Ask, Not Tell

The photo on the left is my ‘training’ bag which contains all my training goodies. I think I should switch to a trolley bag since I am having more and more stuff!!

• Course: A SPIN course
• Date: 22-24 April 2008
• Location: Shanghai, China
• # of Learners: 21
• I am feeling: Tired but good

I have a diverse group of learners in this SPIN class. They are from Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Ming City, Bangkok, Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Suzhou and Xiamen!! Naturally I delivered in English rather than Mandarin. Interestingly, I automatically switched to Mandarin for quite a few occasions. It was only after a few seconds when I realized that I was speaking in Mandarin. It is bizarre since my mother tongue is Cantonese. If there is any language which I would speak most unconsciously, it should be Cantonese.

I think I have been conducting too much class in Mandarin. It is so much that my ‘default training language’ is now Mandarin!!

On the other hand, I find myself more and more ‘natural’ in the SPIN delivery. For example, a few simple and personal examples come to me on spot during the delivery. They help to illustrate the concepts well. For example, my own car buying experience for the ‘Buying Cycle’, marriage (not my own!!) for the ‘Implementation Dip’…. It is fun and I love to find new analogies to convey my messages better!!!

Step 2 Factor the strongly-related personal interests (SRPI) in the presentation topic

Avoid the boring topic like ‘Briefing on the latest credit policies’. Be creative. Think of something bearing in mind the personal interests you spot in Step 1 above. We got to magnify the SRPI. For the ‘credit policies’ example, the topic could be ‘Top 10 tips about credit policies to make you go home earlier’. Read more

In my last presentation class, when we discussed the idea of WIIFM, a learner asked:

‘I am responsible for updating the Relationship Managers (“RMs”) with the latest credit policies. We need the RMs to comprehend them in order to better protect the bank’s interest. However, as you can understand, they often see the policies as the boring stuff. After all, the policies are full of dry and detailed facts. The RMs did come to my presentation but without paying much attention. They showed up late (if they did show up at all) and got bored very quickly. I sometimes doubt whether it is a waste of time for them and myself….’ Read more

An unforgettable experience I just had in Beijing. I arrived in Beijing the day before the 2 days training. I went straight to the training venue – a new training room. The room did surprise me a lot, not because it is new, but because of something else.

• Course: A presentation skills course
• Date: 15-16 April 2008
• Location: Beijing, China
• # of Learners: 10
• I am feeling: Really bad in the beginning

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This is a follow-up post to my last 2 which are also about business simulation. I talked about my recent experience in a board game type simulation in the first one, and discussed ‘Why Business Simulation’ on the second one. Let me share my thought on the trainer aspect. How important is a trainer in a business simulation? And if important, what specific quality is needed for a business simulation trainer? Read more