Monthly Archives: August 2020

Quite a tall order isn’t it?  How can you expect a task to get done if you don’t have the capability or resources to do it?  This is happening all the time with training, and it’s wasting valuable time and money that businesses can’t afford to lose.

Ball in the basket - a relatively straightforward task really when we have all the three essential elements; the person, the ball and the basket and we could say that there is a good chance of completing the task?  In training, it’s like when we task our “Trainers” who may not have the skills or knowledge to come up with the training that’s required to make the changes we need in the workplace.  OK, they may be able to produce some training (mostly PowerPoint slide orientated) that fulfills a small piece of what’s needed, but did they truly understand what the real “training need” was?  We often find that many of our delegates on our PTT Train the Trainer course have been given training jobs and tasks but don’t understand how to do

Confidence is such a vast area in all of us, have you ever reflected on how confident you are already, flipping it to a positive from a negative, thinking about it differently.

In my coaching practice, confidence appears so often. I think sometimes people don't realise how confident they are already. The word confidence is interpreted in so many ways; people worry about what the word confidence means to them personally and how they think they should be. The word expectation always springs to mind, I think if people are perfectionists, this may cause some of the problems.

The first thing I always ask is "How confident are you already?" Think about this and where you are confident. Then think about what has made you confident in these areas. You will have over life hit adversity in so many ways but never thought about how you have dealt with these areas in confident ways. A good exercise is to write down three areas that you have found confidence, just take a few seconds to do this. Then

On our management and train the trainer courses I am fortunate enough to meet some great people.  One thing that always surprises me though, is the lack of feedback given by managers and trainers to members of staff or individuals we are training. Whether you're a manager or a trainer, you need to know how to give effective feedback.  Not only is it an essential tool to learn but also part of the effective communication process.  Follow the steps below, and I guarantee you will get your message across more effectively. 

Stage 1 Ask Them First - We must ask "How do you feel it went?" or words to that effect.  Remember some essential areas here is that first, we must always listen when we ask this question and second give individuals time to respond. Remember, Introverted types will need more time to reflect.  You can always probe by asking "Why...what happened" etc

Stage 2 Review What Was Done Well - This is essential to motivate and to get individuals into a positive

Have you ever thought about what your shame is? We all carry shame in some way, for example, feeling embarrassed and guilty about something. Your belief system of not feeling good enough or others are better than you is not a nice feeling. As a coach, you need to be aware when your client sat in front of you the shame they may carry.

Shame is a horrible feeling, when you feel it, you feel bad and have some regret. Ask yourself how often do you feel this and what does this feel like.

Another question is, how often do you shame others? Do you notice yourself doing this, and what does this mean? Shame leads to depression and self-esteem and can be very lonely. Shame is a topic worth exploring in detail with your clients and yourself as a coach. Knowing your own shame helps you understand sitting in the client's shoes.

A good exercise is to ask yourself what your shame is then follow through with a journal. Really think about how you feel when you notice any feeling, and what feelings and thoughts

I am fortunate I have been able to travel to some fantastic parts of our planet both for please and work. Working overseas is always an excellent experience for me; you get to experience different cultures and meet some fantastic people along the way.

Without a doubt, the best place I have worked in is Beirut. I remember the first time I went there, didn't know what I was doing there, concerned because of all the negative things I had heard and seen on the news.

How wrong was I. Instead I discovered a place full of the most fantastic highly educated people, I became addicted to the place. I ended up working there numerous times (over seven visits), and I have trained some brilliant people there on a range of subjects from Management to Training. They always made sure I was looked after; they always made sure I was being taken care of. I felt at home in a place that was so different from my home, but I felt amongst friends, the Lebanese hospitality is second to none.

On Tuesday, we had terrible

When I’m delivering training, I often get lots of great feedback from evaluations that say things like “Made to feel welcome from the very start” which I love.  I take so much pride in helping people learn in a great environment. After all, this is this one of my most important jobs of the day, but why is this the case?

Remember that feeling of dread you can have to go into a potentially new environment, meeting new people and then having to learn too! - It’s quite a challenge, isn’t it?  As the trainer, you have the chance to make everyone feel as comfortable as possible, so they’ll then have the best opportunity to learn in the right ‘climate’.  So how can you achieve this? – Here are my four top tips:

Cover the human needs – Make sure that you know where the toilets are and that they are accessible and serviceable.  If possible, is there water, tea coffee to keep refreshing?  Also, make sure the temperature is right, the room is well ventilated and that you give regular breaks.