It always happens to trainers who are well-versed in speaking/communicating in classrooms and smaller groups. Inevitably they are tagged one day by their bosses to speak at the regional or national conference, participate in the plenary, or even act as a master of ceremonies. To the trainer perfectly comfortable in his or her training environment, …

My last article about Was the Guy Who Won the Client’s Audition Better than You? may have really seemed off-topic to some, and my apologies to those who didn’t find my sentiment to their liking, but I think it was a valid point. Maybe I can re-address it here in different and more positive terms …

This post fits loosely in the training and development category, I admit, but I think within this tale runs a thread that affects how we should look at the people we are training. In this case, we are talking creative types, voice-over actors. Granted, voice-over actors need training and coaching for an audition as much …

Although we could be seen as going off the training and development reservation on this one, once you read the entire article, you’ll agree we are actually too close to the subject not to bring it up. This blog is probably the most direct way of saying I think training, public speaking, and acting are …

Personality theory and tests are useful also for management, recruitment, selection, training and teaching, on which point see also the learning styles theories on other pages such as Kolb’s learning styles, Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, and the VAK learning styles model. — Personality Theories, Types and Tests at www.businessballs.com Believe it or not personality really does …

The most important word in your performance management strategy may be one that typically does not come to mind. Let’s consider a couple of the ways in which we encourage, teach and train our leaders to improve the performance of their teams.

Running a presentation skills seminar at a large federal agency’s training forum, I was impressed by how much learning takes place when participants share ideas in a Power Point-free environment. I found this post on my LinkedIn Training and Development group and some of the responses given by professional trainers and speakers gave me pause. …

One of the best ways to learn about Jack is to read his posts. Here are a couple early ones: Trainer, Speaker or Actor? Why Not Acting in Business? In Training? and If I Am An Actor Why Am I Here? Jack has extensive experience in training and his diverse background in speech, acting, psychology …

My last two blogs focused on “acting” and “speaking,” and how those areas affected trainers. Trainers admittedly use both skills as well as organizational and facilitation skills, which could circle back to basic communication. Rather than go all the way back, I want to focus on another concept: teaching and teachers. Is it fair to …

“I y’am what I y’am, what I y’am.” Now, I am an actor, a speaker, and a trainer–as well as a writer. When I act, I act. When I speak, I speak. When I train, that’s different, too. As I said earlier in my previous blog, acting is more than “being someone else” or “a …