Many presenters ask us about the best way to get their presentations started. They say that once the conversation gets going, they’re fine. But getting through the opening is always uncomfortable. Getting past the presentation nervousness that builds up before and at the start is a struggle. This is a tough issue for us to...
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For some presenters, preparation is all about collecting data and turning it into PowerPoint slides. There’s more to effective, efficient preparation than that, though. It’s not that you won’t use slides. It’s that by creating slides right off the bat, you may skip steps intended to help you craft your content to meet the needs...
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This is an excerpt from Effective SMEs: A Trainer’s Guide for Helping Subject Matter Experts Facilitate Learning.” In this excerpt Dale Ludwig (Turpin Communication’s Founder) and Greg Owen-Boger (Turpin’s VP) discuss the third of three fundamental principles for success in the training room. Design and Delivery Must Focus on Initiating and Managing the Learning Conversation...
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This is an excerpt from “Effective SMEs: A Trainer’s Guide for Helping Subject Matter Experts Facilitate Learning.” In this excerpt Dale Ludwig (Turpin Communication’s Founder) and Greg Owen-Boger (Turpin’s VP) discuss the first of three fundamental principles for success in the training room. Trainers and Learners Are Equals With a Shared Purpose Many SMEs come...
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In this video, produced by the Association for Talent Development (ATD), Greg Owen-Boger, Turpin’s VP, discusses designing content for different learning styles. Greg here with Turpin Communication. Let’s talk about learning styles. I know that there are a lot of people in our industry that have a lot to say about it. They say that we...
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In this video, produced by the Association for Talent Development (ATD), Greg Owen-Boger, Turpin’s VP, discusses eliminating unnecessary activities. Greg here with Turpin Communication. Learning leaders often bring us in to work with their trainers. Our task is to help them improve their facilitation skills and, ultimately, build their credibility in the classroom. One of the things we see over and over...
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Recently we were working with a group of trainers in a facilitation skills training workshop. During a conversation about how they preferred to prepare, one of them, we’ll call him Steve, said, “I hate dry runs, but we do them all the time. It’s a torturous process for me.” As a leader or manager of...
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Some time back, Dale and I were the guest speakers on a webinar. The topic was about how we’ve redefined business presentations as Orderly Conversations. We were talking about the use of eye contact and pausing in order to get yourself engaged in the conversation. When we talk about being engaged as a presenter, we’re talking about...
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Have you ever attended a training event at work that began with the trainer delivering a set of ground rules for the class? If the answer is yes, the rules probably sounded like this. Good morning everyone! Before we get started, let me go over a few ground rules for today’s class. First, and most...
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Among many of our learners, there is a persistent belief that the number of slides in one’s presentation is somehow related to the amount of time the presentation will take. While there is some connection when it comes to big differences (a 600 slide deck will probably take longer to present than a 6 slide...
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