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Category: FACILITATION TIPS
As facilitators of learning, teachers and trainers are constantly honing their own facilitation skills. They’re known to share their best and favorite learning tips with colleagues. Trainers Warehouse collates best practices from a broad range of resources, focusing on active learning, neuroscience, participation and engagement, gameplay, live and remote learning, and tons more.
Say Goodbye to Pop Quizzes!
It was finals week at my son’s school and I asked him if he was ready for his chemistry test. He explained that he’d been studying all week, day and night, and, yes, he was ready. Despite his assurances and confidence, he “coulda done better.” If I really wanted to help i... Read More
Getting to know you with Quick Response Whiteboards
If your group would feel more relaxed and benefit from knowing a bit more about one another, try this Quick Response Board activity. Have each person write on the board a most unusual fact about themselves (oddest job, a phobia, worst nightmare, proudest accomplishment, etc.) Then ask everybody to p... Read More
7 Tips for Formulating Great Questions
As a designer of conversation starter tools, which I’m proud to say have been wonderfully received, I have some strong feelings about what makes a good icebreaker question and what simply fails to inspire sharing. If you’re hoping to weed through the millions of discussion-starter questi... Read More
Building Relationships through Better Communication
When opposing parties get to the negotiating table, they too often dive into the meat of the deal and begin arguing for their perspective. We see that in how our government operates today and in how people discuss politics, family matters, work challenges, and more. It’s time to STOP, take a s... Read More
New Ground Rules for Work
As we try to regroup and refocus after our country’s “great divide,” we all need to work hard at setting new ground rules for respect and open dialogue. A refresher on good manners is long past due. As you talk with people who may have different viewpoints, you may first want to ... Read More
8 Memorable Openers and Closers
Although much has been written about the Zeigarnik effect — the brain’s proven ability to remember beginnings and endings better than middle’s. English teacher, Brian Szatbnik’s speaks from observation and experience in his Edutopia article, “The 8 Minutes that Matte... Read More
Remembering Starbucks “#RaceTogether”
Starting “The Conversation” In early April, 2015, Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, reflected on the fatal shootings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner and tried to do right. He introduced the “RaceTogether” campaign as a way to get people talking about race relations in the U.S. Unfortunate... Read More
How do you say "Thank you" to employees?
In a popular discussion on the SHRM group’s LinkedIN page, HR experts shared their favorite ways of saying Thank You to employees. From the 100+ comments, some themes and favorites emerged: Make it personal and say it in person, if you can Look someone in the eye, shake their hand, and say &... Read More
Present like Wonder Woman
Amy Cuddy gave an amazing TED Talk about how to change our posture for 2 minutes to achieve greater self-assurance and success. She explains, it’s not just about how you project yourself outwardly, but how it affects your own self-image. If you’re about to walk into a stressful situation... Read More
The Art of Difficult Conversations
Those of us who are conflict-averse hate difficult conversations. It’s no wonder that experts have started calling them “Courageous Conversations.” What makes them hard is: Uncertainty about how others will react Fear of it getting out of control Discomfort about opening a can of worms with no... Read More
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LEARNING FACILITATION TIPS
Browse through tons of tips and tools that cover all aspects for training. Sharpen facilitation skills by understanding, for instance, how to:
- Use card decks for metaphorical debriefs
- Deliver interactive training on a tight budget
- Integrate games into content delivery
- Draw on brain science to develop effective training techniques
- Put Carol Dweck’s Growth Mindset approach into action
- Draw out quiet learners and manage difficult participants
INSIGHTS, TEACHING TOOLS, & MORE
Beyond learning facilitation tips to help teachers and trainers hone their facilitation skills, Trainers Warehouse shares insights and product selection tools drawn from serving the training industry for over 30 years. While Trainers Warehouse sells 100s of training tools and toys on their e-commerce website, they share 1000s of free tips within this blog. Special interest categories include exercises and activities or popular training topics, as well as communication and relationship-building tools to help learners engage in meaningful conversations.
"EDUTAINMENT" GURU
Susan Landay, the President of Trainers Warehouse, graduated from Yale College, Kellogg Business School and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College. She’s the perfect resource to help trainers and teachers balance fun and professionalism, education and entertainment. Her insightful thinking and careful research make the WorkSMART blog interesting and informative.