[Fredslist] PROMO: Everything I Needed to Learn About Training I Learned in Kindergarten

[Adrian Miller]

Some experts believe that the first few years of life are the most  
formative.  Others suggest that the early teens are the most  
influential.  Personally, I’m not so sure; there seems to be some  
good logic in both views.  However, regardless of whether my  
personality was crafted as an infant or a teen, I can say one thing  
with confidence: I learned some very important things about training  
in kindergarten.   Here’s my favorite three.

Kindergarten/Training Principle #1: Don’t Make Me Cry, Don’t Make Me  
Turn Away

As a grown-up, I’ve learned to cope with many situations that, in  
kindergarten, used to outright floor me and have me screaming at the  
top of my lungs; or, at least, sulking in a dark corner, waiting for  
the chance to go home.  And at the top of this coping list is dealing  
with boring or stressful situations.

When faced with boredom or stress, I’m now fully aware that the best  
thing to do is not to create a scene or start banging my arms down on  
a desk or carpet.  That is, I learned to mask my true reaction –  
freaking out -- and replace it with a polite smile, or a stifled  
yawn.   As a thriving kindergarten student, however, I hadn’t quite  
yet honed this important coping skill; and so when faced with a  
situation that I found disagreeable, I expressed my feelings quite  
visibly, and some might say, quite honestly.  I was unhappy, and  
believe me, it showed.

As a trainer, and as someone who has a vested interest in the growth  
and development of great training (regardless of whether I’m a part  
of it or not), I’m fortunate to carry around this kernel of  
kindergarten wisdom: people might look like they’re not freaking out,  
but inside, they might very well be screaming and pleading for the  
day to end.

And with this insight, I’ve learned that I must be particularly  
sensitive to the energy and body language that I’m receiving from  
training participants.  Sure, on the surface, they may look fairly  
composed; but that’s just something we’ve all learned to do as grown- 
ups.  Yet if I’m boring them, or if I’m stressing them out because my  
delivery is not engaging them, then I have to adjust.

For example, I may find it valuable to break up a large group into  
smaller groups if I feel that the room needs an energy boost.  Or I  
might suggest an early break if I feel that I need to reestablish the  
goals of the training, and can more effectively do it after a  
clarifying and refreshing time out.  Or, I may simply forego a  
planned presentation, and instead, open up the floor for questions  
and answers.  There’s no hard and fast rule as to what is needed;  
there’s only the principle that, as a trainer, I must remember that  
on the surface, my trainees might not be expressing their true  
opinion about the training.  It’s up to me to scan for this, and to  
make adjustments as I detect changes, both good and bad.

  #2: Kindergarten/Training Principle Nap Time is Invaluable

Though different people have different kindergarten experiences, one  
unifying theme that bridges both generations and cultures tends to be  
the nap period.

Whether 10 minutes or half an hour, the majority of us experienced  
that special time in kindergarten where the lights were turned off,  
and the window shades drawn; and it was quiet, sleepy time.  A chance  
to restore our spent energies, and return to the kindergarten  
experience with new and positive energy.

Until I became a trainer, I didn’t give this any thought.  I just  
figured that they told us to lie down because they were tired of the  
noise we were making, and needed a break.  Yet eventually, the  
insight dawned on me that nap time served me very well.  Nap time  
enabled my young, energetic, and sensory-overloaded mind and body to  
recharge.  It gave me a stamina boost that helped me focus on post- 
nap activities, such as potato painting, or the all important sing-a- 
long.  In other words: nap time served a primary strategic purpose  
(who knew?).

Fast forward to today, and I can see that the same strategic  
importance remains.  Trainees need “down time” (if not necessarily  
nap time, though some do…).  Training can be overwhelming; especially  
since, at heart, all training is about change.  Since change is the  
most stressful thing that both people and companies experience, it’s  
incumbent upon me to ensure that I know when my trainees are becoming  
agitated, and when a short time-out break is going to serve them well.

I’m also reminded that the capacity for people – not just trainees,  
but people in general – to learn something new tends to peak at about  
the 30 minute mark.  That is, anything beyond 30 minutes, and the  
ability to accept and process information begins to wane.  After an  
hour or so, I believe that it can be counterproductive to convey any  
information.

This isn’t a negative situation; nor is it a critical observation.   
It’s not that trainees don’t want to learn, or that they can’t.  It’s  
simple human tolerances.  We aren’t meant to sit for more than an  
hour and learn something; it’s not actually within our biological  
development, if you really look at it.  Can you imagine our cave  
people ancestors spending hours learning how to hunt and gather?   
They’d be eaten; or they’d starve, or both.

We’ve come along way since our cave days, but not as far as it may  
seem.  We still need to learn things, obviously, but we still require  
frequent breaks.  Though we may not yet be at the “nap time” stage in  
workplace training (though perhaps one day?), as a trainer, I can  
address this need nicely by ensuring that breaks happen frequently  
enough so that trainees stay fresh, alert, and engaged.

Kindergarten/Training Principle #3: You remember the good times

Though as adults we’ve have countless experiences, and each of those  
moments takes up residence in our memory, we can all probably hearken  
back to our kindergarten days to recall whether we enjoyed it or  
not.  And as we reflect upon those enjoyable moments, we’re overcome  
by a feeling of gladness; of a fond memory unraveling inside us.   
That’s the feeling of an open-minded experience.

It’s also fair to say that people who enjoyed kindergarten got more  
out of the experience than those who dreaded it.  Though we don’t  
cognitively recall what we learned or how, if we liked kindergarten –  
if we liked our teacher, and liked the atmosphere of where we were  
learning – we certainly learned much more than we realized.  After  
all, even now as adults, often the most enjoyable and effective  
learning takes place when we don’t know that we’re learning.  In such  
cases, we learn better because there’s no inner resistance to  
learning; there’s no mental labeling, or psycholgoical border  
crossing official, who says “this is a learning experience, it is now  
entering your mind, please be aware and ensure that you want this to  
happen”.

Seen in this way, a powerful insight that was brokered in  
kindergarten is that people learn more when they enjoy themselves.   
They not only learn more, but they remember more; and that is the  
key, since at some early point the training will end, and the trainee  
will need to apply what she/he has learned.  If a trainee has a  
horrible experience, chances are she/he will retain only what is  
barely necessary; items that will help them keep her/his job (e.g. a  
new protocol or policy).  But there won’t be any real lasting growth  
as a result of the training; growth that goes beyond the framework of  
the curriculum.

Ensuring that trainees enjoy their learning experience shouldn’t,  
however, be confused as providing trainees with a party or  
celebration each time.  Some training is more formal, either because  
of the subject matter, or because of the environment itself.  This is  
fine; and there’s no need to necessarily have trainees doing the  
limbo and wearing nacho hats in order to create memorable training  
experiences.

Yet as I learned in kindergarten, this isn’t necessary.  Only as  
adults do we tend to equate “fun on the outside with fun on the  
inside”.  It’s often not necessary; all it takes is paying attention  
to trainees and engaging them in the experience.

Some trainees will be highly extroverted and gregarious; others will  
be quiet and analytical.  Some like to talk a lot on the spot; others  
prefer to take information back to their desks and reflect upon it  
for a few days.  This is all fine.  As a trainer, it’s my job to use  
my skills and techniques – in partnership with the organization  
itself – to see that learners have an enjoyable experience,  
regardless of the environment or subject matter.

And it bears repeating, because it’s so useful and so easy to forget:  
when trainees enjoy their training experience, they learn more,  
retain more, and achieve more.

And as a trainer, seeing that trainees learn, retain, and achieve, is  
the ultimate goal of what I do; and, in that sense, what kindergarten  
did for me, as well.




Adrian Miller Sales Training
516-767-9288
516-445-1135 (cell)
www.adrianmiller.com
http://www.adrianmiller.com/blog/

Our fabulous teleclass on 5/20.  Here's where:
http://www.diresta.com/teleseminars/newteleseminars.html

See my book: The Blatant Truth: 50 Ways to Sales Success" at
http://www.theblatanttruth.com/

Be certain to attend the Annual HIA Business Trade Show & Conference  
on May 22nd. It's not to be missed:
http://www.hia-li.org/tradeshow2008/


"What if we train them and they leave? What if we don't train them  
and they stay?"




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