What does it take

I just had an interview for a position that I believe can draw on my business training knowledge and experience. The interview entailed three rounds of discussions with trainers, manager, and division manager. It was a great interview and very insightful.

The interview process was more of a conversation than an actual "answer our questions" interview. Interesting and delightful. It was great to converse on the organizational needs and what I could bring to the organization.

So what does this have to do with the topic title today? Simply this - no one with whom I spoke had any prior training or teaching education or experience. That said, I was impressed with their work and successes. It was a group that focused on the business needs, delivered what was needed all to achieve the business goals.

So my question again "What does it take - - to be a trainer?" To answer that a bit of meandering for the next few postings.

In my graduate school work I had to write a research paper. My interest was in what skills are necessary to develop or be a trainer in the business environment. My interest came from observing several individuals as classmates and colleagues that were struggling to be comfortable and competent with understanding and skill sets needed for adult learning experiences. In my research, I found references to trainer competencies, but none for skills. That fascinates me.

We offer Master Degrees in Adult Learning/Education/Organizational Development, but few offerings at the BA or BS level majors or minors for developing individuals who desire and need to know the principles of learning for adults in the work place. It is almost an unwritten job requirement for Human Resource personnel to be involved in some training for employees. Managers need some basic understanding of training and it principles and influence. Yet little is available to identify skill sets.

What does it take - Stay tuned.....

English Language

I enjoy the English/American language. Probably because it is my primary and only spoken language. I've had some studies in German, speaking and understanding enough to be "dangerous" with it, but not near fluent. What I like about our language and is probably true of other languages is how we communicate in a non-literal manner.

What got me reflecting on this was an e-mail I received. It posed some statements that make sense, yet when analyzed don't really say what we want to say. Here are just a few:

1. Is it good if a vacuum really sucks?
2. Why is the third hand on the watch called the second hand?
3. If a word is misspelled in the dictionary, how would we ever know?
4. If Webster wrote the first dictionary, where did he find the words?
5. Why do we say something is out of whack? What is a whack?

How often do we do this in our communication, using familiar terminology and jargon in our communication without awareness to the understanding of others? Case in point - in my work this week I was communicating with an employee in a Malaysian restaurant seeking to verify employment of a past employee. As much as I tried I could not clearly communicate what I needed. Understanding the employees frustration and mine, I communicated that I needed to speak with the manager. That worked, except the manager was not available.

So what is my point? We have to watch what we say, knowing what we say may be "colored" by our experiences, learning, and culture. We need to note how it influences our communication across cultural, sectional, regional, and international lines.

Language is fun, ENJOY!

An Interesting Occurrence

An interesting occurrence is happening. I am unemployed now for approximately 5 months. I took on a temporary job contacting employers verifying employment of employees seeking loans. While the work is interesting. The people we speak with often fascinating and revealing, this is not what is interesting.

Having read an interesting study in my work as corporate trainer (I wish I could properly quote the study or comment) it identified the most important word to people. You know something that is important to us, something to which we pay special. Any ideas? That word is your name. We like to hear our name spoken.

Now what is really interesting is the fact that in many of the phone calls made daily I find that people, over 40% do not identify themselves by name. Not only do people answering the phone do not identify themselves, the voice mail messages to leave a message are done very fast so it is difficult, near impossible to identify who they are.

We love to hear our name, it is the one important work that makes us feel good, yet we don't permit it to be used.

Interesting.