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7 Secrets of Successful Training  Keep these principles in mind when you are preparing and delivering training and you will and you will be well on the way to training success. View 2010 International Holidays If you are planning to visit, or planning events in other countries, it’s a good idea to have some basic information about the country and to be aware of when the national holidays occur. This resource gives information for more than 40 countries.
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Beyond the Learning Log Keeping a learning log or journal is good for learning and continuous professional development, but let’s face it — they’re a real pain to fill in. This article looks at more interesting and rewrding alternatives to conventional learning logs. View Brainstorming Brainstorming is an idea-generating technique pioneered by Alex Osborn. Learn about the uses, rules and different types of Brainstorming. View Brainwriting Brainwriting is an idea-generating technique that works well with large groups and combines the features of the various approaches to brainstorming. Mostly used for working on a shared problem, brainwriting is also useful when individuals have different problems that would benefit from group input and advice. £1.00 (PDF, 2 pages 74KB). Business Card Creator (Beta) Produces a simple business card from information you supply on a web-based form. This resource is under development - we'll let you know when it becomes available. Business Jargon Generator Been stuck for words at a business meeting? Let this 'Business Jargon Generator' do the work for you. View Buying and Selling on eBay  An all-encompassing guide that provides nuts-and-bolts strategies and ideas to build a successful Net Auction business. Sydney Johnston, a well-respected Net Auction expert, shares her knowledge, experience and expertise so that anyone can get up and running in the right direction... fast! ('Make Your Net Auction Sell' - a SiteSell eBook) View/Download Cause and Effect Diagram The 'Cause and Effect Diagram' (also known as the 'Ishikawa Diagram' or 'Fish Bone Diagram') is a popular technique for analysing problem causes in which a diagram, with the appearance of a fish bone, is constructed. This resource shows how to construct a cause and effect diagram and gives real-life examples of how it is used. £2.95 (PDF, 3 pages 15KB). Choosing a Training and Conference Centre A good starting point for choosing a training or conference centre is our Training and Conference Center Directory, but however you find a centre, you are strongly recommended to visit the centre and conduct your own survey before making any bookings. A survey should concentrate on... View Classical Organisation Theory Classical organization represents one of the earliest efforts to develop a theory of management. Many of the principles of this system originated in ancient Roman military structure, and have been modified for the purpose of modern industry. £2.95 (PDF, 3 pages 190KB). Also see: Business and Management Books
Life Coaching Consensus This is a briefing which gives groups guidelines on how to achieve consensus. It also includes a consensus exercise and a consensus effectiveness questionnaire. £2.95 (PDF, 3 pages, 13KB). Contingency Planning When you make plans you assume that everything will go right. Of course, the real world has a habit of challenging the best laid of plans. Whatever could possibly go wrong often does - at the worst possible time. It is for this reason that contingency planning should be an element of every plan. £2.95 (PDF, 4 pages 10KB). Also see: Contingency Planning Books Credit Card Processing A guide to how you can accept credits cards and other forms of payment on your website. Updated to include Google Checkout. View Dates 'Dates' is a small program which gives the day of the week for: any given date, New Year's Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day as well as the date for: Easter Sunday, May Bank Holiday, Spring Bank Holiday and August Bank Holiday. View Day of the Week 'Day of the Week' is a short article which shows you how to work out the ‘day of the week’ for any date. View Dealing with Difficult Behaviour People sometimes behave in various difficult ways during workshops, meetings and training sessions. Dealing with them is a matter of judgement and experience, as are most training skills. Learn about the most effective techniques for dealing with difficult behaviour. £2.95 (PDF, 4 pages, 43KB). Decision-Making Styles You may have been using a benchmark decision-making process and your thinking may have been faultless, but you still hit problems: you were overtaken by events; you were unaware of a vital piece of information; the decision was not implemented. The cause of these problems can often be traced to using the wrong decision-making style. £2.95 (PDF, 2 pages, 13KB). Declaration on Learning Eight authorities on learning: John Burgoyne, Ian Cunningham, Bob Garratt, Peter Honey, Andrew Mayo, Alan Mumford, Michael Pearn and Mike Pedler have got together to produce 'A Declaration on Learning' which documents their common beliefs and stimulates a debate which will take learning into the 21st century. View Definition of Learning When dealing with training or the concept of the learning organization, it is useful to have a working definition of learning. Learning is like time: we all know what it is until we have to define it. This article goes back to basics to find a working definition of learning. View Delphi Consultation Process In antiquity, Delphi, a village in central Greece, was the principal sanctuary and oracle of the god Apollo. Today, we no longer seek the answers to momentous questions from priestesses. Instead, we turn to consultants or experts. But we don't seem to have the same level of confidence in our experts as the ancient Greeks had in their oracles. The Delphi consultation process provides a method for helping experts (and others) home-in on a high quality, agreed conclusion. £2.95 (PDF, 3 pages, 53KB). Developing and Delivering Training Learn how to develop and deliver a training session. This resource describes how to define the subject, describe the aims, obtain subject matter expertise, describe the students, identify course content, structure course content, write objectives and tests, choose methods and media, write a trainer's guide, prepare visual aids and student materials, pilot the session, prepare for the session, present the course, and handle yourself in the classroom. £4.95 (PDF, 21 pages, 89K). Discussion Leading Discussion leading is an important tool for trainers and facilitators. Presentation is good for new facts but when the knowledge is within the group and high commitment to the outcome is needed, it is difficult to beat a good discussion. Learn about the uses of discussion leading techniques, how to use discussions appropriately to contribute to the achievement of training and meeting objectives, and how to plan and organize discussion sessions. £4.95 (PDF, 17 pages, 113KB). Dressed to Train One of the problems that trainers and facilitators face is what level of clothing should they wear when they are in front of a group. This short article covers: guidelines for what to wear; choosing the right dress code and being comfortable with what you wear. £1.00 (PDF, 2 pages, 7KB). Effective Reading Day by day, as a busy schedule consumes more and more of your time, a pile of reading material steadily mounts up. You may feel increasingly guilty because these remain unread and that may not be keeping up to date or doing your job properly. Reading effectively is an essential skill and this resource covers: categorising reading matter, improving your reading and useful hints. £2.95 (PDF, 4 pages, 11KB). Eliza, your personal coach The original Eliza was an early, classic example of artificial intelligence. Tell Eliza your problems and ask her for her advice. This implementation © 2003 MWLS. View Elusive Easter Easter is one of the trickiest holidays when it comes to planning training and it can catch out even the most wary. This article describes how the date for Easter was fixed, how to calculate the dates for Easter, and the dates for Easter up to 2016. View Employment Data Key data on topics such as the minimum wage, maternity pay and statutory redundancy. View Feedback Analysis This resource is an Excel spreadsheet (25 KB) that analyses the responses of students to questions about a course by calculating the average response and drawing a graph to show the spread of responses for each of the questions. It also includes a paper (PDF, 3 pages, 17 KB) on what the different spreads produced by these graphs mean. £4.95 Five Whys This is a good method for getting to the root causes of a problem. The article includes suggestions for using this technique with a group and an example exercise. View The Fog Factor I was reading a service engineers' job profile which assumed a reading ability of an average 16 year old. We all want our materials to match our students, but how do you assess readability and adapt your style to match a given reading age? Fortunately, it is possible to adapt your style to suit readers of varying age and education. You can even do it by numbers. Learn how to assess the minimum age and educational level for which a text is suitable - we even give you access to a web page that will calculate the Fog Factor for you. £2.95 (PDF, 2 pages, 8KB). Force-Field Analysis A force-field diagram allows you to analyse the forces which help and hinder you from closing the gap between where you are now and where you want to be. Because it deals with current and desired situations, force-field analysis is particularly useful in generating solutions in problem solving and developing strategies for change management. £2.95 (PDF, 3 pages, 14KB). Gantt Chart Spreadsheet The best way to produce Gantt charts is, of course, to use specialist project management software such as Microsoft Office Project, but these programs can be very expensive. An alternative is to use a spreadsheet to construct a Gantt chart. Given some patience and this example spreadsheet and notes, you will be able to produce Gantt charts which are both economical and professional looking. £4.95 (Excel, 36 KB). Gantt Charting Gantt charts were invented by Henry Gantt and are used for scheduling projects. This resource shows you how to construct a Gantt chart and how to use them for scheduling, progress tracking and project management. £2.95 (PDF, 4 pages 26KB). Giving Feedback Giving feedback is a powerful tool used by facilitators, trainers and managers. Used properly feedback can enhance individual development, but used ineptly it can be highly destructive. Learn about what feedback is, the different types of feedback, the characteristics of good feedback and how to deliver effective feedback. £2.95 (PDF, 2 pages, 13KB). Google Checkout Integration A guide to integrating UK shopping carts with Google Checkout. View How to Ensure You Receive Important Emails Increasingly, ISPs are using filtering systems to try and keep spam out of customers' inboxes. Unfortunately, the filters are often very coarse and sometimes they accidentally filter the email that you want to receive. Here are some tips to help you receive your emails. View How to Ensure Your Customers Receive Important Emails Increasingly, ISPs are using filtering systems to try and keep spam out of customers' inboxes. Unfortunately, the filters are often very coarse and sometimes they accidentally filter the email that your customers want to receive. Here are some tips to help your customers receive your emails. View How to Forget Bad Memories A University of Colorado study shows that, with enough practice, people can develop the ability to suppress emotional memories. This has implications for those suffering from conditions ranging from post-traumatic stress disorder to depression. View How We Make Good Decisions with Poor Information Every day we make thousands of decisions based on imperfect information. Now, in a study of rhesus monkeys, a team of researchers from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) at the University of Washington has observed primates making decisions based on the probabilities of getting a good outcome. View Human Relations Theory In the 1930s, the human relations movement challenged the scientific management theories of Taylor by emphasising the human dimension of management. Ironically, it was scientific studies that eventually gave rise to theories which opposed scientific management… £2.95 (PDF, 3 pages 65KB). ISBN Lookup This resource checks whether a given 10-digit ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is valid and displays the information held on the number. It also give you the opportunity of going to the relevant Amazon page and or earching for the number through Google. View Johari Window The process of communicating - of transacting with others - is one of the most important elements of our lives. The Johari Window, which is described in this resource, is a way of looking at relationships and the communication process. £4.95 (PDF, 8 pages 509KB). Keeping Meetings on Track Do you have trouble keeping your meetings on track? Does it seem that your meetings suffer from some unidentified infection? Don’t despair - this resource could be just the antidote you’re looking for. £2.95 (PDF, 2 pages, 9KB). Kipling Method of Problem Analysis Once a problem has been identified and defined, the next step is to analyse the problem to determine the root causes. The Kipling method of problem analysis provides a good starting point for doing this. £1.00 (PDF, 1 page 22KB). Know Your Health Data There are some numbers you need to know in order to stay healthy - but which ones - and how high or low should they be before you need to take action? This article is intended to help you make sense medical test results. View Surplus and Adventure Problems: Lessons for Online Buyers and Sellers This article provides advice for online buyers and sellers. The advice is based on lessons learnt and is illustrated with a real-life case study. View
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