If you have spent any time in the Kronos training world, whether delivering or developing training, you have probably experienced a rut. What is it? Well, dictionary.com describes it as a fixed or established mode of procedure or course of life, usually dull or unpromising.
Man, I have to say that I have never been depressed by a definition before. How do you get into a rut? That is easy, you
find a way to present, or write that works for you. You get good feedback, so you keep going, and going, and going. Before you know it, you are writing this stuff, or worse yet, presenting this stuff in your sleep. I know I'm in a rut when the following occurs:
Anticipation - More than just a Carly Simon song (am I dating myself here?) I can anticipate the specific questions I will get at a certain part of a presentation. Now, this isn't always a bad thing, but I will usually work to answer these questions before they are asked. When that starts happening, I know I am knee deep in the muddy.
Drifting - I also know I am getting in a rut when I take the time to present properly, pay close attention to the feedback I am getting from my participants, but I still find myself thinking of other things than what I am doing...you know, drifting. When you start to drift, you are asking for problems. So you know it's time to make some changes.
Boredom - Every three years, my wife changes the decor in one of our kids rooms. We have three kids, so she is changing decor in a room a year. I don't know why three years seems to work, all I know is that it does. I look at my presentations the same way. Every so often, I get bored, so it's time to change it up.
So how do you change it?
Well, everyone goes about it a different way, but here are some ideas that seem to work for me.
Start with the little stuff - Change your examples, stories or analogies. I really like to work with analogies. I often take examples from my life, a work experience, or something I saw or heard. Regardless, if the analogy works well, I will use it. There are lots of ways to convey meaning. By working to find better ones, I am understanding the topic better, and hopefully, conveying the idea better.
Change the way you do things (a little) - Now I am not suggesting that you completely change the way you teach or the way you write, but I am suggesting a slight change. If you are a podium trainer, try walking around a little. Don't be afraid to walk behind your participants to see what they are doing. Maybe you are a little bit of a lecturer; break that down and ask more questions. Don't change too much, just a little and see where it takes you. At the very least, you will be focused on your presentation.
There must be order, but in what order? - My grandma had a cellar in which she would store her canned fruits and vegetables, fresh carrots, potatoes and other stuff. It was fun for me as a kid because I could see all of the different cans, so well organized, and so clean. Some years, things would change. Maybe the peaches were on the top shelf, and next year it was the cherries. I never could tell. I often think of this when designing my curriculum. So, do I have navigation in the introduction, or is it a stand alone section? Should I talk about scheduling first, or the timecard? How in depth do I get into hyper-find queries? All good questions. As an instructor, you have a great amount of freedom to do what you feel is best. Don't be afraid to move things around if they make sense to you in that matter. The key is that you need to cover all of the material. I would also suggest that when moving topics around, keep the participants in mind and make sure it makes sense to them.
Just remember to keep it fresh, for you and your participants.
Good luck with your Kronos training presentation.
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