Copy
Newsletter InterACT - Experiential Learning Solutions
View this email in your browser
WHY PEOPLE HATE TRAINING WORKSHOPS
Hello InterACT News

Would you agree that the only way for an organisation to survive and thrive long-term is the ability to keep developing staff on a continual basis?  

Many organisations believe that training is the solution, but the trouble with training is that many programs don’t actually improve skills. Why? Most are too generic, too basic and too boring and they look a lot like this. Having spent more than ten years designing and delivering soft skills and leadership development programs for dozens of companies in both Europe and West Australia, I’ve seen a lot of what works. And what doesn’t.
 
I believe it is time for some new rules to make training more productive than problematic. 
Starting with these 3 hard-and-fast rules:  
 
Rule 1: 70-20-10
Have you ever sat in a classroom all day for a training program, wondering “how much longer??” Of all the things we do to educate, the least valuable of all are the endless hours we force people to sit still and … “learn”. The 70-20-10 rule suggests learning from challenging assignments like role play should account for 70% of training time, with 20% from group discussions and just 10% from traditional coursework. A great training program integrates all three. 
 
Rule 2: Eat your own cooking
I find it fascinating when I get asked to roll out a leadership development program to managers without the participation of senior executives. There is no replacement for them being involved as teachers, facilitators and coaches. And maybe even more important, if the CEO thinks it’s wise for middle managers to learn about, say, soft skills, why is the top management team not doing the same or similar? Not only does participation enhance the credibility, but it also helps share a common logic and language.
 
Rule 3: Customise to your world
Training organisations love to sell stuff off the shelf. It’s easier, it’s proven, it’s faster. But what works in the mining industry in Perth is not necessarily right in the financial services in Sydney. Just like the best managers customise how they manage people on their teams, the same is true about the specific experience and content needed to train a group of individuals. How could it not be? One size most definitely does not fit all.
 
Nowadays vast amounts of money — into the tens of billions — are spent on training every year, but the return on investment in many cases doesn’t ad up. So make sure you don’t give the green light for yet another round, magically hoping that results will materialise while not doing anything different. 
In the spotlight

'Tough Talks' 

Every newsletter we put one of our role play services in the spotlight.  
This month: Tough Talks. 


Critical conversations are conversations where the use of great interpersonal skills is imperative. In these conversations you have to manage emotions and information in a sensitive way to address poor performance or conduct, tackle personality clashes, deal with personal problems, investigate complaints or comfort someone – for example, if they are to be made redundant.

'Tough Talks' is a form of role play that allows to rehearse these critical conversations in a safe, supportive and non-fail environment. Participants bring to these sessions details of the difficult conversation they need to have in the workplace. They brief our professional role play actor on the character, circumstances and issues to be addressed. Then the conversation plays out, with the participant given the opportunity to ‘road test’ skills and ideas, try different approaches and receive constructive feedback afterwards. It is the ultimate coaching experience. 

Rehearse your 'Tough Talk' with one of our professional role play actors by contacting us
here

Next month in the spotlight: Play Back Theatre
  
 
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
From the Managing Director

Nearly two and a half years into my InterACT adventure, I am pleased to report that we never trained and coached as many people as we did last month.  

I'm seeing a huge demand from companies who want their employees to learn in a more “hands-on,” reflective and easily transferable training environment. As I look to the new financial year, I am determined to strengthen InterACT's contribution to the training and development of WA employees with our experiential learning solutions.

Also I am proud to invite you to read my article about the Rise of the Role Play Actor in the June edition of AITD Magazine (Australian Institute for Training and Development) I hope you will enjoy reading about my ideas about drama based training and how to use role play actors in training, testing and learning. I welcome your feedback and thoughts.  

Would you like to talk to me in person about how InterACT can help your organisation improve performance with our experiential training programs and role play services? You can contact me through Facebook or by visiting our website.

Or just send me an email and I'll be in touch soon.

Have a great month!  

Warm regards, Janine de Muinck
Managing Director InterACT Experiential Learning Solutions                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
Copyright © 2017 InterACT WA, All rights reserved.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp