WorkSMART Blog
What Rob Jolles Taught Me About "Enter-training"
by Susan Landay
on Apr 24 2026
Imagine a great meal at a restaurant. The steak has to be good — that's non-negotiable. But what makes you remember it, recommend it, and come back? The sauce. Rob Jolles, veteran sales trainer and author, used this analogy to open his thinking on what he calls "enter-training" — the art of blending entertainment with training to create learning experiences that actually stick.
"The steak has to be great, but the sauce can make all the difference." The "steak" is your content — the substance, the learning objectives, the reason your audience is in the room. The "sauce" is your personality, your creativity, your presence. Too many facilitators either neglect the sauce entirely, delivering dry, forgettable sessions, or they overdo the entertainment and forget to cook the steak. Here's what Rob says actually works.
The secret ingredient isn't humor — it's your special sauce.
Start with them, not you
One of Rob's most practical rules: don't spend more than 60 seconds introducing yourself at the start of a session. Learners don't want to hear your credentials right away — they want to know what's in it for them.
Takeaway: Lead with WIIFM — What's In It For Me? Hook your audience on the value they're about to receive before you ever say who you are.
Participation is the real magic
Rob emphasized the primary importance of participation, explaining, " it is the number one key to sustaining a group's interest. Not your jokes. Not your slides. Not even your storytelling." The moment learners become active contributors — not passive observers — the room transforms. Design for interaction at every turn.
Humor is overrated
Here's a counterintuitive truth from a man who is, frankly, quite funny: you don't need to be funny. You need to be interesting and personable. The pressure trainers put on themselves to generate laughs often backfires. Instead, focus on being genuinely engaging — curious, warm, and present with your audience. As people tend to say these days, "You be you!"
Drama, voice, and the little things
Rob encourages trainers to use drama, theatrics, and vocal variety — but with intention, not excess. What he's found is that small, unexpected moments often land harder than big theatrical ones. He shared a story that perfectly illustrates this: years ago, he collected enough loyalty stickers to order rubber stamps of his own face — one with a happy expression, one with a sad one. He used those stamps to give learners feedback throughout sessions. Simple, tactile, memorable.
Analog tools punch above their weight
In an era of apps and slide decks, Rob is a passionate advocate for physical, tactile tools. Stickers. Worksheets. Game buzzers. He specifically mentioned the Trainers Warehouse Me First Buzzers and Right-Wrong sound buzzers as tools that engage even the stuffiest, most skeptical audiences. Why? Because analog tools are memory-inducing. They create a different kind of engagement — sensory, embodied, and fun, without feeling childish.
People love stickers — and they don't have to be childish to be effective.
Take risks, but pick your moments
Rob closed with a reminder that growth requires risk. Try something new. Make mistakes. Use those mistakes as learning moments — for you and for your audience. But here's the nuance: don't try to do everything. The biggest mistake a trainer can make, he said, is to "emphasize everything and emphasize nothing." Be selective. Choose what matters most, and let it land.
Enter-training isn't about becoming a stand-up comedian or a theatrical performer. It's about bringing your authentic self — your sauce — to a solid content foundation. The learners came for the steak. They'll remember the meal because of how it made them feel.
READ MORE
Download Rob Jolles' Enter-Training Handout
Leadership Tools to Build Company Culture
by Susan Landay
on Mar 30 2026
Through our Trainers Warehouse Show & Share sessions, we’ve gathered practical insights from facilitation expert Cornelius “Nelius” Dowdell on how leaders can uncover and shape company culture. His approach is straightforward: start with honest input, create space for dialogue, and pay close attention to the behaviors you reinforce.
Set up "Aha" Moments
Dowdell started the conversation by asking the group to describe their culture in one word. Using Aha Slides to synthesize results into a word cloud, in real time, he could then direct the conversation to the most common and/or pressing responses. What emerges is not the polished version of culture found in mission statements, but a more candid reflection of how people actually experience the organization.
If leaders want to influence culture, they first need to understand it—and that requires broad, unfiltered input.
Try a Feelings Wheel
Another effective way to deepen the conversation is by asking people how they’re feeling. While the question sounds simple, many struggle to find the right words. A Feelings or Emotions Wheel provides the language people need to express themselves more precisely. Keep it simple with the Emotions Wheel available on the Zoom whiteboard templates, or go deeper with a more detailed feelings wheel. Alternatively, grab an Emotions Card Deck, where players choose a card that describes how they're feeling right now, or how they wish they felt at work. Whether using a basic visual or a more detailed tool, a quick emotional check-in can set the stage for more meaningful dialogue later.
Start a Dialogue and Listen
Get groups talking... and hear what they have to say
After a quick feelings check, one of Neil's favorite ways to kick off a leadership culture session is to use a Trainers Warehouse Thumball. Even before introducing himself, he might set a ball or two play to get people thinking, connecting, and talking about the learning topic. With the Thumball, he simply tosses the ball and asks the catcher to read the topic under their right thumb. "Wherever the thumb lands is the topic we discuss," he says. Alternatively, he'll play a rapid-fire game, asking each person to respond to the prompt in just 10 seconds before tossing the ball to another player. In bigger groups, he might break into smaller teams. It's yet another way to initiate dialogue so people feel more comfortable sharing deeper thoughts as the session progresses. Just as important as getting people talking is what leaders do next. As Dowdell puts it, "imagine the impact on culture if a leader simply takes the time to find out where people are—and listens.
Model Sharing and Vulnerability
Part of getting employees to open up and share is creating a psychologically safe environment to make that happen. Those environments don't just happen, however. They result when organizational leaders open up and share their own foibles, mistakes, and frustrations. If you want others to share, then begin by demonstrating your own errors, learning moments, or needs for assistance.
PRACTICE ASKING AND ANSWERING QUESTIONS
When talking about organizational culture, coaching people to ask questions, answer, and listen is critical. Rather than simply saying "yes" all the time, healthy corporate cultures welcome conversation and questioning as a way to build clarity and understanding. For this, Dowdell often turns to UNZIP-it! Card Decks. Participants can answer a simple question about "favorites," and partners can practice asking follow-up questions to learn more. Sure, a facilitator could talk about the importance of coaches asking questions, but using tools to help participants get to the meat and potatoes of the substance on their own is generally more effective, he explains.
EXPLORE WHAT BEHAVIORS YOU ARE REINFORCING
BEHAVIOR CHANGE
At the heart of Dowdell’s message is a critical truth: company culture is revealed through behavior. Organizations often define their values clearly, but the real question is whether those values show up in practice. Where does the culture break under pressure? What behaviors are tolerated, even when they contradict stated values?
Culture is not what we say—it’s what we reinforce. What gets rewarded, ignored, or repeated ultimately defines how people behave.
UNWRITTEN RULES
One effective way to explore this is by examining unwritten rules. These informal norms—what people really do and expect—offer valuable insight into how the organization operates.
Some may be lighthearted (i.e. food left on the counter is for sharing; if it's in the fridge, it's not), but others reveal deeper truths about expectations, communication, and accountability. Surfacing these rules helps teams identify gaps between stated values and lived experience, making company culture more visible and actionable. They can also be good new-hire tips, that wouldn't be found in an employee handbook!
MAKING CULTURE REAL
Dowell explains four steps necessary to make culture real. First, you need to identify the goals. Perhaps, for instance, it's showing up to meetings on time. If you don't know what you're striving for, it's impossible to get there. Next, identify how that behavior will be modeled and reinforced—through processes, accountability, or peer support. Encourage individuals to self-assess how they're performing with regard to company values. Ask where they feel their strengths lie, and where they see room for improvement. Don't forget to reward those successes and cultural shifts using I Noticed notes, Kudos for Values, or peer-to-peer recognition tools. And, suggest that individuals treat themselves when they've hit a personal goal. Equally important is giving people time to practice. Scenarios, team challenges, and structured activities create opportunities to build new habits and reflect on outcomes. Save time using Trainers Warehouse's WorkPlays scenarios and ready-to-go teambuilding games that promise rich debriefs--about process improvement, roles, communication, team dynamics, and the like.
OVERCOMING LEADERS' RESISTANCE TO CULTURE CHANGE
Culture change frequently faces resistance, not just from teams asked to abide by the company culture, but also from leaders themselves. When asked why, the top response is typically ambiguity. When cultural initiatives lack clarity, ownership, or measurable outcomes, they are difficult to sustain. To overcome this, organizations must connect company culture to strategic priorities. Define the behaviors, track them consistently, and measure their impact.
Engagement is not a one-time event. It’s an ongoing leadership commitment.
CONCLUSION
Company culture is often discussed in broad, aspirational terms, but Dowdell’s approach brings it back to something far more concrete: conversations, behaviors, and reinforcement. When leaders take the time to listen, model openness, and align what they reward with what they say they value, culture begins to shift in visible ways. The real work of culture isn’t found in statements or slogans—it’s found in the everyday moments where people choose how to speak, act, and respond. Over time, those moments add up, shaping not just how work gets done, but how people experience being part of the organization.
Creating Your Corporate Training Library
by Susan Landay
on Oct 03 2022
LIBRARIES. I don’t know if you can refer to collections of games, training courses, and toys as a “corporate training library,” but I can’t think of a better word for these essential assortments of tools and resources.
What is a library anyway?
I worry that the word “library,” may be polarizing. When you were a kid, were you one who relished getting lost in stacks? Or, did you find the endless shelves a tad overwhelming? As a child, I found reading difficult and libraries somewhat intimidating. Nevertheless, in college, I came to love the quiet rooms, comfy chairs, and rich resources of the library.
Best of all, libraries were a place I could go to borrow stuff, for free! A place where exhaustive collections were assembled so people could have easy access to necessary materials, on-demand!
Curating a Corporate Training Library
Now, as President of Trainers Warehouse, I’ve become a curator of tools for training. I search around the world for items that will enrich corporate learning experiences, wondering what I can add to our collection and how I can make your libraries more robust and effective. We started out selling dozens of books with hundreds of tips, game ideas, and creative training techniques. Over the years, we added fewer books, but more training courses, learning games, and fidget toys to create an ultimate training library.
Library Essentials
Today, well-stocked libraries still have a sea of books. They also have audiobooks, DVDs and Blu-Rays, videogames, magazines, and tablets. Some even have a “library of things,” through which they loan out board games, musical instruments, puzzles, craft supplies, and household items. I suppose a library, then, can be whatever the librarian wants it to be! For those just starting to assemble their corporate training library, these are my recommendations:
Fidget toys – A range of manipulatives can help learners stay focused. Be sure you have selections for different sized hands and tactile preferences (hard/soft; solid/stretchy; squeeze/flex; etc.)
Games – Trainers need lots of games both because they don’t want groups to play the same game twice and because every game should address a specific learning goal.
Card Decks – Decks continue to proliferate. Rather than writing books, many consultants are bundling their games, tips, and tools into bite-sized nuggets that can be used and applied one-at-a-time, in the form of a card deck.
Participation tools – Buzzers and answer boards are great for your collection. Because meeting essentials like these can be costly and you might not need them every day, borrowing and sharing is ideal.
Conversation starters – Thumballs and chat decks are fun but you don’t want to use the same one every time. New prompts will keep the experience fresh. Build a collection so you mix it up and enjoy a bit of variety.
Know your Audience
While some may be assembling “private collections” of training materials, corporate training departments should consider a broader reach for their libraries. Hybrid work schedules, smaller training events, and peer-to-peer or manager-to-employee training events are growing in popularity. New “non-trainer trainers” are stepping into the position without the background, tricks, and resources of trained performance-improvement professionals. To equip their non-trainer trainers, corporate training librarians need to expand their holdings beyond reading materials. Libraries full of playful training resources will entice peer mentors, managers, and coaches, to seek out those tools, and make organizational learning more innovative, effective, and fun.
Read More
Make Meetings Marvelous
Training Should be Fun. Data Explains Why
Learning Golf in my 50s -- Lessons for Trainers
by Susan Landay
on Jun 28 2022
Learning something new is never easy, but it also seems to get harder as we get older. At 57, I decided to take my first golf lesson. While I’ve always been fairly athletic, I’m completely dorky when it comes to arm coordination. My two sons will attest to this as they’ve each tried to teach me to throw a baseball or toss a frisbee. Nonetheless, I wanted to learn how to swing a golf club. I also wanted to experience learning something new as an adult. What might learning golf teach me about training?
Learning golf from a pro
Once I made my decision, I scheduled a golf lesson. I’d learn from an expert, the proper grip, stance, and swing. As I was starting from ground zero, I had low expectations for myself. Would I make contact with the ball? Could I make the ball arc gracefully into the air? Perhaps I could have looked up the technique on YouTube, but for me, face-to-face lessons felt right, so I could get timely feedback and not start any bad habits.
My first lesson went better than expected. With my pro’s expert assistance, I learned the basics and even felt a little hopeful. I made contact with the ball and even hit it to the 50-yard marker. It was a start. But, as the pro said, I would need to keep coming back to the driving range to practice, frequently! I went to the driving range when I could and even invested in a few more lessons.
When it comes to corporate training, so much has migrated to online learning–sometimes live, sometimes asynchronous. Trainers are wise to ask themselves if their specific course content, or parts of it, would benefit from face-to-face experiences.
The first time I played on a golf course
After a year of sporadic visits to the driving range, my friends Alan and Gina invited me to play a round of 9 holes. Having heard about ways to make the game more fun and less competitive — playing from the closest ball, not keeping score, etc. — I decided to say yes. I think I played just two holes when Alan compassionately explained, “they say, the longest drive is from the driving range to the golf course.” Well, isn’t that the truth? I kept at it, finishing my first game of golf and even playing again a few days later. And then…
Practice is just practice
I’ve been asking myself why I haven’t gone back to the driving range or scheduled another golf outing. Is it just that the timing hasn’t worked, or is my reluctance deeper than that? Certainly, my golf course experience was sobering. I didn’t care about the score; nor was I embarrassed. Still, it wasn’t pretty. As any true golfer knows, the sport is a life-long commitment that takes decades of practice–a particular type of practice. Unlike tennis, when you keep taking swing after swing, developing a rhythm, and practicing on the same court you play on, golf requires practice at a driving range. It’s more similar, I suppose, to baseball, where you develop your swing at a batting cage. Then, when you’re in a live game, on the plate, or at the tee, you rely on muscle memory.
Corporate trainers should appreciate that classroom learning is similar to golf and baseball. Mastery of role plays, discussion, and practice in learning centers may not translate to immediate success in live situations. It’s just a starting point, preparation for the real thing. And, like golf, may be coupled with long time lags between each attempt. Growth will continue each time learners face real situations. They can’t expect instant mastery.
Fun versus worthwhile
Later that week, a friend asked if I had fun. This shouldn’t be a trick question, but it stumped me. I enjoyed walking the beautiful golf course on the perfect spring morning. I also loved being with my friends. But if I’m being honest, the golf part was probably more stressful and frustrating than fun. I still didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t know if I’d pick the right golf club and perform as I’d practiced, or dribble the ball pathetically forward. I didn’t even know about the golf course etiquette. I was a complete novice and that’s an awkward place to be for someone who likes to be successful and in control.
As adults (and children) we want to experience success or progress when it comes to hobbies or jobs. We have short fuses and lagging enthusiasm when challenges are too hard or take too long. I’m reminded of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s concept of flow, which suggests that individuals need to find a balance of difficulty and success, so they don’t give up out of either frustration or boredom.
The lessons for trainers are twofold: we need to continue to give positive reinforcement for effort and small steps forward; and, we need to be cognizant of finding that sweet spot, balancing challenge with skill level. Small tokens to acknowledge effort can go a long way. Items like Mini Kudos Notes, High Five Lapel pins, or Learning Mo-Mints are some of my personal favorites.
I know from years of experience that sports are more fun when you know what you’re doing, are seeing progress, and are trying to improve. Knowing that I’ll only get better if I really work at it, I ask myself again, “why am learning this? What’s my motivation?”
Staying motivated while learning golf
Addressing my lag in motivation when it comes to learning to play golf, I realize that I need to return to my initial motivation. Why did I want to learn golf in the first place? My reasoning remains the same: Golf could let me enjoy being outdoors with friends; I could play on those days when my husband needs to put in long hours at work, and it’s a game I could enjoy when running or tennis becomes too hard on my body.
In keeping with this understanding, I encourage trainers to start off their training sessions with a conversation about motivation. Ask the group why they are there? Is it just a requirement? If so, what will do for them? Might it help them develop a new skill? Strengthen performance? Qualify them for a raise or new position? Build confidence? Improve relationships? Motivation is key to engagement and should be revisited often.
Learning as Adults
Our youth is filled with learning new languages, musical instruments, math, reading, science, history, sports, whistling, blowing bubbles, compassion, and on and on the list goes. Our learning tends to slow down after high school, college, or graduate school. Sure, we may pick up a new hobby, read books that stretch our minds or challenge ourselves to master new skills, but the learning curve changes, and becomes much steeper and more slippery.
While adult learning may be even more challenging, requiring practice, assistance, encouragement, and motivation, it is also a keen reminder that many children struggle with learning too. Golf has certainly reminded me of that!
How to Clean your Dry-Erase Whiteboard
by Susan Landay
on May 02 2022
9
A quick online search will lead you to dozens of Whiteboard Cleaners. We tried them all! We used them to clean dry-erase “ghosting,” permanent marker, and years of grunge. We tested the dry-erase cleansers on standard whiteboard surfaces, painted-on whiteboards, and whiteboard adhesive film.
** DISCLAIMER: Please read Chad’s comment below. These products were tested on old whiteboards. Some boards might have a silicone polymer coating that can be damaged with these harsh chemicals. **
Conducting the Test of Dry-Erase Cleaning Solutions
We started by testing 10 products on two whiteboards that hadn’t been cleaned for many months, as well as an adhesive film dry-erase surface. Each had markings that wouldn’t erase with a dry eraser or paper towel. We tried: white vinegar, WD-40, nail polish remover, isopropyl alcohol, hair spray, Bengay, toothpaste, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, Clorox Cleaner with Bleach, Coffee Grounds. In the first round, we tested a small area of each board with every cleaning solution. In the second round, we put our four favorite products to the test on a larger surface area. We wrote again on the board, then erased that writing to be sure the new markings could be erased easily – no problem there. Finally, we tested our final four cleaners on their ability to remove stains made by permanent markers.
How-to-Clean-Your-Whiteboard: Results of the Whiteboard Cleaning Test
STAGE 1: Small area of the board
Using clean paper towels, we tried each cleanser in a small test area to determine our favorites. Here’s what we found:
WORST
Our least favorite selections were messy, smelly, left a residue, and didn’t work at all on removing permanent marker stains.
Coffee Grounds: these had previously worked okay on a horizontal surface, but using them on a vertical board was a complete disaster. We had coffee grounds everywhere, which caused an even bigger clean-up project. They also temporarily stained the board, thus requiring a second cleaning.
Bengay: This product removed ghosting stains, but not as well as other products we tested. Plus, it required further cleaning to remove residual Bengay.
Toothpaste: The Crest product we used did clean up stubborn ghosting stains quite well and left the board smelling minty-fresh, but we needed to clean-off residual toothpaste in a second cleaning.
BETTER
This batch functionally worked, but each produced suboptimal results for a variety of reasons.
WD-40: Works well on ghosting, but leaves boards a little greasy. Also, it didn’t perform well on stubborn residues, like that on the grainy painted-white board surface.
White Vinegar: Vinegar could help to remove subtle markings, but it didn’t have great results with deeper stains and ghosting. Plus, it smelled really bad.
Mr. Clean Magic Erasers: We used Mr. Clean as a dry eraser (no water added). Using the Magic Eraser is not a speedy process and requires you to rub firmly to remove persistent ghosting.
BEST
These last four solutions performed best in the Small Area Test and moved on to the Large Area Test: Hairspray, Clorox with Bleach, Isopropyl Alcohol, and Nail Polish Remover.
STAGE 2: Large area — test with the 4 BEST PRODUCTS
Hairspray: Hairspray worked well in small areas and on stubborn and permanent marker stains. However, when we used it to clean larger areas, it wasn’t great. We tried both spraying directly onto the board surface and spraying it into a paper towel. When sprayed straight onto the wall, we liked that it didn’t drip down at all. So, for persistent stains or divots in the textured painted whiteboard, it sat nicely on the surface and got into the grooves, allowing us to clean particularly dirty splotches. That said, it didn’t leave the board ready to use. We needed to follow up with a secondary cleaner for a perfectly pristine surface.
Clorox with Bleach: While we liked that you could spray the solution directly onto the whiteboard, it dripped down a lot, so you had to wipe it up right away. The Clorox seemed to perform best on the traditional whiteboard surface (not paint or film), and when the staining wasn’t too severe. It was certainly one of the easiest-to-use solutions that we tested.
Isopropyl Alcohol: Although we needed to pour this onto a paper towel, we were very happy with the results. It cleaned deep stains quite nicely and easily on all surfaces. To make it perfectly clean, we did need to apply two rounds of cleaning solution.
Nail Polish Remover: Applied onto a paper towel and then onto the whiteboards, the nail polish remover was all-around most effective at removing gnarly stains, and producing a very clean board.
STAGE 3: Close up on dealing with Permanent Marker
We spent a bit of time on this. Our recommendation differs if you have just a small, stray permanent mark on the board or used a permanent marker all over the board.
Hairspray – not great. can work on a small spot, but not on a whole board.
Nail polish remover – yup. This easily removes permanent marker stains!
Isopropyl Alcohol – yup. No problem removing the permanent marker stains. It took two passes for a perfectly clean surface, but no scrubbing was required.
Dry-Erase Marker – yup. If you don’t have any fancy cleansers, you can write on top of the permanent markings with a dry erase marker, then wipe them off.
The follow-up how-to-clean-your-whiteboard test
The alcohol worked so well that I tried Isopropyl alcohol wipes. They’re also GREAT!
Read More
Using Whiteboards to Increase Participation
Simone and Suni’s Psychological Safety Net
by Susan Landay
on Aug 01 2021
3
I grew up doing gymnastics. I wasn’t Olympics material, but I was pretty good at the time and even won a few medals at state competitions. Over the years, I certainly did my share of falling off the beam and the bars. I practiced hundreds of backflips before I could do one that didn’t look like a whip back. In one competition, my mis-footing on the vault caused me to go under the horse instead of over it. You get the idea—learning a craft isn’t pretty. And, in a sport like gymnastics, whether you stick your landing or fall on your butt, it’s all on you. Back then, I didn’t know anything about a psychological safety net for athletes.
As a gymnast, dancer, skater, skier, I always regretted that I didn’t participate in a team sport. That is, until now. Until Simone Biles withdrew from her Olympics gymnastic competition and showed the world what being a teammate is all about. In individual sports, we may be on our own, but we aren’t alone. We’re still part of a team.
Psychological Safety Nets for Athletes
A few years ago, Google conducted a 2-year study of more than 200 teams, Project Aristotle. Their goal was to understand the factors contributing to team success. I also recently read Gina LaRoche and Jennifer Cohen’s book, The Seven Laws of Enough. Gina and Jen remind us that nobody gets to where they are on their own—even Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Elon Musk. Behind every successful person is a team of individuals who pick up the slack, care for family members, provide a roof or a meal, encouragement, leeway, or security. In the Google study, researchers found just one constant that differentiated high-performing teams from others, and it wasn’t just about the skills of the team members.
Overwhelmingly, successful teams felt they had “psychological safety.” That is, individual team members believed they wouldn’t be punished or suffer negative consequences if they made a mistake. I’ll reiterate, the research explored team success, not individual success.
Suni Lee’s Psychological Safety Net
Let’s flip back (pun intended) to our gymnasts, Sunisa Lee and Simone Biles. A day after Ms. Biles withdrew from the competition, Ms. Lee won the Women’s Gymnastics All-Around Gold Medal. Without taking anything from Suni’s amazing individual accomplishment, let us recognize the power of a teammate who was 100% behind her – a teammate who herself felt safe and supported enough to tell the world she was withdrawing in order to care for her mental well-being. Biles didn’t leave or hide. She stayed to cheer for and encourage her team. We also saw the tremendous support of Ms. Lee’s extended family.
It’s inarguable that Suni Lee had an amazing psychological safety net. Might it have contributed to her success in Toyko? We may never know for sure, but it sure would be interesting to study further!
Creating Psychological Safety Nets for your Team
Sometimes safety nets happen organically when one person decides to open up and share thoughts, feelings, or a personal challenge they’re facing. Short of that, team leaders wishing to create safe spaces can set the tone by modeling openness, embracing risk, withholding judgment and criticism, and inviting vulnerability. Often, it comes down to engaging in rich conversation, building trust, and listening. To get on the right track, consider some Trainers Warehouse conversation starters, such as Thumballs, UNZiP-IT! Decks, and photographic card decks.
PHOTO CREDIT: U.S. gymnast Suni Lee competes in floor exercise during the women’s all-around final. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Read more…
Team Building Activities
Conversation Starter Decks
Emotional Intelligence Activities and Exercises
3 Tips to Ease Back-to-Work Transitions
by Susan Landay
on Jun 28 2021
Last week, my colleague George told me a story he’d heard recently. The set-up sounds like a joke, but I swear it’s true. A company president and marketing VP walk into an elevator at their high-rise office building. Neither had been to the office in over 15 months. The elevator doors close and they each go to press the button for their floor. They gaze at each other, quickly realizing that neither could remember what floor their office was on! As we shift back to “normal,” let’s anticipate the back-to-work transitions we’ll face and prepare ourselves with a few tricks.
My nephew Ben told me another story, about his first meeting in the office since he started a new job, during COVID. Previously, having only met with colleagues on Zoom, one fellow associate scanned his tall 6’4″ frame and said, “gosh, I imagined you were 5’10” or so.” Ben’s height doesn’t matter, but feeling like your colleagues know you surely does.
I’m guessing we all have these stories. As the U.S. returns to at-office work, in-person meetings, and live training, we’re charting new ground–reinventing what “hybrid” means, meeting and re-meeting colleagues, and developing new skills after a long hiatus. Try these tricks to ease back-to-work transitions:
1. Reacquaint yourselves to ease back-to-work transitions
Spend time reconnecting with each other. “Break bread” and start chatting–use Thumballs, UNZiP-IT! decks, or Unzip it Remote PPTs for light or meaty topics, depending on the needs of your group. For instance, you might ask:
How do you like to spend “downtime”?
What are your goals for the next few months?
What was your greatest challenge/loss over the past year?
Reflect on any silver linings or happy memories that resulted from the year’s challenges
2. Build teams through back-to-work games
Just as spousal and family relationships need work every now and then, teams do too. Whether returning to work after a sabbatical, long vacation, or global pandemic, we humans need to take stock and invest time into reuniting with our colleagues. Over the course of extended absences, lots can shift around, including needs, processes, and participants. Using games can ease back-to-work transitions by giving participants shared experiences to dissect, digest, and discuss. Team building exercises like these are a vital part of the complete employee engagement program and are a tried and tested method for improving cohesion and boosting morale as well. Conduct non-threatening games that enable you to focus conversations on these important topics:
Communication and listening skills – Colourblind is one of our favorite experiences to debrief and reflect on clear communication techniques.
Leadership and team roles – Pipelines challenges groups to work together to pass a ball through an obstacle course without dropping the ball. Doing so requires coordination, strategy, and leadership.
Systems and processes – Simbols by RSVP Games playfully challenges groups to figure out new ways to coordinate efforts under time pressure.
Creative thinking – After working so hard to maintain the status quo through intense periods of uncertainty, we now need to challenge ourselves to try all kinds of new things. Seeing the Point requires inter-team collaboration and out-of-the-box thinking.
3. Address stress associated with back-to-work transitions
After being away from each other for a long time and lacking face-to-face connections, we ought to check in with one another’s emotional stability and happiness. The following range of tools helps key into the emotional well-being of colleagues:
Emotional Intelligence activities – the EQ Game, Developing Emotional Intelligence Coaching Cards, and EI Skills Assessment are wonderful resources for building EQ.
Stress relief exercises – beyond squeeze balls, and Dammit Dolls, the Stress Management conversation prompts found on the Thumball, and UNZiP-IT! deck can surface causes of stress, make those topics discussable, and identify ways to alleviate stress.
Change affects every person differently, but to strengthen our bonds and reinvigorate our workplaces, we must proactively manage our back-to-work transitions. By working together, we will discover new ways to fortify each other. We will improve working relationships and improve our effectiveness in the workplace.
Read More to Ease Back-To-Work Transitions
Communication and Listening Exercises
Stress Relief / Stress Management Activities
Hybrid is the New Gray - Training "P.C."
by Susan Landay
on Mar 15 2021
What will hybrid work and training look like post-COVID (P.C.)? Honestly, we don’t know. Companies with a vested interest in return-to-in-person work are quick to share their data and projections anticipating a surge back to offices. Organizations that provide online resources are just as speedy in gathering data that anticipate continued work-from-home protocols.
Returning to Work?
In a New York Times “Return to Work” article, reader comments following the article, and McKinsey’s What’s Next for Remote Work: An analysis of 2,000 tasks, 800 jobs, and nine countries reveal a complex mix of emotion, reality, and desire. Business leaders seem keen to reconnect with the employees, collaborate in person, and build their corporate culture in face-to-face meetings — despite down-sized office spaces and the enticing prospect of saving money.
Remote employees (the less than 50% who are lucky enough to be able to work from home) tell a mixed story. Many say they are just as productive from home, save hundreds of hours in commuting time, and enjoy spending more time with loved ones. These folks dread returning to old ways. Other employees can’t wait for the opportunity to reconnect with colleagues, get out of the house, see one another in person, and resume spontaneous and social interactions.
Training and Learning
The story for corporate training is similar in that it is different depending on who you talk to. After reviewing a range of online conversations about corporate training and learning, it seems to boil down to this:
Online training is here to stay, because it is flexibile, asyncrhonous, less expensive, and gets the job done.
AI (Artifical Intelligence) training is super cool and also quite effective.
Face-to-face learning can’t be beat for leadership, team building, communication and other “soft skills.”
Classroom experiences are strongly preferred for school-aged kids and college learning (except for large lectures)
New Normal
COVID has certainly accelerated remote work and online learning, and helped us understand its benefits and drawbacks. The past year has revealed the outstanding resilience and creativity of teachers and trainers. But, like the McKinsey Report suggests, we’re best to understand the future of work and learning by breaking jobs into tasks. Then we can evaluate which tasks can effectively be done remotely, and which cannot.
I’ll admit it. For personal and professional reasons, my bias is for face-to-face experiences. When we’re physically together, we can look into each other’s eyes, share a meal, have impromptu meetings, and know how each other are going. We can talk, listen or just be.
In most lines of work, success comes from collaboration, communication, and strong relationships. For me, this is equally true at home and at work. But, as any married couple would attest, relationships take work. They also depend on:
Frequency of interactions.
Depth of conversations.
Shared experiences.
Overcoming challenges together.
Can we develop strong relationships through phone calls and virtual meetings online? For sure. However, it happen more efficiently and organically in person?
Hyrbid is the New Grey
Whether work and learning needs to be remote or in-person is not an either-or question. For every goal, we should consider what is best. Hopefully, these questions will help you sort out whether virtual meetings or face-to-face experiences will best help you meet your goals:
How will we save time?
What are to cost implications?
Do we need to be “hands on”?
How can we best promote flow of ideas?
How can we strengthen relationship
Is the solution preferred or tolerable?
Is the solution short-term or long-term?
Hybrid, 3-days in office, fully remote, or 100% in-person will increasingly depend on the tasks at hand and the answers to the above questions.
The One Sure Thing
No matter what answer makes sense for your unique circumstances, the one thing of which I’m sure is the need to continue building relationships, asking questions, and connecting with each other at deep, honest levels. Inter-personal connection, compassionate leadership, friendship and love–these are core to humanity and the reason we’ve developed our conversation starters in three mediums:
Thumballs – for in person play and discussion
UNZiP-IT! – for comfortable, playful table talks
UNZiP-IT! Remote – for online, virtual communications
So, wherever you are, whatever your circumstances, take time to talk, connect, and grow together.
by Susan Landay
on Jan 28 2019
1
I’ve been practicing yoga for just over a year now. I love it. Not only is it helping me build my core and feel healthy, but yoga’s ancient customs lend fresh perspective to another world I’ve been immersed in for over 20 years—training and learning. What can trainers learn from the practice of yoga? As it turns out, lots!
Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Bikram, oh my!
A Vinyasa class I frequent, called Flow, starts with a breathing exercise and warm up, builds a couple of Sun Salutation sequences, challenges you to hold a static pose for an impossibly long time, then welcomes you to cool down, surrender to a full-body stretch, and rest before closing. All this, while focusing on steady, controlled breathing. Thinking of classroom learning in terms of these stages suggests fresh perspective on teaching and training strategies.
Ujjayi – Begin with a breathing exercise
From my limited experience, yoga classes always seem to start with a breathing exercise. Drawing deep breaths in and out helps yogis relax, center themselves, and transition from the craziness of the day into a more mindful spirit. By focusing on their “Ujjayi Breathing,” a raspy inhale and exhale through the nose, yogis block out other thoughts that may enter and distract their minds.
Trainers, too, are well-served to find a way for learners to relax and clear the mind, in preparation for embracing new thinking. This might take various forms:
Follow the yoga protocol and lead the group in taking three “cleansing breaths”
Ask learners to write down or share concerns or questions before starting, so those can be addressed during the session
On a portable whiteboard, record interests, goals, and concerns prior to beginning
Conduct a brief icebreaker to build community and create a stress-free collaborative environment
Chaturanga dandasana – Challenge, repetition, & modifications
A “Vinyasa” is a four-part movement whereby you start in a high plank, lower yourself halfway to the floor like half a push-up (a.k.a. “chataranga dandasana”), straighten your arms into an “upward facing dog.” while your lower body hovers above the floor. In the final part, leaving your hands and feet on the ground, you lift your hips skyward and shift into a “downward dog,” which looks like an inverted V. In any given class, yogis might be guided to do 10-20 or more of these maneuvers. The frequent repetitions serve multiple purposes that are similarly valuable in learning environments. Practicing the same movements over and over builds strength, as well as muscle memory. They also become a foundation for further growth, a base on which to build more complex postures.
Just as in the yoga studio, where yogis are encouraged to adapt their practice to their level, teachers and trainers can:
Encourage learners to build on skills they already know
Move slowly or quickly through new challenges depending on their personal needs and readiness
Repeat material until it’s second-nature
Offer modifications for learners, synchronized with their skill level
Clear instructions – Tell it. Show it. Do it.
While yoga classes may vary, depending on the studio and type of yoga, instructors typically employ a range of techniques to guide you into different poses. They offer step-by-step cues to move you into a new shape. They also demonstrate body positions, as needed. Some may even wander around the room and help you move into the correct shape. Then, by practicing, watching others and giving it a try, yogis gain flexibility, learn new positions, build their strength, and improve. Classroom teachers will find comparable success by:
Making their instructions clear, simple, and transparent
Employing multiple methods of communication – explaining, showing, doing, and so on.
Be comfortable with being uncomfortable
One of the mantras I’ve heard over and over again is to “be more comfortable with being uncomfortable.” These words truly resonate with learning because growth is rarely easy or comfortable. While school kids may become accustomed to the discomfort that accompanies the unknown (even if they don’t like it), adults don’t. Still, no matter what their age or familiarity with discomfort, people tend to seek out situations where they can feel confident and experience success. The increasingly popular concept of “Flow,” as Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi explains, only occurs when high levels of challenge and skill are matched. Those who do not have a skill commensurate with the challenge they face, are doomed to feel anxiety.
However, to achieve growth and affect change, some discomfort is often necessary. We need to embrace Carol Dweck’s Growth Mindset and become comfortable with falling down, making mistakes, and learning from less successful efforts. Teachers and trainers, like yoga instructors, should repeat this mantra and celebrate efforts, if not achievements. The Classroom KUDOS Notes can be a wonderful tool to help bring this effort to fruition.
Shavasana and the value of rest
At the end of every yoga class, yogis are guided to lie down and close their eyes. The practice of taking Shavasana (rest) allows the body to recover and make sense of the work you put it through. Research has shown that rest can help reduce stress, as well as improve memory and retention. Whether doing yoga or studying for your doctorate, sleep is a critical component of growth, development, and personal change. At the end of a learning event, give your group time to process what they’ve learned.
Namaste – A recognition of self-worth
To close a yoga class, instructors ask the group to put their hands together in front of their chest, raise their thumb knuckles to their forehead, the third eye, then bow forward and say, “Namaste.” In Sanskrit Namaste means, “the divine in me honors and bows to the divine in you.” The thought behind this is that every person is special, unique, and worthy of celebration.
At the end of class, take a moment to compliment your group on the work they put in
Thank the group for showing up, making the effort, and being the special people they are.
Give participants a note of Kudos, a work of gratitude, or a Token of Appreciation
Yoga is a “Practice”
Yoga has taken the nation by storm. I don’t think it’s just the crazy-comfortable yoga pants or the non-impact exercise, which happens to be perfect for the aging baby-boomers. We are also drawn to the mindfulness and perspective it gives us—the lessons we can apply to our family and professional lives, and even to classroom training and learning. The fact that yoga is a “practice” means that we will continue to explore and hone our skills, moving on our own path to growth and development.
Read more…
Stress Management Activities
How to Select a Team Building Game
Take a Team Breath
PHOTO: Feature photo is Meredith Evangelisti, yoga instructor extraordinaire!
by Susan Landay
on Feb 13 2017
Conflict is a part of life. It’s part of sibling, family, and spousal relationships. It rears its ugly head at work when colleagues have different ideas about how to achieve a goal, when they discuss who should do what work and when personalities clash. Conflict is part of friendships and, as we’ve learned so well this year, it’s part of our democratic process.
Given how common conflict is, it’s surprising that we’re not better at dealing with it. Rather than addressing our differences, many of us who are conflict-adverse choose to look the other way, brush problems under the rug, or assume we have no power to change the dynamics that cause our consternation.
Alternatively, those who are more comfortable with conflict may be seen as argumentative. These shouldn’t be the only two options. Rather, we should get better at resolving our differences, without avoiding them or getting into disputes.
What we need is a method for managing conflict. Those who are very good at it use a model I call The Pillar of Trust. The Pillar offers a structure that can support even the toughest challenges and allow individuals or disputing parties to reach their potential and achieve optimal results.
The Pillar of Trust- from the bottom up
COMMUNICATION
Good communication forms the foundation of the Pillar. It is only through conversation, both talking and listening, that we can begin to understand one another.
RELATIONSHIP
As we learn more about each other and our mutual understanding grows, so too do our relationships. The development of these personal or working relationships then become part of the Pillar, making it stronger and able to bear the weight of even more difficult challenges. In turn, these increasingly stronger relationships beget deeper levels of communication. In this way, communication and relationships continue to spiral around each other, together gaining strength.
While strong relationships are a gift in themselves, they also yield a host of ancillary benefits, including:
Emotional support
Confidence
Reduced stress
Good health
Happiness
Trust
TRUST
Confidence, health, and reduced stress are most certainly pleasant consequences of positive relationships, but the development of mutual trust is perhaps the most powerful byproduct. Trust allows us to take risks, open up, and look for mutually beneficial solutions when conflicts occur. Trust gives us peace of mind when we need to rely on one another, and comfort to share our vulnerabilities.
From my college days, I remember the moment of realization when I understood the importance of sharing your own neediness with others. I’d been so focused on projecting a strong and invincible outer image, on being trustworthy and helping other people, that my friends Lisa and MaryBeth didn’t realize how much I needed and valued them, too. In fact, their interest in my friendship seemed to wane, before they realized how important they were to me.
When I finally let down my guard and accepted their help and support in a low moment, Lisa and MaryBeth were happy to be there for me. I quickly saw that relying on their care wasn’t only for my benefit. They too needed to be needed. My willingness to share my trouble was, in itself, a show of trust, caring, and intimacy. I was reminded of this a couple of years ago when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Indeed, the support of friends and family was crucial to my well-being, but so too was my acceptance of help crucial to theirs.
Trust is tricky that way–in order to determine if someone else is trustworthy, you need to make yourself vulnerable. However, with a strong base developed through communication and relationship building, that exposure is unlikely to feel risky.
The Strength of the Pillar
The triumvirate of COMMUNICATION, RELATIONSHIP, and TRUST creates a strong foundation and formidable structure, able to bear the weight of the toughest challenges. Looking at the model, you may wonder why Communication is at the bottom and Trust at the top, if the elements are so intertwined.
The reason is that trust rarely comes first. While it’s certainly true that you need to develop a certain level of trust before you can delve into deep or sensitive conversations, the reality is that individuals are more likely to use lighter conversation topics to build relationships and trust slowly, waiting until they are mutually ready to probe and share more deeply.
To begin building a pillar, don’t wait for others to make the first move. After you set the tone and model the type of honesty you desire, others are likely to follow suit.
Building trust from the top down
Most people have a variety of relationships that differ in the level of intimacy. Though not impossible, it’s unlikely that total strangers would dive into a very deep conversation.
Because building relationships is an iterative process that takes time, perfect strangers, or those with a history of bad relations, are more likely to start building (or re-building) their relationships with more superficial topics of discussion. After they’ve found some common ground and established a new base-layer of trust, they become better able to scratch below the surface and eventually have deeper, more personal and more difficult conversations.
Building Pillars not Walls
To build relationships strong enough to tackle the personal, professional, or political challenges we face today, we must start by communicating.
Through open, honest and truthful dialogue; by sharing our feelings and experiences, fears and joys; Pillars of Trust will rise. These Pillars will enable us to enjoy supportive relationships both at home and at work, find common purpose, and resolve or respect our differences.
by Susan Landay
on Dec 05 2016
Spencer Johnson’s Who Moved my Cheese allegory was first published in 1998 but is no less poignant today than it was 18 years ago, perhaps more so. It’s the story of two mice (Sniff and Scurry) and two humans (Hem and Haw) who live in a maze and one day are faced with change: someone moves their cheese. Reactions vary from quick adjustment to waiting for the situation to change by itself to suit their needs.
I’ve been reflecting on the recent changes in our world–government administration, political discourse, job availability, climate, globalization, industries, organizations, family dynamics, you-name-it. With all of the uncertainty that surrounds us, only one thing is sure: that change will occur. The question is, how will we deal with it? Will we look the other way or deny it’s happening like Hem and Haw? Will we anticipate and plan for it, like Sniff and Scurry?
No matter who you supported during the 2016 campaign season, the change of administration has everyone feeling uncertain. With many Hillary supporters still in shock by the election results; and Trump supporters miffed about broken promises and priorities, I just reread Dr. Johnson’s story to look for some pearls of wisdom for our current challenges and was reminded:
Change can surprise you only if you don’t expect it
Don’t let fear stop you from trying something new
Imagine what success will look like
Given that we may be living with uncertainty and change for some time, we must check our attitudes toward change and explore how we can reframe it as a positive experience. Embracing the “Cheese Philosophy,” we must anticipate change, let go of the old, and fearlessly kick into action–in our personal lives, our jobs, and our communities.
If you want a Cheese Philosophy reminder, try keeping a squeezable Cheese Wedge or Cheese and Mice Fidget Toy at your desk! You might also want to read the story yourself and have a book group discussion about the most important changes in your life and how you can take action.
Which Fidget Toys are best for YOU?
by Susan Landay
on Sep 09 2016
I was blown away to see the popularity of Fidget Cube on Kickstarter a couple of years ago. Over 50,000 “backers” pledged more than $2,000,000 in just the first week (and the developers were only looking for $15,000 to get started). Despite a hint of jealousy, I’m truly delighted to see this. As the President of Trainers Warehouse, I’ve been selling and developing fidget toys since 1998. Today, we sell the world’s largest selection of fidget toys to both adult and youth markets.
The best part about Fidget Cube’s sweeping success, is that it reflects a new awareness and acceptance of fidget toys. It’s about time. Over 6.4 million American children aged 4-17 are reported to have been diagnosed with ADHD. While Fidget Cube is new and unique, featuring six different fiddling experiences all in one item — you can click, glide, switch, press, roll, or spin the gizmos on each side of the cube — the understanding that different people prefer to fidget in different ways is old news. When it comes to keeping idle fingers busy, fidgeters have a myriad of options. I hope this perspective will help you find your perfect fidget toy or toys.
Why fidget?
Many recent studies and articles in both scientific and popular magazines have explored the causes and effects of fidgeting. If you were to ask people who are fidgeters, why they do it, they’ll likely tell you they can’t help it. . . they simply can’t sit still. Thankfully, educators are have come to understand that it’s okay. In fact, research and anecdotal evidence have identified many benefits derived from fidgeting, fidget toys and doodling, such as:
Improved focus – kinesthetic learners focus better if they have something to do with their hands
Use of “floating attention” enables people to concentrate better on a single task
Stress relief– hand-held manipulatives can put people at ease
Promotion of a relaxed, playful mindset
Engagement the whole brain – discussions are left-brained; toys tap into the creative right brain
Increased memory and retention
What’s your perfect fidget toy?
Many fidgeters will use whatever object happens to be in their hand or on their desk. This probably sounds familiar to pencil chewers, pen clickers, ring twisters, nail biters, hair twirlers, and key-chain swingers. They’ll fidget with whatever is most easily within arms reach.
However, rather than leaving it to chance, savvy educators and meeting planners who understand the benefits of fidgeting have taken to providing an assortment of fidget toys to their groups. If you ever put out a basket of different sorts of fidget toys, you’ll be intrigued to see that one type doesn’t suit all. Different people have different preferences for both the tactile experience of a fidget toy and the types of movement it enables. Consider some of these variables:
Material – Fidget toys run the gamut when it comes to material. Wood, plastic, metal, rubber, stone, and latex components can create items that feel soft, squishy, hard, wiry, or malleable. The “softer” fidget toys, such as sand, clay or putty, fuzzy pipe cleaners, and squeezable balls like the air-filled. Puffer Balls, and sand-filled Isoflex Balls lend themselves to squeezing and shaping. Beach-in-a-Box kinesthetic sand fall into this category too. Materials that are more firm are often manipulated in other ways, such as bending, flexing or twisting. Tangle, Klixx, and Magnetic Stones are great examples. In a class by itself is the KOOSH ball with its iconic rubbery strands offering a singularly unique feel.
Motion – Some are not drawn to a fidget toy because of the material, but rather the motion used to manipulate it. Consider what form of movement is most soothing — stretching, twisting, flexing, building, spinning, shaping, clicking, etc. When thinking about the motion required to manipulate a fidget toy, you will become aware that some are better suited for either one hand or two, while others are satisfying no matter how many hands you use. You will also find that some require the motion of just one finger (like pen clicking), rather than using more muscles. Fidget toys that let you build, mold or shape can stoke creativity and activate different areas of the brain in a way that simply clicking a pen would not do. Gyrobi, Loopeez and Jeliku, each move in a distinct fashion.
Size – Having a fidget that’s small in size can be a big issue. I’ve heard of many fidgeters who like to keep something in a pant pocket, so that it’s easily transported, indiscreet, and can be used without anyone seeing. Tutti from Fidgetland is a great example. Small fidget toys can also be ideal for one-handed use and finger-tip manipulation. However, the small items don’t always feel as good in your hand as ones that are a bit larger and chunkier, which can both feel more substantial and engage more of your muscles and therefore more parts of the brain.
Weight – our fidget toy testers tend to prefer items that have a little heft or weight. Of course, they can’t be too heavy or cumbersome, but those that are really light or flimsy are often found to be less appealing.
Appearance – Even though fidgeting is really a tactile experience, looks do seem to matter. Fidgeters are drawn to playful colors, looks, and shapes when choosing the perfect fidget toy. Because memory and recall have been shown to improve when more areas of the brain are activated, the additional stimulus created by the visual, auditory, and emotional experience of using a fidget toy is likely to have a positive impact.
Cost – Serious fidgeters are the least sensitive to cost and will not flinch at a cost of $10-$25 for a single item. If you’re looking to purchase one item for individual use, you will likely pay a premium for the right item. If you like variety or are buying for a classroom, meeting room, or team of people, you may have a stronger interest in keeping the individual price a little lower. Fidget toys generally run anywhere from $1.00 to $12.00, with the average being closer to $3.50.
Sound – ideally a fidget toy will be silent, but not all of them are. A pen clicking is not silent, nor is a Slinky, but they are still great fidget tools. Simply be aware that some may be louder and more distracting than others and ascertain whether your group is mature enough to control the sounds of their fidget toys or not.
Durability – many tools that we use as fidgets were initially developed for the toy market. They are fairly inexpensive and if you try to break them, you probably will succeed. If it’s not strong enough to withstand a lot of repetitive motion, it shouldn’t be called a fidget toy! Still, you will find some variance in durability and washability. Hard plastic, wood, and metal are likely to stand the test of time longer than rubbery or gel-filled items, which pick up more dirt and are more difficult to clean.
Fidget toys come in literally dozens of colors, shapes, sizes, and materials. If you’re among the millions of people to have #fidgetfever, taking a bit of time to think about what features will suit your needs or the needs of your group can help you narrow your options. I encourage you to jump on the Fidget Cube bandwagon and support them through KickStarter AND start building your own collection of fidget toys, so that no matter what your mood, what you’re doing, or who you’re with, you have the perfect fidget to help you focus. Some great shops for fidget toys include: Trainers Warehouse and Therapy Shoppe.
More on choosing fidgets
The Ultimate Fidget Matrix
Finding the Right Fidget for Any Sensory Diet – ADHD and more
More articles and research on Fidgeting
Squirm With Purpose
Stress Toys: Mindlessness With A Purpose?
The Benefits Of Fidgeting For Students With ADHD (June 22, 2015)
Why Do We Fidget?
Using Stress Balls To Focus The Attention Of Students
How do you promote core values in your company?
by Susan Landay
on Jul 05 2016
1
YFS Magazine (Young, Fabulous and Self-employed) ran an article a while back “100 Core Values from 15 Winning Companies.” They looked at a range of companies, including Zappos, Toms Shoes, Whole Foods, Accenture, Teach for America, Rackspace, A Weber, Barnes & Noble, Google, American Express, Four Season Hotels & Resorts, CarMax, Salesforce.com, Boston Consulting Group, and Quicken Loans.
Sorting the 100 core values by theme, rather than by organization, interesting trends began to emerge. These 15 high-performance companies–across various industries–certainly aim to deliver a whole lot more than profit.
Most Popular Core Values
The following list is presented in order of the frequency with which the value was mentioned (the number reflects the instances in which that concept was listed).
Social Responsibility (16)
Customer Service (15)
Respect (8)
Team (8)
Quality (6)
Learning (6)
Integrity (4)
Fun (4)
Communication (3)
Partnerships (3)
Diversity (3)
Change (2)
Creativity (2)
Leadership (2)
Passion (2)
A group at Stanford Graduate School of Business took another stab at determining which core values matter most, by asking alumni “What values are important to you in business?” Key themes emerging from their interviews included, treating others the way you want to be treated (Respect), Integrity, Open and honest communication, Trust, Appreciation, Honesty, Passion, Transparency, and Making a difference.
With Social Responsibility and Customer Service topping the list, it is impressive to see companies looking outside themselves.
Several tools can help your group discuss and promote your organization’s core values:
Tools to Recognize Core Values
i noticed… Pads: recognize efforts to implement core values
Sometimes GREAT work happens in small ways. Let people know you’ve noticed the big and small efforts they make each day to contribute to your organization, promote its mission, and create positivity.
Use carbonless Kudos to give recognition and keep a record of it! Each time you send someone a note of appreciation, you’ll have a duplicate to keep in your file — or pass on to a manager or mentor who might want to know about your hero’s achievements.
Each page is printed with: “I noticed… you took our values to heart”. Check off the appropriate boxes and include your own “from the heart” message.
NOTE: Set includes 3 pads; each pad is 4.25″ x 5.5″ and has 50 2-part carbonless sets.
Alternatively, try KUDOS Note Pads that let you acknowledge a colleague’s efforts to implement core values.
Positivity Pack: include a strong message about values when onboarding new employees
Send the message that you mean business when it comes to creating a positive corporate culture or learning environment.
Give each colleague a “Positivity Pack” with key icons that reflect your organization’s values and personality. For instance, you might include:
Team guys: support and respect the team
Smile Ball: Make customers happy!
Mini-Sneaker: go the extra mile to improve quality
Learning Mo-Mints: keep growing and learning
Party Blowout: have fun (Fun)
Stretchy String: be flexible and open to change
Mirror Ball: embrace diverse perspectives
Crayons: express your creativity
Ladder of Inference to Minimize Misunderstandings
by Susan Landay
on May 06 2013
How many times have you acted on an assumption that turned out to be wrong? It happens all the time. Several weeks ago, in the early aftermath of the Marathon Bombing tragedy, I found myself believing that my younger brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was a solely victim of his brother’s violence.
The Ladder of Inference
As I consider this mistaken belief through the lens of the Ladder of Inference, I see that in the “Pool of Data” (available to me as a resident in suburban Boston), were the reports from Dzhokar’s high school friends, who vouched for his good character. I “selected that data,” lent meaning to its significance, and came away with “assumptions” that led to my belief.
We draw conclusions all the time, sometimes not even considering their origin until we run into misunderstandings. Consider your reaction if you see someone cross their arms and look abruptly away from you. You might conclude that they are disinterested and disrespectful, and decide to cut them off from future communication. Alternatively, if you were to engage in a conversation and discuss the observations that led to your conclusions, you might uncover additional data, such as whether they felt a cold breeze, crossed their arms because they were shivering, and looked away to see if a window had been opened.
The Ladder of Inference, originally developed by Harvard Business School professor Chris Argyris, helps us understand our communication barriers and come to a common understanding based on shared data and interpretation. It is a wonderful tool if you’re teaching communication and soft skills workshops, but it’s also a great tool to use as a teacher or trainer, to better understand the thinking of your students or colleagues.
Read more about the Ladder of Inference.
Stress Management: Worriers vs. Warriors
by Susan Landay
on Mar 27 2013
I come from a “type-A” family with lots of over-achievers. So, when I came across this article, I shared it with my sisters. An interesting conversation ensued about how each of us manages stress. For me, I think a little stress is motivating. Where do you fall in the spectrum?
Thanks to Kim Marshall and The Marshall Memo, for his synopsis of this article.
In this fascinating New York Times Magazine article, Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman analyze why some people go to pieces under pressure while others thrive in competitive, stressful situations – why some people are worriers while others are warriors. “Stress turns out to be far more complicated than we’ve assumed,” say Bronson and Merryman, “and far more under our control than we imagine. Unlike long-term stress, short-term stress can actually help people perform, and viewing it that way changes its effect. Even for those genetically predisposed to anxiety, the antidote isn’t necessarily less competition – it’s more competition. It just needs to be the right kind.”
Genetically predisposed? Yes, it turns out there’s a gene involved in stress tolerance – the COMT gene. It carries the assembly code for an enzyme that clears dopamine from the pre-frontal cortex of our brains. We work best when dopamine is maintained at a Goldilocks level – not too much and not too little. There are two variants of the COMT gene: one builds enzymes that slowly remove dopamine; the other builds enzymes that rapidly clear dopamine.
All people carry the genes for one variant or the other, or a combination of both.
Those who carry the slower dopamine-removing COMT gene have a cognitive advantage under normal conditions. But their stronger reasoning power (problem-solving, complex thought, foreseeing consequences, executive functioning) deteriorates under stress, when their frontal cortex is flooded with dopamine. Unable to clear the dopamine fast enough, their performance sinks to suboptimal. Conversely, people with the faster dopamine-removing COMT gene do less well in everyday conditions but excel under stress – they’re able to clear the dopamine and keep their brains functioning at optimal levels.
A study of thousands of Taiwanese students taking an exceedingly high-stakes national examination found that those with the slow-acting enzymes (the worriers) scored 8 percent lower than those with fast-acting enzymes. In this exam, lots of A students literally traded places with B students.
People born with the fast-acting enzymes (the warriors) “actually need stress to perform their best,” says Adele Diamond, professor of developmental cognitive neuroscience at the University of British Columbia. Under everyday conditions, they tend to under-perform, but stress raises their dopamine level. “They are like Superman emerging from the phone booth in times of crisis,” say Bronson and Merryman. “Their abilities to concentrate and solve problems go up.”
How are the COMT genes distributed? Since we get one from our fathers and one from our mothers, one quarter of children have only the slow-enzyme variant, one quarter have only the fast-enzyme variant, and half have a mixture of both. Does that mean those with the slow-enzyme gene are forever cursed? Actually not. According to studies of Navy SEALs, pilots, and soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, worriers can learn to handle stress with the proper training and preparation. In fact, say Bronson and Merryman, shielding slow-enzyme worriers from stress “could be the worst response, depriving them of the chance to acclimate to recurring stressors.” What they need is stress inoculation: put them in worry-producing situations without overwhelming them and give them enough time to recover. “Training, preparation, and repetition defuse the Worrier’s curse,” they say.
One of the most surprising research findings is that when students get certain messages before a big test, it affects how they label stress – and that improves their performance. In an experiment at Harvard, undergraduates about to take a Graduate Record Examination (GRE) practice test were given a short note saying the purpose of the study was to examine the effects of stress on cognition. Half the students (the experimental group) were given an additional note saying that recent research suggests that “people who feel anxious during a test might actually do better.” It advised students that if they felt nervous, “you shouldn’t feel concerned… simply remind yourself that your arousal could be helping you do well.”
Students who received the second note scored 50 points higher in the quantitative section than the control group on the practice test (out of a possible 800 points). On the real GRE, those who received the don’t-worry notes scored 65 points higher. The same experiment was replicated with remedial math students at a Midwestern community college. Did the notes make students in the experimental group more relaxed? Not at all. Researchers took saliva samples and found that students were just as nervous but they processed their anxiety differently, transforming it into a positive force that drove better performance.
Another researcher, Wendy Berry Mendes, a psychology professor at the University of California/San Francisco, asks us to examine the mental state of high-school students waiting outside an SAT testing site. Some are in a “threat state” – shoulders hunched, rubbing their hands, stamping their feet. Inside their bodies they are experiencing vasoconstriction – a tightening of the smooth muscles that line their blood vessels. Their blood pressure is rising, their breathing is shallow, oxygenated blood levels and energy supplies drop, and hormone changes make them more fearful of making mistakes.
Other students – their shoulders back, chests open, rising on their toes, blood vessels dilated – are in a “challenge state.” Their hormones are suppressing fear networks in their brains, their brains may be getting as much as two liters of extra blood a minute, and they’re excited to get started on the test.
“As the doors to the test center open,” say Bronson and Merryman, “the line between challenge and threat is thin. Probably nothing induces a threat state more than feeling you can’t make any mistakes. Threat physiology can be activated with the sense of being judged, or anything that triggers the fear of disappointing others. As a student opens his test booklet, threat can flare when he sees a subject he has recently learned but hasn’t mastered. Or when he sees a problem he has no idea how to solve.”
Genetic differences aside, the key difference is between competition that challenges and competition that threatens. “Standardized tests lack the side benefits of competing that normally buffer children’s anxiety,” say Bronson and Merryman. “Nobody has ever come out of an SAT test saying, ‘Well, I won’t get into the college I wanted, but that’s O.K. because I made a lot of new friends at the Kaplan center.’” So the trick is to give students practice at competition and help them develop the right mindset. “Children benefit from competition they have prepared for intensely, especially when viewed as an opportunity to gain recognition for their efforts and improve for the next time,” says Rena Subotnik of the American Psychological Association. In-class spelling bees, science fairs, and chess teams all help to build skills in handling stress productively. A student’s science project might not be the winner, the judging of their project might be stressful and scary, but the experience builds skills and performance.
“Maybe the best thing about academic competitions is that they benefit Warriors and Worriers equally,” conclude Bronson and Merryman. “The Warriors get the thrilling intensity their minds are suited for, where they can shine. The Worriers get the gradual stress inoculation they need, so that one day they can do more than just tolerate stress – they can embrace it. And through the cycle of preparation, performance and recovery, what they learn becomes ingrained.”
“Why Can Some Kids Handle Pressure While Others Fall Apart?” by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman in The New York Times Magazine, Feb. 10, 2013, https://nyti.ms/14EbYAG
by Susan Landay
on Mar 10 2013
Even when I am on a diet, I can usually justify a small piece of dark chocolate as an afternoon pick-me-up. After all, it’s rich in antioxidants, and better yet, eating dark chocolate has been found to increase the levels of endorphins released into the brain—excellent news to knowledge trainers like myself.
Now, I am no brain scientist, but I have read enough about brain-based learning to know this: Stress, bad for learning. Endorphins, good. So, it is understandable why many classroom trainers and presenters entice participation with chocolate. Chocolate stimulates the brain.
But there is more to it than meets the eye (or the tongue). We human types like rewards. Rewards and recognition make us feel good. They inspire us to perform and participate.
If you will pardon the pun, learners are often “hungry” for acknowledgment, because they are already pushing their comfort zone in several ways—by trying something new, in an environment where they’re not necessarily socially comfortable.
In a live classroom-learning environment, trainers looking to reduce stress and energize learning find many occasions and methods to acknowledge and encourage active engagement with their learning material, including:
Smiling or nodding when a participant answers correctly.
Awarding a small prize for the table that came up with the most ideas.
Validating a student’s contribution by recording it on an overhead or flipchart.
Distributing course completion certificates.
Giving out a piece of chocolate when someone asks a good question.
And some rewards do not come from the facilitator, but from the participants’ innate desire to grow and succeed. Learning experiences are rewarding when individuals feel the thrill of conquering a difficult topic or win a really challenging team game.
Rewarding online learners takes a different form, but is no less important. To recognize and inspire participation and performance can be both easier and more difficult in the online world. Simple participation can be easily incorporated by requiring learners to type a response to a question before they can advance to the next screen. However, what about winning the smile of a facilitator?
Think about the many apps for children’s games that focus on collecting gold stars—each one of those is a smile of sorts. Learners have been awarded with gold stars for decades, so why stop now? The next time you build an online learning module, consider where opportunities for building in accolades, smiles, and stars can be incorporated into the learning module. Such as:
The first time users click or type an answer other than “next.”
After a correct answer is given.
When a total score reaches a minimal threshold (not just 100 percent correct!)
When they click through on a particular path.
After reading a lengthy narrative.
When they progress to a new level.
After a game or exercise.
You will need to find the right balance of when and how often to offer feedback. If the feedback is too frequent, it becomes disingenuous and annoying; too infrequent, and learners derive no benefit.
And what of the chocolate? In our e-world, we sometimes forget that snail mail is still there for us. Send a small envelope with a few chocolates to pre-registered attendees. Mark the outside of the package with clear instructions that it not be opened until instructed to do so during the online session. That is sure to generate some smiles and produce endorphins.
Finally, congratulate your e-learners at the end of a program by sending along a course completion certificate on real certificate paper. It both validates the accomplishment and continues to promote your course.
~ by Susan Landay
Read more on chocolate and the brain: Chocolate Helps Learning
*NOTE: This article first appeared in eLearn Magazine
by Susan Landay
on Mar 07 2013
As Trainers Warehouse has been celebrating its 20th anniversary, we’ve been looking back at some of our favorite innovations, not all of which have been embraced by our customers. One that comes to mind is a set of Role Play Hats. We envisioned a set of hats that participants could wear to make dreaded role-playing activities more fun. Apparently, the idea of participants donning a Sherlock Holmes hat (detective) or Keystone Kop hat (enforcer), would make role-plays more anxiety-producing, not less — not a surprise in hindsight!
Despite the failure of that idea, it also pushed us to consider the many “hats” a trainer wears over the course of the day–facilitator, presenter, concierge, etc. So, when I recently read Kim Marshall‘s synthesis of Stephen Downes article in Huff Post Education, it caught my eye. In it, Stephen Downes shares an even more robust list of the roles played by educators. He created “23 Roles” in collaboration with a graduate class and Twitter followers.
• The learner – Modeling being excited about something new, exploring it, trying it, and engaging students in learning about it.
• The collector – Pulling stuff together for students, whether it’s old magazines or new websites and links.
• The curator – Organizing and making sense of what’s been found. “The curator is like a caretaker and a preserver,” says Downes, “but also a creator of meaning, guardian of knowledge, or an expert at knowing.”
• The alchemist – This used to involve turning lead into gold, now it’s mixing the mundane with something new and unexpected, seeing patterns and symmetries in materials.
• The programmer – Teachers work with computers, design communities and social networks and wikis, and develop course materials and work-flows for students.
• The salesperson – Principals sell ideas to the staff and teachers champion a cause, an idea, or a set of values.
• The convener – Educators are constantly bringing people together, building networks, and acting as Pied Pipers.
• The coordinator – Teachers organize schedules, set expectations, manage logistics, and solve problems.
• The designer – Creating a space for learning, including wall maps, desk arrangements, and more.
• The coach – “This multifaceted role involves everything from creating synergy and chemistry in a group to providing the game plan for learning to raising the bar and encouraging players to higher performance,” says Downes. “Though the coach is on the side of the learner… the coach also serves a larger or higher objective, working to achieve team or organizational goals.”
• The agitator – “The role of the agitator is to create the seed of doubt, the sense of wonder, the feeling of urgency, the cry of outrage,” says Downes. “The agitator is sometimes the devil’s advocate, sometimes the revolutionary, sometimes the disruptive agent, and sometimes just somebody who is thinking outside the box.”
• The facilitator – This role is vital to keeping things on track and gently nudging the process forward without imposing an opinion or agenda.
• The moderator – Governing and pruning, invoking rules, decorum, and good behavior.
• Tech support – Understanding people’s technological needs, solving problems, and making things possible.
• The critic – This role “asks for evidence, verifies the facts, assesses the reasoning, and offers opinions,” says Downes. “Every person needs to be questioned; it is part of the learning process. Values, truths, and institutions need to be questioned as well.”
• The lecturer – Organizing ideas into a comprehensible whole, making things that are complex clear for the listener or reader.
• The demonstrator – In the past, showing was usually done in person, but now it can be done in videos or simulations.
• The mentor – Teachers can play this role for students, being there for them as an enthusiastic coach or a constructive critic, showing them the person they might become.
• The connector – This role “sees things in common between disparate entities and draws that line between them, creating links and collaborations between otherwise isolated communities and disciplines,” says Downes.
• The theorizer – Teachers describe how or why something is true, often working through abstraction and generalization. “The theorizer is also the person who leads us to develop world views, find the underlying cause or meaning of things, or create order out of what appears to be chaos,” says Downes. “If nothing else, the theorizer helps us remember things by giving us a single structure under which to assimilate numerous details.”
• The sharer – Teachers move ideas from person to person, perhaps making e-portfolios available, managing the class mailing list, or passing along links and reflections from outside the classroom.
• The evaluator – “The evaluator in a digital world is more than a marker of tests and assigner of grades,” says Downes. “Modern technology makes it possible to assess not merely declarative knowledge or compositional ability, but instinct and reactions, sociability, habits and attitudes.”
• The bureaucrat – Someone has to collect and keep the records, organize accountability, and maintain systemic coherence.
“Not everybody can perform every role,” says Downes. “Not everybody wants to perform every role.” Extroverted teachers prefer the role of lecturer or demonstrator. The more technically inclined gravitate to being programmers or bureaucrats. The most people-oriented want to be coaches or mentors. And not every student needs every role – for example, some want criticism more than coaching, some don’t need a convener, and not everyone needs a mentor.
“Rather than asking one person to perform every role, some of them very badly, for a given group of students, it makes more sense to ensure that these services are available where needed and to allocate them according to the needs of the students, the nature of the learning environment, and the type of learning being undertaken,” Downes concludes. “This is in fact what is happening online, at least outside the circles of formal education. People are finding coaching where they need it, community where they want it, and lectures and demonstrations for those days when they have the time… Eventually, learning will be transformed in this way; the needs of students and the affordances of technology make it inevitable.”
“The Role of the Educator” by Stephen Downes in Huff Post Education, Mar. 3, 2013; This synthesis was written by Kim Marshall, The Marshall Memo.
by Susan Landay
on Jan 30 2013
Let me begin by saying I’ve always been a sucker for rhymes . . .
Who’s Addie, you ask? If you’re a seasoned trainer who does your own Instructional Design work, you may know “Addie” very well already. For those newer to instructional design, ADDIE is an acronym for a step-by-step process that lets training professionals plan and create on-target training programs. Briefly, the five stages consist of:
Analysis: determine who are your learners and what they need
Design: identify the elements required for learning transfer
Development: create and assemble program elements
Implementation: launch the training program
Evaluation: determine if the program meets the business goals
A while back, Stephen Gannon (Director of Business Development at Family Friendly 89.7 KSGN) posted a wonderfully creative poem on Linked-IN, Ode to Addie, which nicely captures the ADDIE Instructional Design model, its quirks and challenges.
ODE TO ADDIE
Words and Music By Stephen Michael Gannon, Standup Trainer
ANALYSIS
To Analyze Addie, you first have to decide, just what she needs to learn.
Under what conditions would she take it well? We don’t want Addie to crash and burn.
How much can she handle? What are her beliefs? And what would enhance Addie’s pride?
What would keep Addie’s brain from receiving the goods? Just how do we get it inside?
DESIGN
“Addie needs De Sign” the Frenchman declared, “De logical, orderly plan.”
“De sign is de strategy vie must employ to take ADDIE from vere she began.”
“Goals, subject, research, treatment, practice, and tests,” all designed to be placed in the can.
Give Addie knowledge, skill, and a heart for the work to take Addie into her new land.
DEVELOPMENT
When Addie’s Development begins to appear–her pictures taken and placed in a book,
Addie’s story, then, begins to unfold “a songbird sings in a tree by the brook.”
Yes, artists, musicians, and cameramen too, the writers and don’t forget nerds.
Put Addie’s lessons, into a course, with computers, and pictures, and words.
IMPLEMENTATION
Now to Implement Addie, another story indeed—a procedure for training the trainers.
Curriculum, outcomes, methods, and testing—teaching them to be entertainers.
Train them all on the new tools of the trade—software and hardware to boot.
From registration to course evaluation and don’t forget how to handle disputes.
ANALYSIS
You Evaluate Addie through her Formative years and sum it up when she’s finally done.
You’ll learn what she knew, what she learned from you, and what works best–a smile or a gun.
If she’s not getting it, you’ll tweak Addie’s training. If she got it, then shoot for the moon.
Then give her a test, and if she gets an “A,” wolf whistle and say “va va voom.”
Copyright, Stephen Gannon, January, 2013.
WorkSMART blog
Inspiration for facilitators of learning
Browse this incredible resource of games, articles, research, and tips, by and for trainers, managers, facilitators, and team leaders.
Browse articles & ideas...
FACILITATION TIPS
BRAIN SCIENCE
EXERCISES & ACTIVITIES
ENGAGEMENT & KUDOS
FIDGETS & FIDDLES
RELATIONSHIP BUILDING
INSIGHTS
PRODUCT APPLICATIONS
Recent posts
Your Voice Reveals More Than You Realize — Here's How to Play It Well
on May 12 2026
I was delighted to have Hilary Blair share insights as a vocal coach and facilitator of leadership development at a recent Show & Share. We explored how our voices reveal more about us than we realize — and how balancing tone, breath, and delivery can sharpen our impact as trainers and facilitators. Hilary's live demonstrations are invaluable, so I encourage you to listen to the recording alongside this summary.
Balance your Treble and Bass
We spend so much time thinking about and tweaking our content that we often don't think about our voice and the impact it has on our message and our audience. A deep bass voice can come across as resonant and soothing, but can also be hard to understand if not balanced out. A higher-pitched treble voice adds warmth and meaning, but can become a little grating over time. You can experience the difference yourself: say "hee," then place your hands on your chest and say "hey" — you'll both feel and hear the vibration. The trick is to balance your treble and bass registers as a way of also balancing warmth and clarity.
Project your Voice through your Breath
If you want to be louder, you can't simply push more sound out of your throat — it comes from letting your breath flow outward. Give it a whirl. First, try speaking as if you've just eaten onions and don't want anyone to smell your breath, then without that restriction. The contrast is immediate.
Balance your Vowel and Consonant Sounds
Vowels are open sounds, like a free-flowing river. Think of the slow, cooing sounds you'd make with a baby: "oooh, aww, mama." Because vowels require more air to produce, they carry the emotional content of your message. Consonants, by contrast, carry the intellectual content — think of a detective clipping out, "Tell me the facts, the facts, and the facts only." Vocal experts often describe consonants as the banks of the river. As Hilary puts it, "vowels are associated with the emotional and consonants with the intellectual content." This is why doctors delivering test results often stick to crisp consonants — they may be intentionally minimizing emotional weight. When trainers try to make themselves clear, they often default to emphasizing consonants. But elongating vowel sounds can actually improve clarity just as much. Try this: say "What are your questions?" quickly, focusing on the consonants. Listeners might get the impression you're not really open to hearing any. Now say it again, more slowly, opening up the vowel sounds — notice the difference.
Remember to Exhale and Get the Air Out
A deep breath is really more about the exhale than the inhale. Focus on the release, and let your breath flow freely. When you exhale intentionally, the inhale will follow naturally — it's a physiological response.
Voices that Become Too Much
Hilary discussed several vocal patterns and their impact on communication effectiveness, including what she calls the "too much club" — where people are told to reign in some vocal habit. Here are a few patterns to watch for:
Monotone — Often adopted to sound serious, professional, or not too dramatic. But monotone strips away the musicality of your voice — the "prosody" — that helps people actually absorb your message.
Precious Voice (the preschool teacher voice) — This happens when we push our voice from our throat in an attempt to sound sincere. It often comes across as the opposite.
Upspeak — Raising your voice at the end of a phrase may feel like a way to avoid being pushy or overwhelming, but it's frequently perceived as sounding incompetent, uncertain, or young. Hilary compared upspeak to a dog rolling over to show it's not a threat. However, phrases that "land down" tend to be received as more credible.
Vocal Fry — The most relaxed, low-effort voice. It can sound like you simply don't care, and is often associated with an overly casual affect.
None of these patterns is inherently "bad," but they can get in the way of connection and clarity. The key is awareness and intention.
Vocal Care in Training Settings
Vocal fold swelling is the main cause of voice loss — but a few simple exercises can help. Humming vibrates your vocal cords, increases blood flow to the area, and helps reduce inflammation. It's also a great warm-up for this reason. "Raspberries" (blowing air through relaxed lips) force you to release your breath and relax your delivery.
Voice Coach Q&A
A few participants shared specific challenges, asking Hilary for some quick tips. Highlights include:
To avoid being perceived as "preachy" during C-suite presentations, Hilary suggested opening your throat, being careful not to swallow your words; maintaining dialogue rather than monologue, especially when presenting to senior executives.
For those who tend toward mumbly speech, Hilary provided exercises to help with clearer enunciation. Practice mouth movements using tongue twisters like “Ba-da-ga” (forward and backward) or "bodega."
Reserved speakers looking to develop a more passionate communication style can avoid vocal fry during intense conversations by focusing on breath control and voice modulation.
Your Voice as an Instrument
Your voice is one of your most powerful tools as a trainer or facilitator — and like any tool, it improves with awareness and practice. Your voice is already an instrument; you just have to learn to play it intentionally. Start with one technique, notice the difference, and build from there. And don't forget to check out the recording to hear Hilary bring these concepts to life.
Learn More
A playlist of Videos on Voice
The Voice and Speech Trainers Association
Subscribe to Hilary’s ARTiculate: Real&Clear newsletter
Hilary on Linkedin
Provocative Icebreaker Questions
on Apr 27 2026
Instead of a traditional icebreaker, many trainers like to start their session with a stimulating question to break the ice, foster introductions, help participants get to know each other, and reduce tension. Favorite questions include:
Questions about you
Tell us something your colleagues do not know about you.
Who has been your best coach in their past and why?
What would you do if you won the lottery? (I often offer my answer first to engender trust. I learn what motivates each person as well. Where they know each other, and I do not know them
"What was a dream you had as a child?" (great for a visioning/goal setting workshop).
Share a memorable moment of your life.
What was your favorite hobby or pastime as a child?
Introduce yourself simply with your name and an adjective that describes you. The adjective must start with the same letter as your first name!
When you introduce yourself, tell us the best part of their job, the most difficult part of their job (if there is one), and what topic they are interested in learning more about after reviewing the table of contents.
What does family mean to you?
What are you most proud of in your life?
What's your claim to fame?
Questions about workshop goals
Tell me why you are here (even if it’s because your boss told you to) and what your objectives are. I write it down on an easel pad and post it for the day, and review with the group as we go.
Have small groups work on one of these questions:
What are your biggest challenges related to________ in 2011?
What are the key things you wish to do better related to__________?
What drives you crazy related to________________?
Using Peter Block's “Four Powerful Questions” (Flawless Consulting Skills, 2nd Edition, pages 283-286) ask: "On a scale of 1-7, with 7 as high answer,
1. How valuable do you plan this workshop to be?
2. How participative do you plan to be?
3. How much risk do you plan to take?
4. To what extent do you plan to be invested in the learning and well being of the whole group? NOTE: ask about their plans (action word) and NOT their expectations (a prediction), to shift accountability and ownership to everyone present.
Ask this TRIO of questions:
1. What specifically do you want to take away from this workshop?
2. How will you achieve this?
3. How will you know when you have achieved this?
Finally, imagine yourself applying the new behaviors in the workplace.
Sharing and debriefing participant objectives
After you've asked the questions and given your group time to consider them, have participants go through the objectives they have identified as a group and pick their top 2 or 3. Then ask for a show of hands on how many choose each objective. Explain to the group that you will use this as a tool to tailor the content to the class, focusing more time and energy on the objectives people really want.
Make "Virtual" Meetings Magnificent!
on Apr 27 2026
We attended HRDQ-U’s webinar with trainer extraordinaire, Cindy Huggett — Converting Classroom Activities to Engaging Virtual Activities. Cindy was chock-full of ideas to make Virtual Meetings Magnificent and we wanted to share with you!
“Transform” activities – don’t just “transfer”
One of Cindy’s main messages was taking the time to think about the format and activities you usually deliver in person and how they can be transformed for a virtual setting. Because of a different delivery format, you can’t just transfer them to an online platform. You may need to spend more time to re-imagine what you’re doing and transform it to be effective online.
Off to a good start – virtual style
Ms. Huggett recommended three tasks to capture attention: set expectations, start strong, and support learning
During live learning, a static welcome screen can work quite well. When learning in-person, participants have the benefit of other people in the room, and a teacher or trainer to say hello and make them feel at ease. In virtual settings, however, a single slide will not suffice. Create a warm “virtual lobby or waiting room” with these creative ideas:
Fun Facts & Trivia: Try a PowerPoint slide deck that enables engagement and interaction. For best success, find trivia that is relevant to your topic.
Q&A: Be prepared with questions for attendees to answer. Ask the group to type their answers into a collective chat so all attendees can see the answers
Jokes and Riddles: don’t worry about “corny.” A few "Punchlines and Groaners" can bring on smiles and break the ice
Poll question: Ask a probing question at the start to get the group involved and curious about the answer. Use Meridia Polling solutions to gather results.
Build Interactivity – frequently
Polling: In addition to polling the group at the start of your session, make frequent use of polling during the learning event.
Breakout Discussions: Be ready with conversation prompts that are pertinent to your topic. Trainers Warehouse has a bunch that are ready-to-go if your topic is diversity, ethics, trust, teambuilding, leadership, or if you just want to build relationships. if you’re crafting your own questions, these seven tips can help you formulate questions that will yield interesting conversations.
Mini Engagements – Every 4-5 minutes: During in-person learning, the cardinal rule was to change your pace or presentation every 20 minutes. Ms. Huggett tells us that the timeline for online learning is much shorter. She suggests introducing some sort of interactive engagement every 4-5 minutes. These can consist of a formal poll; type an answer into the chat; work on your own; stand and stretch; change speakers/presenters; share a video; play a song; call on a student to speak or ask a question; etc.
Mini Jeopardy Games: don’t try a full-length game. Rather, break a game into several 3-5 question chunks. Use the questions to precede or follow learning segments. This way, learners will stay better focused on both the game and the explanations.
Pass-it-on: During live-learning events, teachers can energize the group by tossing a Koosh ball from person to person, as they each answer questions. An online version of this activity might consist of the facilitator randomly picking someone to talk/comment/reflect; then that participant picks another person by name, and so on. An added benefit is attendees paying close attention to one another.
Annotate everything! Finally, Huggett talks about annotation tools that are part of many of these virtual meeting programs. These frequently use a rubric such as “Start/Stop/Change/Continue” or “What? So What? Now What?”
More is Better!
One clear message we took from HRDQ-U’s webinar is the importance to keep the screen moving. Facilitators will need many more slides than an in-person presentation – almost double the slides.
More Virtual Learning Ideas
What Rob Jolles Taught Me About "Enter-training"
on Apr 24 2026
Imagine a great meal at a restaurant. The steak has to be good — that's non-negotiable. But what makes you remember it, recommend it, and come back? The sauce. Rob Jolles, veteran sales trainer and author, used this analogy to open his thinking on what he calls "enter-training" — the art of blending entertainment with training to create learning experiences that actually stick.
"The steak has to be great, but the sauce can make all the difference." The "steak" is your content — the substance, the learning objectives, the reason your audience is in the room. The "sauce" is your personality, your creativity, your presence. Too many facilitators either neglect the sauce entirely, delivering dry, forgettable sessions, or they overdo the entertainment and forget to cook the steak. Here's what Rob says actually works.
The secret ingredient isn't humor — it's your special sauce.
Start with them, not you
One of Rob's most practical rules: don't spend more than 60 seconds introducing yourself at the start of a session. Learners don't want to hear your credentials right away — they want to know what's in it for them.
Takeaway: Lead with WIIFM — What's In It For Me? Hook your audience on the value they're about to receive before you ever say who you are.
Participation is the real magic
Rob emphasized the primary importance of participation, explaining, " it is the number one key to sustaining a group's interest. Not your jokes. Not your slides. Not even your storytelling." The moment learners become active contributors — not passive observers — the room transforms. Design for interaction at every turn.
Humor is overrated
Here's a counterintuitive truth from a man who is, frankly, quite funny: you don't need to be funny. You need to be interesting and personable. The pressure trainers put on themselves to generate laughs often backfires. Instead, focus on being genuinely engaging — curious, warm, and present with your audience. As people tend to say these days, "You be you!"
Drama, voice, and the little things
Rob encourages trainers to use drama, theatrics, and vocal variety — but with intention, not excess. What he's found is that small, unexpected moments often land harder than big theatrical ones. He shared a story that perfectly illustrates this: years ago, he collected enough loyalty stickers to order rubber stamps of his own face — one with a happy expression, one with a sad one. He used those stamps to give learners feedback throughout sessions. Simple, tactile, memorable.
Analog tools punch above their weight
In an era of apps and slide decks, Rob is a passionate advocate for physical, tactile tools. Stickers. Worksheets. Game buzzers. He specifically mentioned the Trainers Warehouse Me First Buzzers and Right-Wrong sound buzzers as tools that engage even the stuffiest, most skeptical audiences. Why? Because analog tools are memory-inducing. They create a different kind of engagement — sensory, embodied, and fun, without feeling childish.
People love stickers — and they don't have to be childish to be effective.
Take risks, but pick your moments
Rob closed with a reminder that growth requires risk. Try something new. Make mistakes. Use those mistakes as learning moments — for you and for your audience. But here's the nuance: don't try to do everything. The biggest mistake a trainer can make, he said, is to "emphasize everything and emphasize nothing." Be selective. Choose what matters most, and let it land.
Enter-training isn't about becoming a stand-up comedian or a theatrical performer. It's about bringing your authentic self — your sauce — to a solid content foundation. The learners came for the steak. They'll remember the meal because of how it made them feel.
READ MORE
Download Rob Jolles' Enter-Training Handout
Leadership Tools to Build Company Culture
on Mar 30 2026
Through our Trainers Warehouse Show & Share sessions, we’ve gathered practical insights from facilitation expert Cornelius “Nelius” Dowdell on how leaders can uncover and shape company culture. His approach is straightforward: start with honest input, create space for dialogue, and pay close attention to the behaviors you reinforce.
Set up "Aha" Moments
Dowdell started the conversation by asking the group to describe their culture in one word. Using Aha Slides to synthesize results into a word cloud, in real time, he could then direct the conversation to the most common and/or pressing responses. What emerges is not the polished version of culture found in mission statements, but a more candid reflection of how people actually experience the organization.
If leaders want to influence culture, they first need to understand it—and that requires broad, unfiltered input.
Try a Feelings Wheel
Another effective way to deepen the conversation is by asking people how they’re feeling. While the question sounds simple, many struggle to find the right words. A Feelings or Emotions Wheel provides the language people need to express themselves more precisely. Keep it simple with the Emotions Wheel available on the Zoom whiteboard templates, or go deeper with a more detailed feelings wheel. Alternatively, grab an Emotions Card Deck, where players choose a card that describes how they're feeling right now, or how they wish they felt at work. Whether using a basic visual or a more detailed tool, a quick emotional check-in can set the stage for more meaningful dialogue later.
Start a Dialogue and Listen
Get groups talking... and hear what they have to say
After a quick feelings check, one of Neil's favorite ways to kick off a leadership culture session is to use a Trainers Warehouse Thumball. Even before introducing himself, he might set a ball or two play to get people thinking, connecting, and talking about the learning topic. With the Thumball, he simply tosses the ball and asks the catcher to read the topic under their right thumb. "Wherever the thumb lands is the topic we discuss," he says. Alternatively, he'll play a rapid-fire game, asking each person to respond to the prompt in just 10 seconds before tossing the ball to another player. In bigger groups, he might break into smaller teams. It's yet another way to initiate dialogue so people feel more comfortable sharing deeper thoughts as the session progresses. Just as important as getting people talking is what leaders do next. As Dowdell puts it, "imagine the impact on culture if a leader simply takes the time to find out where people are—and listens.
Model Sharing and Vulnerability
Part of getting employees to open up and share is creating a psychologically safe environment to make that happen. Those environments don't just happen, however. They result when organizational leaders open up and share their own foibles, mistakes, and frustrations. If you want others to share, then begin by demonstrating your own errors, learning moments, or needs for assistance.
PRACTICE ASKING AND ANSWERING QUESTIONS
When talking about organizational culture, coaching people to ask questions, answer, and listen is critical. Rather than simply saying "yes" all the time, healthy corporate cultures welcome conversation and questioning as a way to build clarity and understanding. For this, Dowdell often turns to UNZIP-it! Card Decks. Participants can answer a simple question about "favorites," and partners can practice asking follow-up questions to learn more. Sure, a facilitator could talk about the importance of coaches asking questions, but using tools to help participants get to the meat and potatoes of the substance on their own is generally more effective, he explains.
EXPLORE WHAT BEHAVIORS YOU ARE REINFORCING
BEHAVIOR CHANGE
At the heart of Dowdell’s message is a critical truth: company culture is revealed through behavior. Organizations often define their values clearly, but the real question is whether those values show up in practice. Where does the culture break under pressure? What behaviors are tolerated, even when they contradict stated values?
Culture is not what we say—it’s what we reinforce. What gets rewarded, ignored, or repeated ultimately defines how people behave.
UNWRITTEN RULES
One effective way to explore this is by examining unwritten rules. These informal norms—what people really do and expect—offer valuable insight into how the organization operates.
Some may be lighthearted (i.e. food left on the counter is for sharing; if it's in the fridge, it's not), but others reveal deeper truths about expectations, communication, and accountability. Surfacing these rules helps teams identify gaps between stated values and lived experience, making company culture more visible and actionable. They can also be good new-hire tips, that wouldn't be found in an employee handbook!
MAKING CULTURE REAL
Dowell explains four steps necessary to make culture real. First, you need to identify the goals. Perhaps, for instance, it's showing up to meetings on time. If you don't know what you're striving for, it's impossible to get there. Next, identify how that behavior will be modeled and reinforced—through processes, accountability, or peer support. Encourage individuals to self-assess how they're performing with regard to company values. Ask where they feel their strengths lie, and where they see room for improvement. Don't forget to reward those successes and cultural shifts using I Noticed notes, Kudos for Values, or peer-to-peer recognition tools. And, suggest that individuals treat themselves when they've hit a personal goal. Equally important is giving people time to practice. Scenarios, team challenges, and structured activities create opportunities to build new habits and reflect on outcomes. Save time using Trainers Warehouse's WorkPlays scenarios and ready-to-go teambuilding games that promise rich debriefs--about process improvement, roles, communication, team dynamics, and the like.
OVERCOMING LEADERS' RESISTANCE TO CULTURE CHANGE
Culture change frequently faces resistance, not just from teams asked to abide by the company culture, but also from leaders themselves. When asked why, the top response is typically ambiguity. When cultural initiatives lack clarity, ownership, or measurable outcomes, they are difficult to sustain. To overcome this, organizations must connect company culture to strategic priorities. Define the behaviors, track them consistently, and measure their impact.
Engagement is not a one-time event. It’s an ongoing leadership commitment.
CONCLUSION
Company culture is often discussed in broad, aspirational terms, but Dowdell’s approach brings it back to something far more concrete: conversations, behaviors, and reinforcement. When leaders take the time to listen, model openness, and align what they reward with what they say they value, culture begins to shift in visible ways. The real work of culture isn’t found in statements or slogans—it’s found in the everyday moments where people choose how to speak, act, and respond. Over time, those moments add up, shaping not just how work gets done, but how people experience being part of the organization.
Tolu's Tips for Active and Inclusive Training
on Mar 26 2026
1
In her new book Designing and Facilitating Workshops with Intentionality, author Dr. Tolu Noah offers ten principles to help focus workshop design efforts. It’s all wrapped up into a tool she refers to as the Workshop Wheel. In her recent Show & Share session with Trainers Warehouse, Tolu focused on two of the ten — ACTIVE and INCLUSIVE, and boy, did she practice what she preached. Following are some of the tools she used to build activity and inclusivity into the session.
TRY MENTIMETER – TO BUILD INTERACTIVITY
Ask participants to share their input through Mentimeter.com. In Tolu’s example, she began our session by asking participants to share their “training hopes and dreams.” Rather than relying simply on a Chat board, she used Mentimeter. She posted a single QR code that could be scanned by phone, as well as a URL link and code, for computer access. Quickly, participants could weigh in and share their input. Although accessing a code like that may take a tad more time than a simple chat, it also felt more interactive for a few reasons:
It was much more interesting to view visually
Responses were easier to read
Use of the phone invited a more tactile experience than just interfacing with the computer and keyboard.
Most importantly, Mentimeter’s AI can synthesize the group’s results just by clicking the space bar. After that, if you want to dig deeper into a specific response, just click that box and see all the associated responses.
EMBED SOME FUN INTO YOUR SLIDES
Dr. Noah used a handful of extremely accessible tools to manage the time and ambiance during breakout or reflection moments. For instance, she embedded these resources:
Bensound – Music clips for presentation audio. Embedding the sound clips made them easy to access with the click of a button. Great for thinking time during work exercises.
30-second timer – Search for “acoustic guitar timers, find the amount of time you need, and embed it into your slide. Two recommended YouTube channels are Adam Eschborn and Gentle Acoustic Guitar.
EXPLORE SLIDE DECKS BEYOND POWERPOINT
Google Slides: Tolu shared that she prefers to use Google Slides for presentations. She explained that if you like to navigate to multiple other websites and flip from presentation to links, it’s very convenient. You can also “pin” tabs so they’re easy to find and navigate.
Aha Slides: at a prior Show & Share, Cornelius “Nelius” Dowdell, expert facilitator and founder of The Best Workplace, used AhaSlide as an alternative to PowerPoint. Also web-based, Aha Slides allowed him to seamlessly embed word clouds, live polls, spinners, and more.
TRY PADLET FOR COLLABORATION ACTIVITIES
While asking chat-based questions and polling participants is better than not checking in with the group at all, a better approach is to draw on a wonderful suite of interactive tools from an online platform like Padlet. Facilitators can easily customize visually pleasing templates that allow participants to consider questions and share responses to thought-provoking questions in a myriad of ways that are more fun and accessible than standard whiteboards. They have two basic tools that allow you to make:
Boards: blank slates to which you can add text, music, videos, and more. They have dozens of templates ready-to-go for discussion boards, polls, Q&A, surveys, brainstorming, feedback, breakout groups, etc.
Sandboxes: collaborative digital canvases with tools for drawing, writing, and adding media. Sandbox templates are available for lessons, brainstorming, Jeopardy, interactive documents, group activities, and more.
Don’t be put off by the graphics. At first glance, Padlet appears to be geared toward K-12 instructors, but because each Board and Sandbox starts with a blank slate, you can easily customize the look and feel. When you click into a template, it does not look juvenile, as the website graphics might lead you to assume. It also allows you to welcome participants to add comments by typing, sharing a video, recording audio, or even capturing a screen record.
ACRONYMS & MNEMONICS
Tolu shared the A.P.A. acronym as a way to engage participants throughout a learning session. For each part, she offered an array of tools. Some used the resources mentioned above; others drew on “old school” approaches.
A. Activate prior knowledge, as learning always builds on a scaffolding of prior knowledge.
P. Process new information. Give time to synthesize, ask questions, make connections, etc.
A. Apply learning, because practice with feedback enables improvement.
OLD SCHOOL ACTIVITIES
Retrieval and Writing
After introducing the 10 principles, Tolu asked us to recall as many as possible by writing them down on paper or opening a writing app on an electronic device, without looking at notes we might have taken. She reminded us that the retrieval process is an important part of long-term memory processes. Although most of us could recall only three to five of the 10 design principles after her very quick overview, the exercise served as an important lesson about the importance of analog approaches and retrieval activities. She introduced a handful of other approaches as well:
1. HANDOUT: Anticipation Guide (Activation)
To explore what people already know and begin to activate prior knowledge, Dr. Noah suggests preparing an “Anticipation Guide” containing 5-7 statements about the topic at hand. To facilitate this activity, ask attendees to record if they believe the statement is True or False. Before putting their notes to the side, have them team up with a colleague to discuss their answers. At the very end of the session, revisit the participants’ Anticipation Guides, and ask them to reflect on how their prior understanding grew or evolved.
CREDIT: This strategy comes from several sources, including Frederick A. Duffelmeyer and Facing History & Ourselves.
2. HANDOUT: Knowledge (or Skills) Rating (Activation)
Another great worksheet to help learners consider prior knowledge is one that asks them to self-assess their knowledge before a session starts. It’s like a “Before Report-card.” With each concept on the learning agenda, they can check a box that says, “I don’t know what this means,” “I have seen or heard of this, but don’t know the meaning,” “I can explain the meaning of this,” or ” I could teach someone else about this topic.”
CREDIT: Jonathan Bifield, Eberly Center at Carnegie Melon University, and others.
3. T.Q.E. PAUSES: Elicit Thoughts, Questions, and Epiphanies
Pause and ask attendees to share their thoughts, questions, and epiphanies about the training topic! You can use sticky notes, chat, or really any tool, digital whiteboarding tool, verbally (sticky notes, chat, a digital whiteboard tool, or have attendees share verbally). Be sure to process these replies before you move on!
CREDIT: Adapted from an approach used by Marisa Thompson.
4. PARTNERING CARDS
Rather than finding partners on the fly, take a few minutes at the start for folks to fill out their Discussion Partners Card, finding a different person to partner with for each of the upcoming discussion chunks. When those junctures arrive, have them find that partner.
5. WOW-HOW-NOW REFLECTION ACTIVITY
Using a Padlet Sandbox with three pages for input, Tolu led us in an inclusive activity that drew out important learning points and action items. If you’re looking for another reflection tool to add to your repertoire, this is a great one!
Wow – key takeaway
How – remaining question
Now – action item
CREDIT: Letitica Citizen and Kia Turner
CONCLUSION
At its core, effective training isn’t about adding more tools—it’s about being intentional with the ones we choose. As Dr. Tolu Noah’s session demonstrated so clearly, when we design with purpose—prioritizing activity and inclusivity—we create experiences that learners don’t just attend, but truly engage with.
Whether it’s leveraging digital tools like Mentimeter and Padlet, or incorporating “old school” strategies like retrieval, writing, and structured reflection, the goal remains the same: help learners think, connect, and apply. Because, as we know from brain science, people remember what they take time to process.
The real takeaway? Small shifts in design can lead to big shifts in learning.
RESOURCES
Tolu’s Session Resources
Watch Tolu's Trainers Warehouse Show & Share
Communication & Listening Exercises
on Mar 15 2026
24
This collection of ommunication exercises and listening activities is culled from a variety of LinkedIN discussions.
Playbook of Me First! Game Show Buzzer Games
on Mar 02 2026
Teach, energize, and engage learners with 5 terrific games and learning events using the Trainers Warehouse Me First! Buzzer System.
