President Harry Truman once famously said, “The secret of raising children is to find out what they want to do and then encourage them to do it. “ I think that’s great advice – and so did my kids! Note to self (and to you, too): Apply the same advice in your outreach to donors. Year-end fundraising: Beyond the tried-and-true As … [Read more...]
Anti-Burnout Training — A Story From Beth Kanter
We are thrilled to share a post from Beth Kanter, one of the most innovative and engaging trainers in the nonprofit universe. Beth and her colleague Aliza Sherman have written a wonderful new book about avoiding burnout. Because she's Beth, she doesn't just lecture-- she trains people in creative, interactive ways. What follows is a … [Read more...]
In Praise of Non-Planning
When it comes to training and facilitation, how much of a planner are you? Do you just show up and wing it? Or do you design every step of every agenda in exquisite detail? As you'd expect, people land along this continuum. When it comes to training (and most anything else in life), you can make any style work. The same principle … [Read more...]
A Simple but Powerful Lesson for Your Next Workshop
Last month in Chicago, I gave a keynote address to group of several hundred people. You can imagine the scene: stage, bright lights, multiple video screens. Because the speaker was the focus of the event, setting up exercises was a bit more challenging. However, I tried to weave in some activities, because sitting and listening is … [Read more...]
10 Tips to Help You Train Like a Pro
As you know, the heart of any effective training is experiential education – exercises, activities, role plays, small group projects, and so forth. Every successful activity begins with a set of instructions – what you want people to do – and the context for why you want them to do it. You can design a terrific workshop, but unless … [Read more...]
How to Include Everyone: It’s As Easy As 1, 2, 3
Do you remember feeling left out when you were a kid? Perhaps you weren’t picked for a sports team…or you were picked last. Maybe when your classmates paired up for a school project, you were the odd person out. Most people have experienced that uncomfortable sense of not being wanted. It felt lousy when you were a kid. Now that you’re … [Read more...]
Three Ways to Get Students Talking and One Way to Shut Them Up
Have you ever been afraid to raise your hand and speak up? Perhaps you weren’t afraid exactly, but you wondered if you might look foolish or ask a dumb question. If you’re like me, anxieties like that can keep you from speaking out. A great trainer works in many ways to encourage everyone to participate – both the naturally talkative … [Read more...]
Five Steps to Success: A Simple Strategy to Help You Become a Great Trainer
If you’ve been reading our blog, you know that the most effective trainers use activities, rather than lectures, to draw out the wisdom and expertise of the people being trained, People learn more when they build on their own experiences, rather than listen to you talk about yours. Yes, it’s possible to take this approach too far. … [Read more...]
How to Stop Talking and Start Training
Why is it so dang hard to stop talking too much when you're trying to train people? Recently I sat in on a 3-hour teaching session, given to a small group of 10 adult learners. The topic was fundraising and every one of the people in the class had some real-life experience with that subject. I was just an observer, curious in part … [Read more...]
Turn Your Board into a “Place of We”
Is it hard to get your board members excited about raising money? Our friend Judy Levine of Cause Effective just wrote a terrific piece about the possibility of board members training board members. She delights in the idea that boards can use our new Train Your Board book to train themselves – without a consultant, professional … [Read more...]