Hark! Your Training Program Was Created By Bruce Springsteen.

How to “Create Raving Fans” inside and outside of the classroom.

Mastering the art of musical showmanship is the vital component to a powerful rock and roll show.

Learning the essentials of good public speaking is just as important whether you’re creating elearning courses or standing in front of a live group of trainees.

Throughout my career, I’ve listened to literally hundreds of speakers on many different topics. I’ve come to a conclusion that there is a key insight to public speaking and teaching: You can take every course on public speaking, learn all the right jokes and quotes, use all the right body language and dress for success. Yet, if you leave yourself out of the recipe, you’ll never have a lasting impression on your audience.

Injecting a bit of you.... kicking up your delivery skills just a notch by infusing a touch of showmanship into your “gig”, will inspire your participants to clap, cheer, give you a standing “O”, or “flick their Bics”.

Here’s what you need to know. In the case of classroom training, there is a certain camaraderie amongst attendees.... similar to a rock concert where everyone is gathered together in a room... all there for the same reason... for two hours or more.... to witness your favorite “tunes” (in this case your presentations/courses)... and hopefully by the end – you have them singing in unison as the lights come up... and they sigh “That was Phenomenal!”

Here are the 10 things you can do to have them screaming in the isles.... (and that’s a good thing!)

1-Before the class is scheduled, get your PR machine working.. cranking out the “BUZZ” about your class, well before the time arrives.

2-Visualize your outcome before you start. See yourself speaking and teaching. See your audience reacting positively. Feel great about what you about to accomplish. See the end goal – people are inspired.

3-When you begin to speak – imagine you’re just having a conversation with another person... it has a calming effect (and you’re very good at it – you’ve been doing it all your life).

4-Frame your talk. Tell them what you’re going to tell them. Tell it to them. And then tell them what you just told them. It helps to keep everyone focused.

5-Your Voice. Ahh, your voice. The most powerful communication weapon you have. Do you use it well? Things like melody, pace, volume, tone and pitch... can make you or break you on the music scene. When you use all 5 components correctly, you will have total control over your voice and the sounds that come out when you speak. Your voice can control the high and lows, can get attention, can cause people to sway (monotone), move back (loud) and draw them in (soft). When you can master how and when to control your voice – you’re on your way to becoming a great speaker.

6-Tell your stories / keep them brief, relative and enjoying. People love stories. They love real-world scenarios where certain principles have been applied successfully for a benefit or gain. Find your stories and use them every step of the way... but don’t be boring. Knowing how to effectively use your voice is key, as well as intermittent sprinkles of the final four in this list.

7-Get them to laugh and they will listen. Comedy club... – when you are entertained and something is funny – you laugh until the drink shoots out of your nose. When the comedian goes to tell another joke, you try and stifle your laugh to hear what’s coming next. Laughter is the key to listening.

8-Need to include at least one AHA! What are your key points? Do they have impact? There must be a need for your audience to sit up and take notice and go “AHA!”

9-Be Spontaneous. I know this sounds so easy... but it does take a bit of work and proper preparation. Deliver your material in a different way. Your audience may know your set list, so shake it up a bit. Strive to create a new show every time.

10- Give them hope and extract emotion from the audience by sharing yours. Try and be compelling. A better life, better job, more money... encourage them to learn and why it will help them to do so. The key is to not to try and motivate them. The key is to inspire them.

You can be motivated for a moment. You can be inspired for years.

Now what about outside of a classroom?

It’s not always feasible to run training classes a few times per year. It is very costly to fly people in from all over the country to attend a 3-5 day training seminar or workshop. It costs money to “house” them for the week, as well as the intangible costs of removing them from the field, from their daily jobs. Productivity suffers as a result. So when scheduling your training classes, money is definitely an object and careful planning and consideration must go into each endeavor.

Can you have the same “engaging” affect on your trainees through long distance learning?

Yes you can.

The key is to follow the 10 steps when you create your elearning courses. The same presentation you give in front of a live audience can be delivered with just as much impact and emotion and interactivity when you know how to do it and have the use the proper tools that can create presentations that have impact.

If you’re seriously considering lowering your training budget and are looking for ways to maximize your training productivity and resources, take a look at the OmniTrackPlus online training and development system.

OmniTrackPlus (www.omnitrackplus.com/autopilot.htm) provides you with cutting-edge, award winning course authoring tools that allow you to incorporate PowerPoint with voice over, imbed videos, flash, and audio for a full contact experience with your viewer. In addition, your courses can be put into a powerful automated delivery and tracking system that literally allows you to engage and interact with your trainees on a set schedule, on autopilot.

AND, because this approach to course authoring and delivery really does involve their senses, they can record the information easier. Involving their senses through site and sound has a greater impact on the subconscious and their ability to recall the information later.

What does this mean to you? Bottom line – you don’t always have to be present. Just because you’re not up in front of a packed house of raving fans.... doesn’t mean you can’t inspire them to learn, retain and recall. Trainin online can be productive and very efficient. Your online training presentations can be just as effective if you follow the 10 steps outlined above.

And the quality of your training doesn’t go down... in fact, it gets better and better.

But I think the best part is this. You won’t need to schedule training or track progress for new hires anymore... your training program will literally run on cruise control, allowing you to be more “objective focused” than “detail focused”. The “devil is in the details”, but he can surely screw you and your program up if he never let’s you come up for air.

You can keep your online training program efficient and very organized and have information / progress / results at your fingertips whenever you want it.

When you learn how to pull away from the number one time killer for all training professionals - administration – you’re on your way to achieving training success.

By having a consistent “automated engagement” plan in place – your “fans”, will love you and beg you to come out for another encore.

Learn from The Boss.... and you can't go wrong.

Rock and Roll!

George

Online Training on Autopilot Series...Persuasion Through Influence. PART 4 of 4

In our previous articles, we defined the Principles of Influence and how they can be used to help engage your trainees, motivate your employees and salespeople and most importantly, compel your customers to act.

Switching gears for a moment...

Did you know you can “influence” on autopilot?

When you have the right systems in place, every element of your business and organization runs much more smoothly and is much more effective.

I’m a believer in a systematic approach to everything. I define a “system” as a provable, reliable method, tool or set of actions that provide me with a solution to a problem or job function.

Of course, every system I use, I’m able to adjust my level of input and “hands on” requirements as needed. There is always a bit of tweaking involved to get them to do exactly what it is I need them to do, but when everything is just right – hallelujah!

When I can spend more time with my family and friends and know that my “system” is handling things for me as well – then I have the perfect situation.

When incorporating a system to do work for you, whether it’s to fill in a gap or take over a function – the system must be “flexible”. When I say flexible I really mean to say that anything too “rigid” in life is not a good thing. Keeping a sense of flexibility, keeps you and your organization loose. If you need to make a few adjustments, then they need to be easy to do. If you need to make a change to your system and its like “reinventing the wheel” every time to do so – dump the system.

Our system, OmniTrackPlus (www.omnitrackplus.com/autopilot.htm is an online training and development system that allows you to put your entire training program, on autopilot. Online training has never been so simple and yet, so effective. With the system’s proven, robust automation tools, you have the ability to systematically engage, interact with and influence your trainees... while you sleep.

Influence your employees on autopilot with rich-media, audio/video presentations that “engage the senses”. When the senses are engaged, information is recorded at a much faster and higher level.

When you can train your employees on autopilot.. a trainer’s life becomes that much easier to manage. When you can devote more of your time to the functions and goals that really matter to you, your employees and your organization.. you create more value for yourself and training as it relates to a core business function.

Let’s face it, when budgets are tight – training seems to be the first thing to go or pay a price. By putting systems in place and leveraging technology.. you position you and your department for success.

Here's to your success!

George Ritacco

The Reality is.. Perception is the Key to a Successful Training Program. Principle #3

TRAINING PRINCIPLE #3
Training PERCEPTION. Part 3 of 3 of How to Put Your Training on Cruise-Control.

Attaining top management support is like being issued an E-ZPass for tolls; you now have the green light to proceed and be welcomed, but not necessarily accepted. Acceptance is earned by the work you perform and the value you add to the organization. But, like anything else in life – perception is reality.

If you want to be perceived as the person with the answers, then you need to have the answers.
When questions are asked about return on investment, or "Will we retain employees and reduce turnover?" - as trainers, we absolutely have to have the answers; we are expected to be resources for this information.

It is imperative that as a training administrator we continuously forecast and project the future training needs of our company.

When we do this, we market the importance of delivering quality training and how it impacts our business, our employees and our lives. And we market "OUR" importance as well.
Knowledge Is Not Power.

My goal has always been to translate response into results. Some trainers teach for others to learn. That's never been me. While I acknowledge it's importance, "learning" isn't the key to anything really. Knowledge isn't power. Applied knowledge is power. Some trainers teach for others to accomplish. That is me.

It is our job to help others understand what must be done to organize and prepare our employees. It is our job to know what tools are available that could have the right type of impact, when it’s needed.

As trainers, we invest our lives cultivating our people into a responsible, productive workforce. If we believe in the idea that human resources are the foundation of a sound business system, then it is our responsibility to position, promote and fortify our training program every step of the way.

Learn your company’s business objectives and initiatives; then create a program that aligns itself accordingly, improving the overall effectiveness or your organization and its employees - and they’ll never doubt you......

We've written a Special Report that outlines for you in great detail - how to systematically design a system that will revolutionize the way you deliver your training program. We'll also walk you through, a step by step executive plan on how to prove a measurable and justifiable ROI.

If you're not ready to step forward and make a claim - that's fine. The report will help you when you are.

Get the report today even if you're not in the market for a training system. The report will prove to be useful to you either way. Call 1-877-791-4367 ext 805 for a Free Recorded Message.

You can also visit www.omnitrackplus.com/autopilot.htm for more information as well.

My best,

G.