The story of how I got to speak at #LT11UK….

….. begins in the Summer of 2010.

I was speaking on the telephone with the fantastic @juliewedgwood on the subject of my progress with using learning technologies since attending LT10, when she suggested that @DonaldHTaylor may be interested in the story as a potential session for LT11… I joked about this…. mulled it over…. dropped Don an email….

… and so it came to pass that at 1400hrs on Day 2 of Learning Technologies 2011 I found myself co-facilitating a session entitled ‘Taking the next steps‘ with @simbeckhampson

I remembered the presentations at LT10 being broadly broken down into 2 types:

The sage on the stage with a pocket full of Bullet Points.And the ‘guide by your side’ with a pocketful of interaction and activities.

It will probably come as no surprise to you to hear that the content of the latter still resonates with me today and indeed Julie Wedgwood (who has become a friend and has delivered that same session back into my organisation for me) falls into that category.

It was that same impact that I wanted to have on those delegates who were kind enough to attend my session at LT11. Here are the simple steps that I took in planning and preparing my session.

Given that my session was about my ‘journey’ over the past 12 months I thought it would fit quite nicely into a calendar format.I identified 12 tools that I had used over the preceding 12 months and slotted 1 of these into each month, which then formed the basis of a PowerPoint deck.I asked my friend Sam, to create a desktop calendar from my PPT slides and then ordered 100 of them

I added some autotweets to each of the slides order to feed the #LT11UK Twitter backchannel.Given the target audience for my session I anticipated that many of them might not have a Twitter account (not yet anyway!), so I set up a Text Wall (courtesy of @xlearn) to allow non-Tweeters to experience participating in a back-channel.I realised that as I had only 25 minutes to cover a 12 month period that I would not be able to cover each of the 12 months, so I created a slidecast using Slideshare which allowed me to cover each of the 12 months in greater detail due to the lack of time pressure. Here it is:

At that point it was time to put everything in the laps of the Gods and as Nike would say

The footage can be viewed here (please not that is appears that this site is still being edited (at least I hope it is) but you’ll get the idea)

The actual presentation went as I had anticipated, however the feedback I received be it  face-to-face, via the backchannel or peoples blogs was phenomenal and quite humbling. I had never thought for a second that such a ‘simple introduction’ to Learning Technologies would have pushed so many peoples buttons. Some people have commented upon the unusual, non-linear, delegate-driven presentation style that I used, others have mentioned how passionate I was…

… whatever the reason, the key factor for me was that people enjoyed it and gained some small measure of motivation of it. I wish you all the very best for your future implementation of Learning Technologie and if I can be of any help or assistance then please don’t hesitate to contact me.

On a final note a BIG “Thank You” to Julie Wedgwood for being the catalyst to me speaking at LT11 and to Don Taylor for taking a ‘punt’ on me.

Did you attend my session?

What (if anything) did you take away to action?

How is the action progressing?

Why not provide your responses in the comments box below?

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New trainer in Kenya joins Speak First

Speak First has been busily recruiting experienced, dynamic trainers to support our clients with their global projects. We’re now involved in projects that span anything from 22 countries to 45, delivering globally consistent training with localised differences.

As part of our recruitment in 2013 we ran our first ever Trainer Assessment Event in Nairobi. Steve Bavister met, interviewed and participated in training sessions delivered by selected trainers from across Kenya. As part of this process we would like to welcome Bikundo Onyari who has joined the 120 associate trainers we now have based across 50 countries.

He is now embarking on our development process to learn the key models we deliver as part of our training and we’re really happy to have him on board. He’s an engaging trainer with an impressive background and a facilitative style, delivering training in the areas of presentation skills, communication and impact.

We will be running some more of these events this year across countries in Europe, America and Asia and we’ll keep you posted with some of our new trainers in 2013.

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If only Gordon had attended a Speak First Emotional Intelligence course!

Tony Blair’s widely-publicised comments about Gordon Brown – ‘Analytical intelligence, absolutely. Emotional intelligence, zero’ – may seem harsh, but there’s surely more than a grain of truth in them.

From the woeful YouTube expenses video to his ill-fated meeting with Rochdale voter Gillian Duffy, Gordon has struggled to present a pleasing personality to the public. Which may have made you wonder what he’s like behind the scenes. Now we’ve got a good idea!

If only Gordon had attended a Speak First Emotional Intelligence course. How things could have been different! In just one day he could have:

How to be more confident and say goodbye to nerves Posture, body language and movement Essential steps of preparation Managing attention span Getting off to a good start Key messages PowerPoint and other visual aids
While conventional intelligence (IQ) is obviously important, it’s not enough if you want to build great relationships and make the most of your potential. You need Emotional Intelligence (EQ) as well.

Research shows that EQ is the ‘difference that makes the difference’ in many areas of business: sales people with higher Emotional Intelligence sell more; leaders with higher EQ are more successful. 

“Good suggestions for managing relationships with difficult characters.” Mark Mundell, National Grid

Why not enhance your emotional intelligence by attending the next Speak First Emotional Intelligence workshop on 1 October 2010? Price is just £495 + vat.

And for a limited period you could attend for just half price. Sign up for our 2-day NLP for Business workshop on 14-15 Sept , at just £695 + vat for the two days, and you can attend the Emotional Intelligence workshop for only £245 – a saving of £250.

Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is widely acknowledged to be one of the most powerful forms of applied psychology available. You’ll learn how to:

How to be more confident and say goodbye to nerves Posture, body language and movement Essential steps of preparation Managing attention span Getting off to a good start Key messages PowerPoint and other visual aids
If you feel ‘out of the loop’ when you hear others talking about NLP, and want to harness its power to bring your performance closer to your potential, NLP for Business is for you – the perfect introduction to NLP, with a focus on practical, business applications.
The offer
Book NLP for Business for 14-15 September and get Emotional Intelligence on 1 October for half price – a saving of £250

Call Helen or Jermaine to book now on 0207 253 2117!

Click on these links to read more on Emotional Intelligence and NLP for Business

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