October 05 - Training Update
Web Seminar interest, Smart or Bright, Star performers, Tip improvement, Revenue Management, Coffee knowlege, Using maps and encyclopedias...
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Maintaining interest in Web Seminars
This caught my eye, having sat through a 'webinar' recently with an aching ear and arm (forgot to organise a speaker-phone).
Claudyne Wilder in her monthly newsletter gives tips for keeping interest alive in a webcast. Her useful website and newsletter covers the better use of Powerpoint, often used to prepare the visual segment of webcasts using Microsoft's popular new Live Meeting.
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Stupid, Smart or Bright?
These terms often bring up emotions for your students/learners/attendees, based on their experience of schooling. Stephanie Burns, great teacher and educator of trainers, has a useful article on the difference, based on the work she has done with horse trainer Pat Parelli. Fascinating parallels with humans - I attended a workshop they ran together three years ago, and had the experience of crossing my own 'silly bridge' (the article explains the term) when I volunteered to be 'trained' as a horse. Felt silly, but came out much wiser...
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Turning employees into Star performers
Casey Hawley's book 201 Ways to Turn Any Employee into a Star Performer has dozens of 'problem' examples and suggested 'Interventions', including how and when to have 'The Big Talk'. Great coaching material.
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Tip-improvement training
Always the most popular session on offer - there's a great 'scientific' resource provided by Cornell's Hotel School: 14 Scientifically Tested Techniques to Increase your Tips. Available for download, distribution and discussion. Bill Marvin's 50 Tips to Improve your Tips is also a good resource.
So you've run popular sessions like this? Great - now leverage the acceptance of 'training' to introduce less sexy topics like waste-control, OH&S, service improvement etc.
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Training staff to understand Revenue Management
RM is a critical tool in the travel industry, and could be much better utilised in restaurants. And if your staff don't understand the why's and how's of it, they're unlikely to promote or defend it. As Doug Kennedy says in this excellent training article:
"While most hotels invest countless thousands of dollars each year in revenue management technology, too many still lack a formal plan for training those in the trenches who do battle daily with guests who have been well-trained by the media to negotiate aggressively."
In my own experience, staff are fascinated by concepts such as this, but most need some patient explanation, especially if numbers are not their strong suite. Then when the light-bulb comes on you've got a passionate advocate!
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Coffee trivia
It's also in the Marketing Update - Coffee Trivia is another good technique to help your staff 'get it' about coffee (or any topic). You have people on your staff who would love to research and prepare something like this.
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Maps, quotes, dictionaries, encyclopedias and sounds
Need any of these for your presentation or training? A great source of the above all in one place at Vivid Learning's website. A bit of fun if you added a sound like this at just the right time..?!?
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How to be a more successful speaker
Here's a useful checklist from Fawcette - not so much public speaking skills, but all the elements that will lead to you being invited back by organisers or a speakers bureau. The modern writing style for the instructions is also worth emulating - short words, conversational style and crystal clear.
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Restaurant Management