When I facilitate, I engage the entire class in answering tough questions to get a variety of perspectives. However, last fall I had a new experience where my tried-and-true strategy yielded little more than uncomfortable silence.

During the class, a learner asked how the Crucial Conversations® for Mastering Dialogue skills work if someone is not in a position of power—or, in their words, “not white or cisgender.”

You could have heard a pin drop.

In that moment I wanted to protect the psychological safety in the room, respect the question, and offer valuable insight. However, while I did my best to validate the perspective of the learner, I wasn’t sure I had a great answer.

As I unpacked this experience after class had ended, I tapped into the collective wisdom of Crucial Learning subject matter experts whose opinions I value and discovered that this was not an uncommon question. Learners have posed questions around a variety of sensitive topics, from power differentials to gender differences and race to applying the skills in a context of neurodiversity.

So, as trainers, how do we answer those tough questions? My purpose today is not to answer such questions, but to provide some resources and ideas that will help you respond when you receive them.

The first resource I always consult is the “Trainer Resources” in the back of each Trainer Guide, which includes examples of difficult questions with thoughtful answers. Specifically, I consult the “Yeah, but” section of the trainer resources (see page 223 of the Crucial Conversations for Mastering Dialogue Trainer Guide).

If I am not able to find the answer there, I will look at the index in the corresponding book to examine the topic in more detail from the perspective of the book authors and researchers.

Another resource I rely on is my esteemed colleagues. Likewise, you can tap into a great source of support and knowledge within the Crucial Learning Trainers groups on both Facebook and LinkedIn. In these groups, certified trainers can pose questions and get answers from fellow certified trainers, master trainers, and Crucial Learning experts.

Here’s just one insight I gained from a colleague. If we watch closely, every video in Mastering Dialogue reflects a power differential. This is no accident, for ALL Crucial Conversations bring power differentials to the surface, whether in the form of position, gender, or race, or in the form of social status, outspokenness, or ability to articulate ideas. From the first video in Get Unstuck featuring Anya and Kim to the interaction between Danor and Jeet in Explore Others’ Paths, a power differential exists. The authors of the content always say that if the skills aren’t powerful enough to hold the toughest conversations with the toughest people, then they aren’t practical for the real world.

When learners ask tough questions, we may need to focus more on helping them see the benefit of Master My Stories, inviting them to examine their beliefs that would render them powerless. Help learners challenge the stories that may impact their dialogue in situations where they feel that some dynamic exists that would render the skills useless. As we teach the Victim, Villain, Helpless stories, we teach learners to ask, “What CAN I do to move towards what I really want?” Power differentials will always exist, but that does not necessarily mean some people are powerless. We may not be able to change or influence everything in our situation, but what conversations CAN we have? What influence IS possible? Where can we start?

The feedback I received was more than valuable. It gave me not only the answer to the difficult question I had been asked, but it also gave me a new way to both hear and answer these hard questions. While Crucial Conversations for Mastering Dialogue is not a course on diversity, equity, and inclusion, each lesson teaches us that there is a pool of shared meaning, and the aim of dialogue is to invite and allow everyone to contribute to it. In other words, everybody gets a seat at the table—regardless of race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, nationality, political viewpoint, ability, or experience. Dialogue is the goal. The skills taught in the course grant us voice. They give us power to discuss what was previously undiscussable.

For a deeper look at how Crucial Conversations skills can be leveraged as a framework to initiate and sustain conversations about race, gender, equity, and other often avoided and very necessary topics, check out our November 2023 trainer webinar, Connecting DE&I with Dialogue: Leveraging Crucial Conversations Skills for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Initiatives.

The post Responding to Questions about Power, Race, Gender, and More appeared first on Crucial Learning.

He challenged me to facilitate the same session again in half the time—not by speaking faster but by embracing an economy of words. I stumbled through the next round, trying to convey my message while keeping an eye on the clock.

Although I didn’t succeed in teaching the session in half the time, the experience left me with a profound appreciation for the power of brevity.

This newfound awareness compelled me to pay closer attention to how others communicated. It was both enlightening and, at times, painful to witness public speakers who rambled on and on, failing to “land the plane.” In these moments, I discovered three fundamental truths about effective communication: the brilliance of brevity, the confidence of conviction, and the humility to stand in silence.

The Brilliance of Brevity
The brilliance of brevity lies in its ability to convey thoughts and emotions using the fewest and most precise words possible. This can be challenging, especially when speaking to an audience. As a teacher, I often find myself tempted to include stories to illustrate my points. While this can be effective in forging connections, it’s crucial to avoid following tangents, adding in anecdotes, and losing sight of the intended message.

Like all communication, a story is more powerful when the message is clear. What was at stake? What was the conflict? What’s the big idea? Learning how to tell powerful stories that connect learners to the content is a valuable skill and one that we can improve when we focus on brevity.

I often think of this quote attributed to Mark Twain, “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” Brevity is more work. It requires us to zero in on the key point we want to make and stay focused.

The Confidence of Conviction
Confidence is closely intertwined with brevity. At the headquarters of news outlet Axios, a sign boldly states, “Brevity is confidence. Length is fear.” Using the economy of words process compels me to evaluate my thoughts and feelings, asking whether I’m confident enough to express my message concisely. Longer doesn’t mean better.

Conviction can be found in preparation. What is the point of the exercise I am leading? What skill do I want learners to build? If I understand not only the content but also the intent of the material I am presenting, I can be bold in my delivery.

The Humility to Stand in Silence
Humility is often misunderstood. I was raised with the understanding that to be humble was to be self-deprecating. I have come to understand that true humility is the partner of confidence. I need to be confident enough to express my thoughts with brevity, and humble enough to be still and listen to others share their views.

As facilitators and thought leaders, we may be tempted to fill silences during training sessions, interjecting more words when faced with awkward pauses. We must resist this impulse. When we stand in that beautiful space of confidence and humility, we make it safe for others to do the same.

I continue to work on my ability to be concise. In written form this requires work but is aided by word-counting technology. We can easily keep track of how many words we have used and delete or rewrite as needed. For those of us honored with the job of leading participants through life-changing training, this chore is a little more challenging but can be accomplished in powerful ways.

We embrace the power of brevity when we choose the one thing we want to say, say it with conviction, and stand in a state of humility by embracing moments of silence.

The post The Power of Brevity appeared first on Crucial Learning.

Like many others, I spent the remainder of 2020 figuring out how to adapt to an unexpected and radical change.  For many years I had delivered training solely in person. As it did for so many people, the pandemic fundamentally changed the way I needed to do my job.

The chaos of those early days of the pandemic gave way to new ways of thinking about most things—work, life, and training. In many ways this worldwide disruption accelerated widespread innovation. Training teams were not exempt from the need for this paradigm shift.

While instructor-led virtual training certainly took its place as a great alternative to an in-person classroom experience, blended learning options also emerged as an effective and exciting choice.

But what is blended learning? Why does it work, and how can it be adapted to the learning journey of your organization?

What Is Blended Learning?

Blended learning is essentially a mix of instructor-led sessions (either virtually or in person) and on-demand learning. Blended learning can be deployed in a variety of ways, depending on the audience, time constraints, and learning objectives.

Accessibility and flexibility have become key components to training for employees over a wide variety of industries. Staffing shortages in healthcare, education, and manufacturing have created significant challenges for training teams. For participants in any industry with limited time to be away from their jobs, blended learning can be a great fit.

Crucial Learning’s world class on-demand courses can be paired with either virtual or in-person instructor-led discussion sessions to meet the needs of every kind of learner at every level of your organization.

Blended learning works because it meets each learner where they are both in terms of time and learning method. The flexibility of being able to access eLearning modules on one’s own time and at an individual’s preferred pace addresses the challenge of accommodating differing personal schedules and learning styles. This focus on the needs of individual learning allows the instructor to keep participants engaged and motivated and allows for both confidence building and personal connection.

Blended Learning and Your Learning Journey

As our learning experiences have evolved and changed over the last three years, so have our learning journeys changed. Gone are the one-size-fits all approaches to development. They’ve been replaced with an adaptable set of resources designed to make learning “sticky.” Blended learning can be a key piece to high-impact training implementation in your organization. But how do you launch this exciting training format? What steps should you take, and what things should you consider?

First, begin with the end in mind. What does “done” look like? What skills do your learners need, and how much time can they devote to building those skills?

Next, determine how and at what cadence your facilitated sessions should occur. Will these be in-person or virtual? Weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly? How long will your learners have access to on-demand lessons?

Finally, determine who will be leading those sessions. Will this be a seasoned facilitator, a team manager, or an opinion leader?

Once you have made those decisions, it’s time to launch your blended learning experience. The way you begin this training will have a profound impact on your level of engagement and success. In other words, your kickoff session is key.

During this first gathering, set expectations for participation and attendance. Ask an executive to join you during the first session. This will give credibility to your blended learning initiative.

Now more than ever your learners look to you for help and support in getting results both inside and outside the organization. Implementing a blended learning approach to personal and professional development can help your learners achieve the goals that create lasting behavior change.

The post The High Impact of Blended Learning: An Updated Approach to Your Learning Journey appeared first on Crucial Learning.

One of the most powerful skills I’ve learned in my training career is how to set up an activity. This may seem like a relatively easy task, but if not done well, it can leave learners confused and frustrated, which in turn leaves them feeling less than inspired to participate.

I learned long ago how to avoid the pitfalls that can happen when participants don’t understand both the what and how of an activity, thanks to a challenging life experience for which I’m very grateful.

My youngest son was diagnosed with severe dyslexia when he was in first grade. I quickly learned there are multiple kinds of dyslexia, each with its own unique characteristics. My son’s particular variety had to do with sequencing. If you can’t put things in order, reading is nearly impossible, as are other sequential functions like telling time or identifying days of the week.

This inability to sequence also had implications when I gave him instructions. For example, I could not say, “Get your socks and shoes on, get your jacket, and get in the car.” That was way too many steps in a sequence! And so because he could not figure out where to begin, he simply did nothing.

As I began my career in an adult learning environment, I experienced some of the same challenges in sequencing I’d experienced with my son. High-impact activities help learners connect the dots, but those big ah-ha moments can be lost when learners aren’t sure what they are supposed to be doing during an activity… so they do nothing.

Until my son was about 13, I learned that I could only give him one instruction at a time. This was exceptional practice for being an effective trainer!

If an in-person class activity requires people to work in groups of two, my experience has been simply telling participants to get in groups of two may prompt them to look at the instructor like they have suddenly begun speaking an unknown language and simply freeze.

The reason for this varies—it could be anxiety about choosing a partner, feeling left out, or simply being an introvert. If we want participants to perform a task (choosing a partner) we not only need to tell them what to do but also how we want them to do it.

As I learned with my son, activities are more fun, have higher impact, and land much more effectively when participants are given one instruction at a time.

So what does this look like in practice?

Let’s use the example of the “Share Your Good Intent” exercise from Crucial Conversations for Mastering Dialogue’s Start With Heart module. Here’s how those instructions might sound:

Everyone stand up.

Now, go stand next to someone you do not know well.

Decide very quickly who will be Person A and who will be Person B.

Person A, raise your hand.

You will prepare a statement of good intent for Situation #1 and will share it with your partner.

Person B, raise your hand.

When Person A is finished, you will prepare a statement of good intent for Situation #2 and will share it with your partner.

Are there any questions?

By telling your participants not only what you want them to do but also giving them a clear instruction on how you want them to accomplish that task, you create direction and structure in your training that not only eliminates confusion but also gives you credibility as an exceptional facilitator.

My son has long since moved beyond the need for one instruction at a time, but that lesson continues to resonate with me. I count the value of that skill among my most successful facilitation best practices.

The post Step-by-Step Instructions Help Learners Succeed appeared first on Crucial Learning.

I lost my mom in 2017 and think of her often while I’m working. That might seem like a strange thought to carry with me during my sometimes hectic workdays, but the significance of my mom’s career in healthcare—and its impact on my own—is not lost on me, especially now, when the stakes are higher than they have ever been.

On Tuesday, April 12th, Crucial Learning will launch Crucial Conversations for Mastering Dialogue Healthcare. This new course features videos, scenarios, and exercises specific to the challenges healthcare professionals face. All of the content has been updated to reflect a modern and diverse workforce.

Now, when helping your learners Get Unstuck, you will help them see the need through watching Karina, a nurse leader, discuss a staffing concern with her supervisor.

You’ll also recognize familiar exercises like the Angry Accountant that are adapted to a healthcare setting. Seek Mutual Purpose is taught through the lens of Charla, a nurse with seniority, debating with fellow nurse Troy, who gets to take time off for a holiday.

While previewing this much-needed training, I thought of my friend who recently found herself at the ER with her husband, who has been battling cancer.

Sarah and Mike (not their real names) went into this visit expecting outpatient treatment for a simple infection.

After arriving at the ER, emotions began running high for both Sarah and the ER doctor. In a moment of frustration, Sarah posted on social media, describing the tense situation and saying she had made the doctor very angry.

Many of Sarah’s friends were quick to come to her defense with comments like, “You have to be a loud advocate! That’s the only way to make doctors hear you!”

There was, however, one detractor. Someone who has been an ER doctor wrote, “I may be in the minority, but this is my advice. Forget it, then take the ‘high road.’ Everyone in medicine is overstressed and overworked. If you happen to see that ER doc again, treat her with kindness and compassion. She will become your ally. You need all the allies you can get at this point.”

Sarah’s experience is like thousands of others that have happened and continue to happen in hospitals and doctor offices everywhere. In fact, Press Ganey, an organization dedicated to gathering and evaluating patient satisfaction data, reports that the average patient’s score for their hospital experience has fallen by 4% since the beginning of the pandemic.

Healthcare workers are tired and scared. Patients are tired and scared. Conversations are highly charged in so many ways.

As I read through comments on my friend’s social media post, I immediately thought how both Sarah and the doctor were reacting—both feeling unsafe, both unable to successfully share their meaning.

How would this outcome have been different if just one of them had Crucial Conversations skills?

I smiled just a little because I knew the answer. I found joy in knowing that the people who will attend your classes will see these familiar interactions and learn skills for how to better handle them. 

To get started, log in to Trainer Zone and navigate to the Crucial Conversations for Mastering Dialogue page. On April 12—launch day—you will find a new tab on the page labeled Healthcare. There you will find several new healthcare-specific assets for download, along with the standard content you’ll need to facilitate the course. The updated healthcare items are clearly labeled for your convenience.

You will also be able to add the updated healthcare version to your VIP from the VIP page.

Sarah, Mike, the ER doc, patients, and healthcare workers everywhere all have one thing in common: they need dialogue skills in order to meaningfully communicate in the face of disagreement, in crucial moments, when it matters most. Using this powerful course and supporting tools, you can help them do just that.

The post Announcing a New Course for Healthcare appeared first on Crucial Learning.

As we began our journey, we decided not to go very far from home, opting to spend more time enjoying whatever destination we chose. Along the way we spotted a billboard for a highly recommended restaurant about 30 miles away. We decided to splurge on dinner and use that as the anchor for our getaway.

Destination decided, we had a great day adventuring in the area, finding shops in small rural communities and making discoveries close enough to home to be enjoyed again. At the end of the day, we drove up to the entrance to the rustic but elegant dining room, excited about sampling an eclectic and upscale menu.

The restaurant was closed for remodeling.

Our entire day had been planned around this location and this end goal. We sat for a minute looking at the darkened windows and the rather cheerful “See you soon” sign, wondering what to do next. What to do now that our plans (poorly laid as they were) had radically changed?

The short end of that story is that we got dinner—at the local Dairy Queen. While filling, it was not the glorious ending to our day we had envisioned.

Rolling out high-impact training and realizing effective behavior change in an organization is a journey. Planning carefully and having a clear goal in mind at the outset will give you not only improved performance but will also help you reach those destinations most important to your organization.

The first step is to understand your why. Knowing that you have made a difference in your organization is what drives good trainers to become great facilitators—and that often starts with understanding the answer to these four questions:

• Why are you bringing the content to your organization?
• What business outcomes do you want to achieve?
• How does the course tie into your organization’s initiatives?
• What are your organization’s biggest needs?

As you evaluate the answers to these questions, chances are your responses will relate to skill acquisition, organization initiatives, or culture change.

Once you have determined your why, it’s time to create an action plan. The strategic decisions in your plan are very likely the most important and should be centered around people (the who), marketing (the how), and course delivery (the where).

We often get excited about taking off on that proverbial road trip without a clear map or having verified the destination. Be patient at the decision-making step! This is your map.

When my husband and I started on our trip, we chose a very haphazard approach. While this sounded fun at the time, the lack of clear decision making and strategic planning left us scratching our heads at the end of the day. For training programs to be effective, you need to make careful, thoughtful decisions with a clear end in mind. This will provide a return on expectations to savor at the end of the journey.

Once you’ve made decisions (with support from your key stakeholders), you’re ready to make it happen.

This is the fun part! This is standing in the classroom and greeting your participants. This is watching people engaged in a virtual poll or come back from a breakout session saying that they wished they had more time to talk. This is the part that gives every trainer I know that “fizz.”

But as enjoyable as this part is, it too requires thoughtful preparation.

Whether you are facilitating in person or virtually, it is important to have a checklist and to practice. Even very experienced trainers sometimes forget their clicker or misplace their laptop charger. Having a tried-and-true checklist and running through your presentation at least three times will give you the foundation to confidently deliver your course, whether you have taught once or hundreds of times.

You have created a great map, you know your destination, you have made it happen—your participants have carried you out of the room on their shoulders as the hero of the day. Now what? How do you make it stick?

Without follow up, sustaining the skills learned can be like the restaurant closed for remodeling. You were hoping for high-end cuisine and got a burger and fries instead.

Ensure that your investment of time, energy, and training dollars achieves the desired impact with after-training resources, engaging mini-learning sessions, and effective measurement. Measurement is where you can connect outcomes back to your purpose. Did the map you created get you to your destination? Were all the lights on when you arrived? Did you get to savor the product of all your hard work?

The end of that spontaneous road trip with my husband, while comical, was not what we had hoped for—but it was a direct reflection of what we had planned. Learning and development professionals have enormous influence in organizations. It is in carefully and thoughtfully planning a high-impact learning journey that we move from good courses to great training experiences with the power to change lives.

For additional help planning your learning journey, check out our implementation guide.

The post Maps, Paths, and Destinations: How to Plan for a Successful Learning Journey appeared first on Crucial Learning.