By Susan Lowman-Thomas, Human Resource Officer
Idaho Division of Veterans Services
December 16, 2007
Agenda - Always have a set agenda that folks get in advance. Make sure people know what will be discussed and how important their involvement is.
Benefits – Show people how they’ll benefit from attending the session…then make sure they do.
Contest – Let competition spice up the meeting. Have a contest related to the topic (guess the number of call-ins last week). Give a prize.
Distinctive – Make the meeting different from others, by making sure it isn’t tedious, uncomfortable, or irrelevant to those attending.
Energized – Create a “buzz” when folks walk in by playing peppy music and having freshly brewed, good coffee.
Fun – Give people a reason to come back by making the meeting fun. Use games like Tic Tac Toe, Bingo, pick-up-sticks to get folks involved.
Gifts – Present someone a gift in the meeting for special things done for the group. It can be as simple as a candy bar, a bookmark, or a greeting card.
Hands-on – Involvement increases exponentially when the hands are moving. Use drawings, diagrams, modeling clay or other tools to help turn ideas into actions.
Intrigue – Create a sense of anticipation when telling folks about an upcoming meeting. Send out notices that build suspense. (i.e., “What unit manager has had the lowest turnover for three consecutive quarters? Find out on Tuesday at 10:00!”)
Jokes – Use comedy (not mean or disrespectful, of course) to lighten a meeting. Riddles are great for involving folks.
Kit – Build and maintain a meeting “kit” of supplies (markers, large paper for the wall, Post-its, scratch pads, small toys). Always be ready for a fun session.
Legos – Toys like Legos can be used in lots of ways to focus people, strengthen teams, harness creativity, or tame nervous energy. Go in your kids’ rooms for ideas.
Memories – Create a memory for each person attending. Make your greeting and introduction of each individual really special. Praise each person for a unique contribution he/she has made.
Nice– Be nice to every single person throughout every single meeting. Even if they are getting paid to attend, they still deserve your best treatment.
Opportunity – Provide opportunities for growth at all your meetings. Give folks a chance to show how they can solve problems.
Punctuality – Always, always start and end on time. The meter’s really running when folks are in a meeting. Don’t spend more than you have to.
Quick – Make your meeting only as long as it absolutely has to be. Stand-up or walk around meetings are super, as they invite brief statements rather than long diatribes.
Rewards – Give each person an intellectual or emotional reward for attending your meeting. A piece of chocolate is also a good reward!
Sales – Remember to use a sales strategy for a meeting. Be sure to answer each person’s question of “What’s in it for me?” Make the benefits of the meeting very clear (“Today’s session should give us at least one new tool for responding effectively to the concerns of this resident’s family.”)
Teach – Employees really like jobs that help them learn. Try to teach something new in each meeting.
Understand – Remember that, when folks are sitting in a meeting, they are not getting their other work done. Understand that they may be feeling pressure to get out of the meeting and “back to work.”
Variety – Shoot for varied locations, leaders, lengths, strategies, and follow-ups for your meetings. Avoid getting into a trap of “the same ole’ thing.”
Web-based – Web-based sessions joining folks in different locations (on their computers and phones) are incredibly effective and efficient. Other meetings can be energized by hooking an on-line computer to a projector and using applicable websites during the meeting.
X-ray – Dig deeper than the surface when exploring issues in a meeting. Use your x-ray vision to identify underlining causes and possible solutions.
Yearning – Create a sense of yearning by making your meetings truly remarkable. Make people WANT to come to them because they’re brief, fun, and productive.
Zippy – Make your meeting zippy, marked by a fast-paced agenda and high energy. Get yourself in the mind-set with peppy music and a commitment to making someone’s day very special!
Big Sky Beginnings: Core of Discovery is the theme for this year’s NAGTAD Conference in Helena, Montana. August 19-22, 2007 are the dates you want to set aside - NOW! Helena is nestled east of the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains; the town sets the scene for a great conference and for an outstanding family summer vacation. For more information on Helena, or Montana, visit http://helenacvb.visitmt.com/ or http://www.visitmt.com/.
A great addition to this year’s conference is a “pre-conference” on Saturday, August 18th. “Rapid eLearning Development Using Flashform Rapid eLearning Studio” is the topic and it will be presented by Rapid Intake. What a great reason to come to Montana early – get immersed in the beauty of the mountains and learn more about creating eLearning! For more details on that event, check out our Home Page.
We will be featuring two learning tracks during parts of the conference. One track will be geared to technical training issues, the other to concepts and foundational ideas. Participants are welcome to go between tracks throughout the conference.
Topics included in this year’s conference are: succession planning, training fun-damentals, managing training in an employee focused environment, generational issues, change issues, male/female communications, team games, and building a commitment to training. In addition, there will be dedicated time for networking and resource sharing.
Tuesday afternoon we will take our conference on the road with a trip ‘up river’ to the Gates of the Mountains. We will take the boat to the Meriwether Lewis Campgrounds for an afternoon session with a visit from Lewis and Clark who will tell us about the training challenges they faced on their famous Corps of Discovery journey. We will return to the Gates of the Mountains Pavilion for dinner before returning to Helena. You may view the beautiful Gates of the Mountains at http://www.gatesofthemountains.com. For those of you who may be hesitant about boating, the boats are wide and extremely stable. The Missouri River is slow-moving and calm.
A new feature for people who cannot physically attend the Conference is the opportunity to participate in an “online conference”. Jane Bozarth, famed lecturer and author, will be keynoting, addressing the topic ‘TrainerSmarts.’ This keynote invites you to examine the facets of your job you love, explore ways of making optimal use of your talents and gifts, and identify ideas for developing your secondary strengths. She will also model presenting soft-skills training with technology (in this case via InSynctraining, experts in synchronous learning). Three other topics will be available ‘online’ throughout the conference. The online participants will be able to access a total of four presentations, sharing resource ideas, conference photos, and participating in a conference chat-room. The cost to participate in just this piece of the conference is $275. We hope that this ‘online option’ will keep you connected to NAGTAD resources, even if you can’t join us in the mountains.
Don’t miss this opportunity to network, learn new things, and gather new resources. Don’t hesitate – register NOW for the Pre-Conference, the Online Conference, or the full Conference!
Feedback from NAGTAD Members has resulted in a change on the NAGTAD website. We have removed the password protection so you can more easily move about the website and access information more quickly. NAGTAD members’ names and states will still be listed online, but contact information will not be.
If you are a NAGTAD member or vendor and you want the contact information for other members, email go2nagtad@cableone.net and the Association’s Executive Director will email you that information.
Challenged? Frustrated? Need a resource? If you are a NAGTAD member, send an email to go2nagtad@cableone.net and describe specifically what resource you need. The Association’s Executive Director will blast an email with your request to the membership and your request will be posted on the website. One of the greatest benefits of your NAGTAD membership is the opportunity to network and share resources!
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