Preparing for Training Delivery

Regardless of how great your ideas are in your virtual sales pitch, webinar, or team meeting… People are most likely checking their email, browsing social media, or working on other things while you present. How can you prevent that and actually get your audience to pay attention? Here are 4 of the most powerful techniques we use for our own virtual training courses: 1. Win the first five seconds According to research from the University of Toronto, people need only five seconds to gauge your charisma and leadership as a speaker. In virtual environments, this first impression is even more critical. To establish instant rapport: - Keep your posture open and inviting (avoid fidgeting, crossed arms, and closed-off postures) - Use open gestures that welcome the audience into your space - Gesture with your palms showing at a 45-degree angle - Speak with clear articulation and energy from the very first word The quickest way to lose your audience? Starting with tentative body language that signals you’re unsure or unprepared. 2. Design your presentation for virtual viewing When designing slides, assume varied viewing conditions. Design for the smallest likely device and the slowest likely Internet speed. Make your slides accessible by: - Using larger fonts (24-32pt) - Applying higher contrast colors - Limiting each slide to ONE clear idea - Adding more space between lines when using smaller text - Stripping excess content (you can provide additional information in a separate document) 3. Vary your delivery Our research shows the optimal length for linear presentations is just 16-30 minutes, while interactive ones can maintain engagement for 30-45 minutes. People’s attention will go through peaks and valleys during that time, so try these techniques to keep their attention: - Vary your speaking pace (faster to convey urgency, slower to express gravity) - Use intentional pauses to let key points land - Adjust your vocal tone (lower pitch for authority, higher for approachability) - Shift between slides, stories, and data at regular intervals Each change helps reset your audience’s attention and signals importance. 4. Build in structured interaction Don’t make your audience wait until the end of your presentation to interact. According to our research, presentations that incorporate audience engagement through polls, chat responses, or breakout discussions maintain attention longer. For the highest engagement: - Use a variety of interaction types throughout your presentation - Incorporate breakout rooms for small-group discussions - Switch modalities regularly to keep it interesting Remember: In virtual environments, you need to recreate the natural engagement that happens in person. Your virtual presentation success isn’t measured by perfection…it’s measured by action. Master these techniques and your audience won’t just pay attention, they’ll respond. #VirtualPresentations #CorporateTraining #WorkplaceLearning

Trainers must be more than experts— Here's the secret to delivering impactful training sessions, no matter what comes your way. As a trainer, being prepared for instant changes in the delivery of any concept requires a flexible and adaptive mindset. Here are key strategies to help you stay prepared: 1. Thorough Subject knowledge - 📕 Master the content so well that you can break it down or present it in multiple ways, adapting to the audience’s needs. This will allow you to explain complex ideas in simpler terms or delve deeper if required. 2. Audience Analysis - 🧐 Before the session, understand your audience's knowledge level, learning preferences, and possible challenges. This will help you anticipate where you might need to adjust your delivery. 3. Create a Session Outline - 📝 Have a structured outline that allows for adjustments. Include different examples, analogies, and activities so that you can switch methods if needed. 4. Plan for Flexibility 🧘 - Build in buffer time to the session plan, allowing you to address questions or revisit concepts without rushing. Be prepared to cut less essential content if time constraints arise. 5. Use Interactive Methods 🗣️ - Include interactive methods such as Q&A, group discussions, or problem-solving activities. These allow you to gauge understanding and shift the delivery based on immediate feedback. 6. Technology Familiarity - 🧑💻 Know the tools and platforms you are using so you can quickly adapt, whether it’s changing slides, moving between resources, or using multimedia to reinforce concepts. 7. Stay Calm and Confident ☺️ - If a change in delivery is necessary, remain calm and composed. Confidence reassures the audience, and maintaining a positive attitude will help you navigate unexpected changes smoothly. 8. Prepare Backup Plans 🖋️ - Have alternative examples, exercises, or activities ready in case the original approach does not resonate with the group. 9. Stay Current 🏃 - Keep up with the latest trends, tools, and methods in training and your field of expertise. This allows you to bring fresh perspectives and solutions to any spontaneous situation. 10. Gather Feedback ✍️ - After a session, ask for feedback to understand where adjustments were successful or where improvements are needed. This helps in refining your ability to adapt in future sessions. Being prepared for changes is about blending preparation with flexibility and having the confidence to switch gears when necessary. #confidence #trainthetrainer #training #softskills #leadership #communication #learning

Neurodiversity is seen as an "emerging field" - but understanding neurodiversity isn’t enough. 👋 HR managers, People Teams, and forward-thinking leaders… You need actionable tools, tailored insights, and someone who gets it to help embed this into your culture. Here's what you should look out for in your trainer: ✔️ Real-world experience: Lived experience and professional expertise to every session. Someone who doesn’t just know the theories—but has walked the path many of your employees are navigating. ✔️ Practical strategies: It's less about ticking boxes and more about giving your teams tools to foster understanding, improve communication, and create environments where everyone can contribute fully. ✔️ Intersectional focus: Neurodiversity doesn’t exist in isolation. I help organisations think about how gender, culture, and other aspects of identity interact with neurodivergence, creating more inclusive systems for all. ✔️ Engaging and relatable: Training shouldn’t be boring or jargon-filled. Making these conversations meaningful, interactive, and empowering for everyone involved. Are you ready to build a culture that attracts and retains diverse talent? Having trained over 80 FTSE companies on neurodiversity, you're in safe hands with me. Let's chat. 📩 #InclusiveLeadership #NeurodiversityInTheWorkplace #HRTransformation

One of the biggest barriers to children reaching their potential in school, whether academically, socially, emotionally or even physically, is fear. The problem with fear is that we think we can predict somebody else’s fear. As adults, we can usually name what scares us. Trying a new food. Skydiving. Public humiliation. Failure. For children, some fears are obvious. Being bullied. Being publicly humiliated by a teacher. Scoring low in a test. These are visible and easier to mitigate. Yet in many schools around the world, they are still happening. But the deeper issue is this. There are countless small occurrences, or even potential occurrences, within schools that create low level anxiety. A gentle hum in the background. On its own, one small anxiety seems insignificant. But when they accumulate, we see children pretending to be sick. Crying at the school gates. Saying they hate school without really knowing why. Often they cannot articulate what is making them scared. Because it is subtle. It is the possibility of something happening, not necessarily the event itself. And if it cannot be articulated, it cannot be solved. So I began developing what I call the Safe School Framework. It asks schools to examine the underlying anxiety provoking elements within their culture. Tone of voice. Public comparison. Sarcasm. Unpredictability. Subtle shaming. The uncertainty of what will happen next. Even if these things rarely occur, the potential that they might is enough to keep a child’s nervous system on alert. And we know this from neuroscience. A dysregulated brain cannot learn. When the survival part of the brain feels threatened, higher level thinking shuts down. Children freeze. They disengage. They survive. Learning simply cannot occur in survival mode. I am not suggesting we shield children from the real world. But school should not be a place of background threat. It should be a place where mistakes are encouraged. Homework is practice, not proof. Invisible children are noticed. Sensory needs are anticipated. Praise builds confidence without comparison. Our goal is to move children into the Green Zone. Calm. Curious. Connected. Because this is where learning happens. I have identified 50 key practices that schools can implement to dramatically reduce this low level anxiety across an entire campus. They are practical, cultural and human. If we change the way our schools operate and clearly communicate to students and parents that certain things simply do not happen here, that background fear can quieten. These four slides might just be the most important four slides your school receives this year. If you would like formal training for your teachers on this framework, I would genuinely love to hear from you. gavin@upschool.co #education #school #teacher #teaching #children #montessori

A lot of time and money goes into corporate training—but not nearly enough comes out of it. In fact, companies spent $130 billion on training last year, yet only 25% of programs measurably improved business performance. Having run countless training workshops, I’ve seen firsthand what makes the difference. Some teams walk away energized and equipped. Others… not so much. If you’re involved in organizing training—whether for a small team or a large department—here’s how to make sure it actually works: ✅ Do your research. Talk to your team. What skills would genuinely help them day-to-day? A few interviews or a quick survey can reveal exactly where to focus. ✅ Start with a solid brief. Give your trainer as much context as possible: goals, audience, skill levels, examples of past work, what’s worked—and what hasn’t. ✅ Don’t shortchange the time. A 90-minute session might inspire, but it won’t transform. For deeper learning and hands-on practice, give it time—ideally 2+ hours or spaced chunks over a few days. ✅ Share real examples. Generic content doesn’t stick. When the trainer sees your actual slides, templates, and challenges, they can tailor the session to hit home. ✅ Choose the right group size. Smaller groups mean better interaction and more personalized support. If you want engagement, resist the temptation to pack the (virtual) room. ✅ Make it matter. Set expectations. Send reminders. And if it’s virtual, cameras on goes a long way toward focus and connection. ✅ Schedule follow-up support. Reinforcement matters. Book a post-session Q&A, office hours, or refresher so people actually use what they’ve learned. ✅ Follow up. Send a quick survey afterward to measure impact and shape the next session. One-off training rarely moves the needle—but a well-planned series can. Helping teams level up their presentation skills is what I do—structure, storytelling, design, and beyond. If that’s on your radar, I’d love to help. DM me to get the conversation started.

Ever notice how some leaders seem to have a sixth sense for meeting dynamics while others plow through their agenda oblivious to glazed eyes, side conversations, or everyone needing several "bio breaks" over the course of an hour? Research tells us executives consider 67% of virtual meetings failures, and a staggering 92% of employees admit to multitasking during meetings. After facilitating hundreds of in-person, virtual, and hybrid sessions, I've developed my "6 E's Framework" to transform the abstract concept of "reading the room" into concrete skills anyone can master. (This is exactly what I teach leaders and teams who want to dramatically improve their meeting and presentation effectiveness.) Here's what to look for and what to do: 1. Eye Contact: Notice where people are looking (or not looking). Are they making eye contact with you or staring at their devices? Position yourself strategically, be inclusive with your gaze, and respectfully acknowledge what you observe: "I notice several people checking watches, so I'll pick up the pace." 2. Energy: Feel the vibe - is it friendly, tense, distracted? Conduct quick energy check-ins ("On a scale of 1-10, what's your energy right now?"), pivot to more engaging topics when needed, and don't hesitate to amplify your own energy through voice modulation and expressive gestures. 3. Expectations: Regularly check if you're delivering what people expected. Start with clear objectives, check in throughout ("Am I addressing what you hoped we'd cover?"), and make progress visible by acknowledging completed agenda items. 4. Extraneous Activities: What are people doing besides paying attention? Get curious about side conversations without defensiveness: "I see some of you discussing something - I'd love to address those thoughts." Break up presentations with interactive elements like polls or small group discussions. 5. Explicit Feedback: Listen when someone directly tells you "we're confused" or "this is exactly what we needed." Remember, one vocal participant often represents others' unspoken feelings. Thank people for honest feedback and actively solicit input from quieter participants. 6. Engagement: Monitor who's participating and how. Create varied opportunities for people to engage with you, the content, and each other. Proactively invite (but don't force) participation from those less likely to speak up. I've shared my complete framework in the article in the comments below. In my coaching and workshops with executives and teams worldwide, I've seen these skills transform even the most dysfunctional meeting cultures -- and I'd be thrilled to help your company's speakers and meeting leaders, too. What meeting dynamics challenge do you find most difficult to navigate? I'd love to hear your experiences in the comments! #presentationskills #virualmeetings #engagement

📈 Unlocking the True Impact of L&D: Beyond Engagement Metrics 🚀 I am honored to once again be asked by the LinkedIn Talent Blog to weigh in on this important question. To truly measure the impact of learning and development (L&D), we need to go beyond traditional engagement metrics and look at tangible business outcomes. 🌟 Internal Mobility: Track how many employees advance to new roles or get promoted after participating in L&D programs. This shows that our initiatives are effectively preparing talent for future leadership. 📚 Upskilling in Action: Evaluate performance reviews, project outcomes, and the speed at which employees integrate their new knowledge into their work. Practical application is a strong indicator of training’s effectiveness. 🔄 Retention Rates: Compare retention between employees who engage in L&D and those who don’t. A higher retention rate among L&D participants suggests our programs are enhancing job satisfaction and loyalty. 💼 Business Performance: Link L&D to specific business performance indicators like sales growth, customer satisfaction, and innovation rates. Demonstrating a connection between employee development and these outcomes shows the direct value L&D brings to the organization. By focusing on these metrics, we can provide a comprehensive view of how L&D drives business success beyond just engagement. 🌟 🔗 Link to the blog along with insights from other incredible L&D thought leaders (list of thought leaders below): https://lnkd.in/efne_USa What other innovative ways have you found effective in measuring the impact of L&D in your organization? Share your thoughts below! 👇 Laura Hilgers Naphtali Bryant, M.A. Lori Niles-Hofmann Terri Horton, EdD, MBA, MA, SHRM-CP, PHR Christopher Lind

“Draw a triangle.” That’s all I said. And that’s where everything began to shift Last week, during a soft skills session, I asked the group to draw a shape. Simple instructions: Draw a triangle. Draw a rectangle below it, same width as the triangle base. Add two small rectangles underneath. Put a circle inside the rectangle. The results? 17 different drawings. 17 interpretations of the same words. And 17 quiet “aha” moments when I showed what I had in mind. That’s when the room went silent. Because it wasn’t about geometry. It was about: Assumptions. Unasked questions. Unchecked clarity. And the dangerous illusion that “I’ve understood” is the same as “we’re aligned.” This isn’t just true in workshops. It’s true in boardrooms, factory floors, hospitals, and Zoom calls. Learning preferences have shifted, and training must too. Today’s learners — across industries — no longer want just theory, slides, and checklists. They want: - Stories, not stock phrases - Practice, not passivity - Emotion, not just information - Real-life, not role titles They want learning that sticks. And as trainers, we must shift from: Content delivery → Contextual facilitation PowerPoint lectures → Immersive activities One-time workshops → Continuous learning moments Here’s what’s working now (and what we used in the session): Brain-Based & Micro Learning: Because our brains remember stories and bite-sized takeaways better than data dumps. Case Studies + Role Plays: Like the one where a nurse preps the wrong Mr. Iyer for a CT scan. Or where “2 tablets of XYZ” meant two different things to the doctor, pharmacist, and nurse. Sticky Tools: WIIFM framing (“What’s in it for me?”) Emotionally anchored breakout discussions Micro contracts (1 action they’ll take tomorrow) And the data backs this up: 80% of safety issues stem from miscommunication or unclear assumptions. 60% of diagnostic delays arise because someone thought the previous person had checked. Not just in healthcare. Across teams. Across industries. So here's my reflection as a facilitator: If your session doesn’t create a pause, a shift, or an “I didn’t see it that way before”, it’s just information. But if it sticks, it shifts behaviour. And when behaviour shifts, culture changes. To all facilitators, L&D leaders, and coaches, are we still delivering? Or are we now co-creating transformation? I’d love to hear how you’re making learning stick in 2025 and beyond. Drop a comment if this post made you reflect. Share your favourite tool to make your sessions more human, more real. Let’s build a world where learning isn’t an event — it’s an experience. Follow me, Sudhakar Reddy G., for more such insights. #LeadershipDevelopment #Facilitation #CorporateTraining #StickyLearning #LifelongLearning #EmpathyInAction #CultureChange #ExecutiveCoaching #CommunicationSkills

Designing learning that works for every mind. In preparation for our session at World of Learning in October, Emma Hutchins and I are asking neurodivergent learners to share the 'one thing' above all others that would improve their digital learning experience. Thanks so much to everyone who engaged with and contributed to our last LI post. The list below is what we have so far. But are we missing anything? We'd love to hear from you in the comments if your 'one thing' doesn't appear on our list. Content design and structure - Provide clear and consistent instructions throughout all learning materials. - Ensure a clear and logical content structure so information fits neatly into well-defined categories. - Avoid poor colour contrast and other design issues that contribute to sensory overload. - Avoid locked navigation controls (like 'Continue' buttons) unless it is obvious what needs to be completed to progress. Control over media and sensory input - If possible, avoid linking to external video sites (such as YouTube) unless the learner’s return path is clear and accessible. - Do not include moving or animated content unless learners can pause or stop it. - Allow learners to change the speed of video content (both slower and faster) to suit their processing needs. - Always provide transcripts for video and audio to offer choice in how content is accessed. - Give learners control over narration and audio - allow them to start, stop, or bypass it entirely. - Keep multimedia experiences manageable to avoid overstimulation from multi-sensory overload. Assessment and feedback design - Write unambiguous questions and instructions and test them for clarity. - Provide clear, direct feedback for knowledge checks - explicitly state the correct answer and explain why it is correct. - Avoid double negatives in both questions and feedback, as they slow comprehension and retention. #WOL25 #Neurodiversity #Inclusion #Accessibility  (Five outlined human profiles, each with different colourful brain representations, including connected nodes, flowers, gears, puzzle pieces, and hearts, symbolising diverse thinking styles.)

Don’t end your session without this… 🛑✋ One of the most common criticisms of icebreaker activities - or any playful exercise, even if it’s framed as a “serious game” - is that they’re a waste of time. And honestly? That criticism is often valid. Not because the activity itself isn’t valuable… but because facilitators skip the most crucial part: 🧠 The debrief. Without reflection, the group misses the why. The experience stays surface-level. And all that potential for insight, connection, and growth? Gone. After the activity, the fun is fading, the adrenaline is dropping… and this is exactly when most facilitators move on. But the best ones? They pause and help the group make meaning. With just a few minutes of thoughtful debriefing, everything shifts. You give participants a chance to slow down, make meaning, and apply what they’ve just felt, learned, or experienced. Because it’s not the activity itself that creates transformation, it’s what we learn from it. I was recently reminded of a debrief activity called the "Traffic Light" after watching a video by Mark Collard, which I would love to share: Instructions 📋 1. Create three spaces (physically or metaphorically) based on the colours of a traffic light: red, yellow, and green. For in-person meetings, mark the spaces using coloured tape (maybe ⭕️🪄 Matthias has a fun #Facilitape Tip for us?) on the floor or place three papers labelled “Red,” “Yellow,” and “Green.” 2. Guide the whole group from one space to the next and ask: 🟢 Green – What should we continue doing that’s working well? 🟡 Yellow – What should we pay attention to or approach with caution? 🔴 Red – What should we stop doing that’s not helping? 3. With enough time, you could also have participants pair up for a conversation about each question, then invite them to share their thoughts in the larger group. But, here’s the key: For the best outcome, adjust the questions based on your activity and debriefing purpose. Here are a few more examples: After a new team experience: 🟢 What behaviours helped us work well together? 🔴 What slowed us down? 🟡 What worked… sometimes? Midway through a retreat or training: 🟢 What’s energizing you so far? 🔴 What’s feeling unclear or overwhelming? 🟡 What’s worth revisiting? After a tough discussion: 🟢 What helped you feel heard? 🔴 What felt off or uncomfortable? 🟡 What might be worth exploring more deeply? What I love about it is that it engages the whole group (especially when you incorporate movement from one space to the next), and it provides people with a safe structure to share honest feedback. Also, I often start with green, move to red, and end with yellow. This way, we always start with something positive and don’t finish on a negative note. 👉 What are your favourite debriefing activities and methods? #facilitationtips #icemeltersbook