent Development's (ATD) International Conference and Expo (ICE), Darlene Brady Christopher, who is a Senior Knowledge and Learning Officer with the World Bank, will be sharing her experiences from a program that has seen great success converting SMEs to more effective presenters. Through a bonus podcast this week, we went into more depth about how her community of practice program has helped keep SMEs at the World Bank engaged and interested on becoming stronger presenters.

If you plan to be at ATD ICE, Darlene's session will be on August 30, from 1:00pm - 2:00pm.

Transcript of the Conversation with Darlene Brady Christopher

Brian Washburn: Welcome, everyone, to another episode of Train Like you Listen, a weekly podcast about all things learning and development in bite-sized chunks. I'm Brian Washburn, Co-founder and CEO of Endurance Learning. And I'm your host today. I'm joined here by Darlene Christopher, who is the Senior Knowledge and Learning Officer at the World Bank. Darlene, thank you so much for joining us today.

Darlene Brady Christopher: Thank you, Brian. It's great to be here.

6-Word Biography

Brian Washburn: So we're going to be talking here about engaging SMEs through a community of practice. And so as we like to do with all of the podcasts, we have our guests introduce themselves in exactly six words. And I'll start with an example of that with this topic. When I think of engaging SMEs in communities of practice, I would say that, "I appreciate experts who can teach". How about you, Darlene? How would you introduce yourself in exactly six words?

Darlene Brady Christopher: So, this is tough, but I'll say, "Training trainers virtually is my jam".

Brian Washburn: Alright. So virtual training- and my guess, working at the World Bank, you have people all over the country- virtual training is your thing. And this is really interesting because we're going to be talking about communities of practice here, and it's also part of our series of people who are presenting at ATD ICE. And I know that, unfortunately, you won't be able to be there in person, but your session will be on August 30th from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM. And it is about this idea of SMEs and communities of practice. So before we go too far, can you tell us a little bit about how you're defining the term community of practice? How is it being used? What do these communities of practice look like?

What Is a Community of Practice?

Darlene Brady Christopher: So the definition that I'm using is actually one that comes from Etienne Wenger, a guru in the community of practice world, and also one of the authors of Cultivating Communities of Practice. And he defines it like this: it's a group of people who share a concern or a passion for something that they do, and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. So what it means in my situation, in our organization, is that you have people who work together on a team and they interact regularly through the course of their day-to-day work - but that's different. A community of practice is a group of people that we unite them from different parts of the organization, where they're not interacting on a regular basis, and we give them a way to do that through this community.

Brian Washburn: So, as you mentioned, you know, co-workers kind of interact informally all the time. This is interaction-with-intention of people that may not otherwise interact when they're talking about a certain topic. Is that it?

Darlene Brady Christopher: Yeah. That's right. So for the community that I run, our subject matter experts are technical experts - they are World Bank economists, transportation specialists, or other roles. And they partner with our team to deliver training programs to World Bank staff. So they work in different parts of the organization. They actually work all over the world. But they do something similar, right? They have this common interest, in a common line of their work, which is that they have to train. It's kind of like their second job, and this is what it is to be a subject matter expert. And so they're interacting a lot on their primary job, which is to get better at being an economist and learning what's happening in the world. And this is that secondary role that they're taking on, and naturally it's hard for them to come together. So that's what the community does for them.

Brian Washburn: I think this is really interesting because a lot of times, in a lot of the organizations that I've worked in, I've worked with subject matter experts and we'll do like a train the trainer program or presentation skills program. And we're like, "Hey, these are adult learning principles, and this is what you should use as you're putting together your presentations. Don't just talk to people". And then for the rest of the time, we expect them to actually be able to put together something that's going to be engaging and effective when that's not their primary job. And so you have this community practice to help reinforce these skills in an ongoing way. I'm kind of curious, how did you get SMEs to actually spend time with this community of practice? They have their day job. What's in it for them?

How Does an SME Benefit from Being in a Community of Practice?

Darlene Brady Christopher: Yeah. It's a good question. And it's- you know, what we found is that, like you said, we would do the same thing - we would do a train the trainer and then, "Okay, good luck! Go have fun with that!" And they didn't really have a way to keep learning from each other. And we know that that's- you don't learn from going to the training, you learn from applying it.

So they had previously also been doing a little bit of this because everybody wants to get better at what they do and their work. So they were, you know, watching each other. If they came across each other in a training class, maybe they were exchanging some ideas. But the community gave us a way to scale that. And I think the reason that they're spending time with us and doing some of the activities that we have been doing is that they found value in it. They learned from each other which is how a lot of us like to learn. Maybe you go to the IT training because a new tool has rolled out and you have the IT trainers tell you, "Okay, here's how it's going to work". But then when you start talking to your peers about how they're using that tool - that's when you can really start to learn. So that is what's happening in our community.

And I also think that they've realized that the better they get at delivering training, these skills translate to the skills they need to be successful overall. So if you're good at presenting your ideas clearly, or you're good at getting put on the spot with a question and knowing how to think on your feet, these skills help you with your career overall. So that's also some value that they get out of this.

Brian Washburn: I love that there's something that's in it for them, right? It's not just, "Hey, you've gone through this train the trainer. Now we expect everyone to be part of this new practice". There's something in it for them, they're getting value out of it. How about overall results? What kind of results have you seen as a result of this community of practice that's being put together?

What Are the Overall Results When SMEs Participate in Communities of Practice?

Darlene Brady Christopher: So, I'll talk about three different areas. We've seen results in different ways, at different levels. So first of all, our community existed before the pandemic but then we switched to a hundred percent virtual deliveries, like many across the world. And many trainers wanted to- some of them had experience doing virtual training, but they wanted more. They wanted to learn more about how to master this method. So I would say we've seen skill development. We have seen them get better at it. And everyone's curious about it because it's new, the platforms keep changing and we keep getting more and more creative.

I think on another level, we've provided a way for the trainers to be recognized for this really important work that they do in the organization that's often- it just doesn't get noticed. So we feature them in our newsletter. We'll share our stories about them in the newsletter. We've also worked with our community to create videos where we do interviews with them, kind of, train the trainer interviews. We get them to share best practices, and then we share those videos beyond the community, into other parts of the organization where training is also taking place, so they can get more notoriety and more recognition there.

And finally, it's a place for them to network. Networking is huge in our organization; you need a broad network, you need a deep network. So this is just another way for them to network. They can keep in touch with people who are working in different parts of the organization. Maybe they can learn about something that's happening in a different part of the organization that they otherwise wouldn't have been able to do that. So it's a way for people to keep in touch and they value that as well. And that's been a great result.

Brian Washburn: I love all of this. And I'm a little jealous that I never was able to come up and develop something like this within a number of my own organizations, prior to starting my own company. Now I'm curious, and I bet the other people who are listening are also kind of thinking this actually sounds like it could be really helpful. One of the biggest challenges is getting subject matter experts to communicate their expertise in a way that other people can digest without giving people all the information, right, that's in their head. And so for anybody who's listening, other than attending your session on August 30th from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM at ICE, what would be a first step or two that perhaps they could take to get on the path of creating something like this?

Steps To Get Started Creating a Community of Practice

Darlene Brady Christopher: Well let me share just a couple of tips, and then of course the whole story is in my session. I would start first by determining: what's the purpose of your community? So in my case, we knew that we wanted our SMEs to become better trainers, so that may be the story for the listeners of this podcast. But your purpose has to go beyond that. So what's the business value? If your trainers are better trainers, what value does that bring to your organization? Because you need to link it to your business. And then I would say look and see what resources you have available to support your community because you can't do it all on your own. And you also can't just assume that, "Okay, I'm going to create"- for example, we use Yammer. "I'm going to start a Yammer group and there you go, have at it! SMEs go interact". You know, it won't work like that. So you need people. You need a business sponsor who's going to legitimize your community and you need a core team. You need some- a few people who can carve out some time. It doesn't need to be their full-time job but they need to be able to set aside a little bit of time to do this. And those are some things to get you started. And then next you'll start thinking about what it is you're going to do for the community. But those are two foundational steps, I would say, are really important.

Brian Washburn: Yeah. And I hope that people will have an opportunity to hear the longer conversation for this at ATD ICE. We're out of time here to talk too much more about that but, Darlene, thank you so much for giving us just a little bit of a taste of what this is and what this concept is.

Get to Know Darlene Brady Christopher

Brian Washburn: Before we go, we'd love to have our listeners get to know a little bit more about you, just as a person. And so we have a few speed round questions - are you ready for them?

Darlene Brady Christopher: I'm ready.

Brian Washburn: Alright. So the first question is: what is your favorite city to travel to for work?

Darlene Brady Christopher: Bangkok in Thailand.

Brian Washburn: Why is that?

Darlene Brady Christopher: It's such an amazing country. The Thai people are amazing. The food is incredible, and it's just a lovely place. Yeah.

Brian Washburn: How about the best- what's the best piece of advice you've ever received?

Darlene Brady Christopher: I had somebody tell me this in my current organization: "It's not what you do, it's how you do it". So you may have great ideas and, you know, had this amazing vision, but you need others along the way to support you and collaborate with you. So think really hard about how you do your work and how you get others involved, as well. It's been very helpful throughout my career.

Brian Washburn: Good advice. How about any shameless plugs before we go? Is there anything that you're looking to plug or promote?

Darlene Brady Christopher: Oh, well, I have a website: darlenechristopher.com where I blog about virtual training. So happy to connect with people there.

Brian Washburn: Excellent. Well, Darlene Brady Christopher, thank you so much for joining us today. You are the Senior Knowledge and Learning Officer at the World Bank. Thank you everyone else for listening to another episode of Train Like You Listen, which can be found on Spotify, Apple, wherever you get your podcasts. And if you like what you hear, go ahead and share what we're doing here. And that's how other people find out about us, too. Until next time, happy training everyone.

This week's podcast is sponsored by Soapbox. Sign up today for a free demo below.

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Helping SMEs Become More Effective Presenters through Communities of Practice

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Darlene Brady Christopher has been working hard to make sure SMEs at the World Bank can be as effective as possible when they present. One major ingredient has been a community of practice.

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Today's podcast discusses Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), who are highly knowledgeable individuals. It's important to work closely with SMEs to make good use of their time. This involves understanding their expertise, working together to break down information, and asking specific questions to get the right information. Since SMEs are often busy with their main job tasks, it is crucial to communicate effectively and efficiently to get what we need from them.

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Emily Wood emphasizes the importance of networking and seeking feedback from others in the learning and development industry as a way to self-assess strengths and weaknesses when working as a department of one. Networking with professionals, seeking feedback on projects, and engaging with learning communities can help individuals in the field of e-learning development to continuously improve and stay inspired.

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What is the size of your training department? The biggest team I have ever worked in has been ten people. I was at a worldwide non-profit and we served thousands of employees and board members. Even still, that was considered a rather large training department. As I ramped up in the training world, attending conferences and integrating myself into the network of learning and development professionals, I quickly met people who not only had much smaller groups, but often their teams were comprised of merely one or two people.

As trainers, we often talk about wearing more that one hat at work. But how do you know how to navigate all of the challenges that you face when you don't have a big team? Emily Wood, author of ELearning Department of One, joins us on the Train Like You Listen podcast this week to share some resources and tips for small eLearning departments.

Transcript of the Conversation with Emily Wood

Brian Washburn: Welcome, everyone, to the Train Like You Listen podcast, a weekly podcast about learning and development topics in bite-sized chunks. I'm Brian Washburn. I am the co-founder and CEO of a company called Endurance Learning. And today, I am joined by Emily Wood, who is the Education Content Development Manager for the Propane Education and Research Council. She's also an ATD certificate program instructor. And she has recently written a book called "E-Learning Department of One". Emily, I'm so excited to have you with us. Thank you for joining us.

6-Word Introduction

Brian Washburn: We like to have our guests introduce themselves using a six-word biography. And so when we think of this idea and this topic today, which revolves around being a department of one, and I think of my own life experience in the world of training and development, I think my biography would be "I thrive bouncing ideas off others". How about you? If you could sum up your experience in six words with our topic, what would it be?

What Does It Mean To Be an E-Learning Department of One?

Brian Washburn: So I've always worked on small teams, but I've never been a department of one. You've written a book called "E-Learning Department of One". Can you tell us a little bit more about what an e-learning department of one can mean?

And I loved it. The variety is really what inspires me. I like to have lots of different little things to do. Now with COVID, I think more and more people are finding themselves in the position of creating online training.

So you might be an e-learning department of one because you want to share your passion with people in the only way that you can safely do that now, which is online.

The Many Faces of E-Learning

As people are more distributed and the costs are decreasing on the software that we can use to do this, more of us are finding ourselves in a position of creating e-learning and really doing it on our own because we are so distributed. So it's a really empowering world.

Brian Washburn: Yeah. And it's interesting. I was having this conversation the other day with somebody who is a graphic designer. And she was looking to talk to somebody in the field of learning development. She's thinking of making a career push or a career switch.

And she was asking, so what is an instructional designer? And it's really interesting. We use these terms, instruction designer, e-learning developer, and they can mean so many different things to so many different people. And you wear so many hats.

And e-learning can be more than just asynchronous modules. It can be a multi-week course that's actually still instructor-led. It can be something just digital, like a podcast, or microlearning, or things like that.

Job Titles in the Learning Field

Brian Washburn: So for somebody who is developing e-learning or just working on their own in the world of learning development, how do you think that person can self-assess their own strengths and weaknesses? It's nice to have other people who have a background, who can actually give you feedback. But when you're a department of one, how do you do a self-assessment of your strengths and weaknesses?

And so I actually- my LinkedIn, I call myself a learning experience designer because I think it's about the whole ecosystem of things that a person can use to learn. So when Dr. Clark is talking about e-learning, she says it's anything that's using technology to supplement the learning experience. And so the performance support that we're creating, the YouTube videos that we're making, the podcasts, everything that we can do that's supported by technology, is really part of what it is that we're doing.

I also saw somebody post recently about how they got called into a meeting with the CLO of their company and told to make some badges. And they thought they were being called in because they're an instructional designer. And, of course, we have thoughts about how badging programs should work and certificate programs.

And the CLO of this company didn't realize that an instructional designer doesn't mean graphic designer. And I thought, wow, I mean, titles- I don't want to be in a box. I feel a lot of us are in a renaissance person kind of position where we have to know a little bit about a lot of things. But I like to deepen the tea in the one area that is my focus.

For me, I really enjoy the learning theory and the psychological theory behind what people are doing. But I know a little bit about graphic design and a little bit about LMS and administration. And if it really comes down to it, I can code, but you don't want to see it.

Brian Washburn: Yeah. It's so fascinating. So the words we use, the title- especially the titles we use because we're kind of a specialized world. If we go to a cocktail party and someone asks me, what do you do? I don't say, oh, I'm an instructional designer or a learning experience designer.

I'll say, I design training programs or I design learning- I don't even say I'm a trainer because then people think that I should be more buff than I am. They think gym trainer. [LAUGHTER]

So I don't even use a title. I'll just explain a little bit about what I do. And then if they're like, oh, tell me more. Then I'll get into it more, and I'll get really nerdy. If their eyes start to glaze over, then we'll move on to other topics. It is. It's one of those things where the words sometimes mean different things to different people.

Sometimes they don't mean anything to people and that can get us into a whole other podcast topic.

Working Alone in the Learning Field

Brian Washburn: But getting back to this idea of, for people that don't have other colleagues who are training with them or developing training, how do you think- or what advice do you have? Or is there a tool that they could use to do some self-assessment?

Emily Wood: And I think because we're trending as an industry in this way that we're getting more and more diverse in the content that we're covering, the Association for Talent Development thought that they would come up with a way to be able to help us address this. And last year, they redid the certification programs that they have. And they move them to a capabilities-based program so that you can go in and on their site, they have a series of questions that you can go in and answer.

And then based on that, you can work with their professional development team. And they put you into these sort of career ladders to help you find it. So you can go in and say, "I want to be an instructional designer". And it gives you some of the learning theory, and how to do a storyboard, and how to do some of those types of skills.

Or you can say, "I want to be an e-learning developer". And then you get into the hard skills, like, "here's how you use the authoring tools. And here's how you do the coding." For me, a lot of that came up in this way of, I have to make an e-learning module.

And I went to graduate school. And they taught me how to use Captivate. But then I needed to add voiceover. So then I had to learn how it was to do a recording studio. And it was one of those things that I learned it by doing it and then YouTube and all of the different ways that we come at it.

I don't know that there's any really formal way that you can assess yourself. I think really the way to do that is to ask other people.

The Importance of Feeback and Networking

So I have never been in a situation where I would ask somebody to look at a module that I was creating for feedback and not gotten pages of feedback. We are not the people that are like, "oh, yeah, that's fine". Everybody wants to help you make something better.

So I think it's really all about networking, finding those people whose skills that you appreciate, and following them. Like you, so many people are doing blogs, and podcasts, and posting up all the different things that they're doing. And if you reach out to them and ask them, a lot of times they will give you feedback at a certain level.

Brian Washburn: Yeah. I think that that is a really neat thing about being able to plug into the world of learning and development using Twitter, using LinkedIn. You are an e-learning department of one. I've worked just in small teams. I've never had a supervisor with a training background.

And so I've found that personal learning network that I can find through connecting with L&D, just folks who are in L&D as well as thought leaders on Twitter or LinkedIn to be really, really helpful. Now do you have some go-to resources, or websites, or tools that make your job as a department of one a little easier?

Go-To Resources for a E-Learning Department of One

If I'm looking for something that's specifically related to training development and unique to trainers, the Learn Train is a website that came out I think last year, and I've been pretty active on it, where you can talk about really training specific types of things. And then for my tools, I use the Captivate community for the tool that I use primarily.

But I like the Articulate community for inspiration for new projects because they have weekly challenges. And you can see where people are going in the industry and have all of these different ways to come at solving a problem that you have in your own development.

Brian Washburn: I love Articulate community in particular. I've had a chance to meet and speak with David Anderson and some of the other folks that have really made that community what it is. And I love your point.

Whether you're using Storyline, or Captivate, or any other tool, you can still go to some of these communities that, perhaps, aren't necessarily the same tool that you're using, but you can go there and get some inspiration and see what other people are doing because good design transcends your tool.

You don't need to be using an Articulate tool to develop something that's really effective in e-learning. So I think that's a great little piece and nugget that, perhaps, we'll end on for this particular conversation around a department of one.

Get to Know Emily Wood

Brian Washburn: But before we go, do you have a few extra minutes where you could give us a little bit more time so that we can ask you some speed round questions?

Brian Washburn: Excellent. You were telling me today, you just finished delivery in a session for an ATD certificate program. What is your pre-training or pre-session go-to food?

I find that if you carry raw eggs, people think you're insane. But they don't question you as much with our RXBARs. [LAUGHTER]

Brian Washburn: That is true. What's a piece of training tech that you can't live without?

Brian Washburn: Yeah, absolutely. Being able to get more than just a narrative description on a website, but really seeing a video that can get you to what you need to do. I think it's really helpful. How about a book or a podcast that learning folks should be paying attention to?

Emily Wood: Well, on my nightstand, all the time, is "Map It" by Cathy Moore and "Design for How People Learn" by Julie Dirksen. So when I need my inspiration, those are the two I pick up. And then the newest thing I just got, but I haven't started it yet, is "Design Thinking for Training and Development and Creating Learning Journeys That Get Results" by Sharon Boller and Laura Fletcher.

Brian Washburn: Nice. And do you have any shameless plugs before we go?

Brian Washburn: Of course.

Emily Wood: That's got to be "E-Learning Department of One". Paul Wilson, if you need support on using Captivate, is an absolutely wonderful and spectacular support person. In October, I'm going to be speaking in the Learning Impact series for a LearnUpon. And I am going to be speaking at DevLearn on Captivate.

Brian Washburn: If people are going to catch LearnUpon or DevLearn, please do check out Emily. Thank you so much, Emily, for giving us some time today and talking a little bit more about this concept of e-learning department of one. And for everybody who's listened, thank you so much for catching yet another episode.

You can subscribe to Train Like You Listen on iTunes, on Spotify, or anywhere where you get your podcasts. And if you like what you hear, please go ahead and give us a five star rating or give us a comment. Do something so that we stand out. Until next time, happy training, everyone.
This week's podcast is sponsored by Soapbox. Sign up today for a free demo.

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Resources for an eLearning Department of One - Endurance Learning

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Training departments are often small, often comprising of just one individual. How do these small teams find the resources and tools they need to make great training. Check out this post to find out.

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The eLearning case study highlights Wayne's transition into the learning manager role and his efforts to enhance eLearning programs for staff. The solution involved investing in interactive eLearning modules with professional graphic design and multimedia components. The results were positive, with staff providing enthusiastic feedback on the new modules.

eLearning experts suggest incorporating multimedia and interactive elements to keep learners engaged. They also recommend addressing more complex training needs with scenario-based eLearning and real-world context. Additionally, they advocate for gamified learning approaches to improve user engagement and knowledge retention.

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Learner certificates often appear at the end of a course to verify and recognize the achievement of a learner. Articulate Storyline has made it very easy to do this by adding a print slide trigger.
Today's blog post outlines the steps to elevating this print feature to a lightbox slide. It includes how to build it and a downloadable file as well!

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eLearning Case Study: Going to the Next Level - Endurance Learning

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Wayne was looking to take his eLearning design to the next level - instead of a series of PowerPoint-like slides that learners click through followed by a

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The eLearning article discusses the expectations of learners when it comes to eLearning experiences. While some instructional design trends focus on creativity and engagement, feedback from individuals in the article highlights simpler expectations such as ease of use, intuitive interface, relevant content, and simplicity. The article questions whether eLearning developers sometimes prioritize creativity and engagement over meeting the basic expectations of learners.

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Learner certificates often appear at the end of a course to verify and recognize the achievement of a learner. Articulate Storyline has made it very easy to do this by adding a print slide trigger.
Today's blog post outlines the steps to elevating this print feature to a lightbox slide. It includes how to build it and a downloadable file as well!

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Elearning: What's Possible vs. What Customers Want - Endurance Learning

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I expect that every learning experience - in person or online - should be amazing. I don't think I'm alone with this expectation. How "amazing" is defined is

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The author prefers using flipcharts over PowerPoint for training sessions because:

1. Flipcharts are always visible, allowing learners to refer back to the content continuously.

2. They offer dynamic interaction without the need for complex digital tools.

3. Using flipcharts shows a personal touch and care for participants.

4. Flipcharts promote collaboration and shared ownership of the session.

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Flipchart vs. PowerPoint: A Visual Aid Royal Rumble - Endurance Learning

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Over the past year, I've delivered a series of train-the-trainer sessions to various groups of non-training professionals. I intentionally designed these

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1. Plan your presentation before opening PowerPoint by sketching out main points.

2. Use animations to reveal information gradually and highlight key data points in charts.

3. Encourage audience interaction by embedding polls and allowing them to contribute content or questions for a more engaging experience.

4. Remember to utilize tools like PollEverywhere for easy integration of interactive elements.

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3 Principles of Effective Presentations - Endurance Learning

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The conventional wisdom and advice about how many words you should use on a slide isn't always the best advice.

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Using PowerPoint is beneficial when used as a visual aid to engage the audience and enhance understanding, rather than relying solely on slides to convey information. The key is to plan and use creativity to create an interactive and dynamic presentation that keeps the audience involved and interested.

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"Why do you hate PowerPoint?" - Endurance Learning

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Actually, PowerPoint can be a very helpful tool. What I hate is when people consider PowerPoint to be their presentation. This was the point I was trying to

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The big idea is that incorporating play into presentation design can be an effective way to engage the audience and enhance learning. By using interactive and fun activities, presenters can create a more dynamic and memorable experience for participants. The examples provided include icebreakers, engaging large audiences, using PowerPoint creatively, incorporating scored polls for competition, and utilizing in-depth case studies to immerse learners in the topic. Overall, incorporating play into presentations can make learning more enjoyable and effective.

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5 Fun Activities for Presentations - Endurance Learning

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Incorporating play into your presentations can lighten up the room and help adult learners refocus on the content. Fun activities for presentations that are intentional are even better.

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When designing a game for training, consider whether it is truly a game or just gamified. Competitive games can engage learners who enjoy winning, but may cause some to focus too much on winning rather than learning. Cooperative games involve players working together towards a common goal, emphasizing skills like collaboration and communication. Carefully consider the pros and cons of each type of game before incorporating them into your training program.

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A few considerations when designing a game for your next training - Endurance Learning

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Poor design or too much predictability can turn what you intend to be a fun element of training into a disaster.

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Playing Kahoot Family Feud for your next training session can bring freshness and competition. Here are five reasons to try it:

1. Kahoot provides variety and is different from traditional quiz games.

2. It feels familiar to popular game shows like "Who Wants to be a Millionaire."

3. Scoring in Kahoot is nuanced, with points for correct responses and answering quickly.

4. It works on both mobile devices and laptops.

5. Kahoot is easy to set up and use, with a user-friendly interface and automated scoring.

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5 Reasons to play Kahoot Family Feud and Training

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Creating Kahoot Family Feud for your next training session using Kahoot!, a free tool that's easy to use, could bring some freshness and competition to your training room.

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A TED Talk is a short presentation lasting 5, 10, or 20 minutes, where thought leaders share "ideas worth sharing." These talks are given by experts from around the world to ignite inspiration. TED Talks emphasize engaging storytelling, prioritizing key content, connecting with the audience, and thorough preparation and rehearsal. The speakers aim to capture the audience's imagination and inspire action through their presentations.

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6 Reasons Your Presentation is no TED Talk - Endurance Learning

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TED Talks are all the rage these days. They’re amazing 5- or 10- or 20-minute presentations delivered by thought leaders from around the globe in an

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Having interesting food options for lunch during a training session can make a difference in how engaging and enjoyable the training is. Offerings like tacos, pizza, salads, breakfast for lunch, or food trucks can add variety and excitement to the experience. Paying attention to small details, like lunch choices, can help create a more positive and memorable training atmosphere. So, yes, lunch options do matter in making training sessions more fun and engaging.

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Sandwiches are the lecture of meal options during a training. Here are 6 alternatives. - Endurance Learning

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If learning is about feeding the soul, we should also work toward feeding the actual bodies of people attending our training sessions with something that isn’t boring.

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When giving a short presentation, focus on quality over quantity. Use slides purposefully to support your message, not overpower it. Key elements to include are a catchy title, engaging visuals, encouraging active listening, using real-life examples, sharing your passion, and wrapping up with a call to action. Prioritize delivering a meaningful presentation over using a lot of slides.

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The 20-minute Presentation Checklist - Endurance Learning

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If you've been given only 20 minutes, 10 minutes, or even 5 minutes to make your point, you don't need to jam everything you ever learned into that precious