My Top 10 Tools for Workplace Learning

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Each year, Jane Hart at the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies (C4LPT) compiles a list of the top 200 digital tools used for learning. She compiles this list by asking for people from across the world to submit the top 10 digital tools for learning that they use on a regular basis.

Below, you’ll find the 10 digital tools I’ve found most useful over the past year (in no particular order) as well as a link for more information if you’d like to submit your own list to C4LPT.   Continue reading →

3 Principles for Effective PowerPoint Presentations

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Last month I had an opportunity to write a 20-page booklet for ATD entitled PowerPoint: Your Co-facilitator.

Powerpoint Your Co-Facilitator - effective powerpoint presentations

Since then, a number of friends and colleagues have asked me to boil the booklet down into the top five or ten tips that lead to effective PowerPoint presentations. As I reflected on that question, I think there are three guiding principles that can make any PowerPoint deck better. And these principles have very little to do with conventional advice such as “bullets kill, so eliminate bullet points” or “only use three lines of text, no more than 8 words per line, and no smaller than 36 point font”. My principles have little to do with the need to hone your graphic design skills, either.   Continue reading →

For and Against 12 Training Evaluation Metrics

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On Monday I asked readers to share their thoughts on the most compelling of twelve training evaluation metrics. Whether you’re trying to create a case for funding for a training program you feel is essential or you’re trying to market the value of your existing professional development offerings, using qualitative and quantitative training evaluation metrics will be an important part of your argument.   Continue reading →

The Best Training Metric

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Training can often be a tricky thing to measure. Just because it’s difficult, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. After all, when the people who make budget decisions decide to ask what the value of your training program is, you’ll need a good answer.

With today’s blog, I’m going to try something a little different. I’d like to get your thoughts, dear reader, on the following question. Share your thoughts in the comment section. I’ll come back on Thursday summarizing all the thoughts that are contributed here and add my own thoughts as well.

The question: Which of the following is the BEST metric to measure a training program?  Continue reading →

Six Questions to Answer when Creating a Training Program

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Last week, my co-founder Tim Waxenfelter and I presented to a group of HR and training professionals at the Virginia Banker’s Association VBAConnect Conference on several topics, including how to create a training department from scratch within an organization.

As part of the overall reflection toward the end of the session, we shared a Program Development Mapping Worksheet with the attendees to help them think through some key considerations they’d want to keep in mind when creating a training program from scratch.   Continue reading →

Presentation Skills Checklist

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Even if the content is good, presentations can break down quickly with a bad presenter. As a toastmaster and a presenter, I have learned a lot of tricks on how to bring a presentation from good to great. I focus on a Presentation Skills Checklist (please download for your own use) to ensure I am executing great presentation skills. The points I check on that list are room presence, eye contact, filler word elimination, vocal variety, and, time management. Continue reading →