Adrian Miller asked: 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.
nap
AVOID toxic people because, quiet simply, they can completely drain you of energy.
