From the Road: Insights From Just down the Street and around the Corner
Visit the Crucial Skills blog to read Steve Willis’ latest From the Road article.
Posts by Steve Willlis
From the Road: Anxiously Awaiting August
ABOUT THE EXPERT Steve Willis is a Master Trainer and Vice President of Professional Services at VitalSmarts. READ MORE I’m writing this article, as I have many times in the past, during my plane ride home (Woo-Hoo!). However, I’m not returning from conducting a training, as is often the case, but rather from a number …
The Next Ten Minutes and Beyond!
ABOUT THE EXPERT Steve Willis is a Master Trainer and Vice President of Professional Services at VitalSmarts. READ MORE In last month’s post, I talked about those crucial first ten minutes of a session—the time when the participants decide how much attention they are going to give to you and the material. But, what about …
Your First Ten Minutes Could Be Your Last
ABOUT THE EXPERT Steve Willis is a Master Trainer and Vice President of Professional Services at VitalSmarts. READ MORE “You have about ten minutes with this group. If you don’t get them engaged in the first ten minutes, you’re done.” These were the first words out of Seth’s mouth during a phone call to prepare …
How can I help participants better understand and benefit from the summary questions at the end of each section of training?
ABOUT THE EXPERT Steve Willis is a Master Trainer and Vice President of Professional Services at VitalSmarts. READ MORE I find that participants struggle to understand what the summary questions mean at the end of each section (“What would you be seeing…that would indicate that you should use this skill set?”). What suggestions do you …
Is using sarcasm always considered a form of violence?
ABOUT THE EXPERT Steve Willis is a Master Trainer and Vice President of Professional Services at VitalSmarts. READ MORE Is using sarcasm always considered a form of violence? What about using mild sarcasm to diffuse tense situations and return to safety? This is a question I get from time to time, and for a while …
From the Road: The Introvert Convention
ABOUT THE EXPERT Steve Willis is a Master Trainer and Vice President of Professional Services at VitalSmarts. READ MORE A little while back, I showed up for a class and found myself surrounded by introverts. And not just any old introverts, I’m talking about an elite group of genetically enhanced super-introverts hand picked from across …
From the Road: Training Ritual 53-Collect Evaluations
ABOUT THE EXPERT Steve Willis is a master trainer and vice president of professional services at VitalSmarts. READ MORE I’m not a superstitious person, but I do have a set number of training rituals I adhere to. You know, things like always using a three water-cup rotation to ensure I stay hydrated, and never, never, …
How can I help participants who are creating their own change plan in Influencer Training create an actual results statement?
ABOUT THE EXPERT Steve Willis is a Master Trainer and Vice President of Professional Services at VitalSmarts. READ MORE When participants are creating their own change plan in Influencer Training, how can I help them create an actual results statement instead of getting bogged down describing vague goals or strategies? I have a question from …
From the Road: Insight from REACH 2010
ABOUT THE EXPERT Steve Willis is a master trainer and vice president of professional services at VitalSmarts. READ MORE I’m on the road training almost every week—training here, training there, training, training everywhere. So, it’s a rare and nice occasion when I can be in my home state of Utah for three or more consecutive …