When was the last time you participated in a really well organized, professionally facilitated training event? No, I’m not talking about the ones you present yourself. Perhaps you’ve sat through some disappointing workshops. I certainly have. So when I experience something really good, I want to do my little happy dance. I’m … [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...]
When Bad is Good: How to Facilitate a Great Exercise Based on Bad Behavior
How many times have you heard somebody (probably your mother) say to you, “Learn from your mistakes!” It turns out that your mother was on to something. We can, in fact, learn a lot from our failures, missteps, and missed opportunities. When it comes to training fundraisers to make the all-important face-to-face ask, encouraging … [Read more...]
Train Your Staff to Raise Money
Years ago, I was hired to lead an all-staff fundraising workshop for a mid-sized nonprofit. When I walked into the training room, about a dozen people were waiting for me: arms crossed, eyes down, sideways smirks. This was a “mandatory training opportunity” for program staff. None of them had the words “fundraising” or “development” … [Read more...]