Some trainers use PowerPoint or Keynote exceptionally well, others do not like to use PowerPoint, and others do not use it well. If you are going to use it be sure to put in the time to build an engaging presentation then strive to continually enhance how you use this aide in your training to enhance the learning experience.  Some trainers use a lot of videos, some of us use very few. Be selective about the videos you use, spend time to reflect on why you are using the videos you do, be clear on what the key learning points and takeaways are and then make sure regardless of how many … [Read more...]

During my 31 years as a law enforcement trainer I have come to the realization there has not been an original thought or original material in several hundred years (maybe longer). Everything is recycled. As trainers we take the knowledge and information that is out there and we repackage it, reframe it, and retool it in original ways to put existing information in context for a particular audience and for our profession. We come up with unique and creative ways of interpreting and applying existing information. In reality it is the application, interpretation, packaging and delivery of … [Read more...]

“What could go wrong?” And “What’s the worst that could happen?” are important questions. When these questions become part of a standing joke however, and the prevailing mentality is, “Let’s just do it. It will be ok.” You are on a slippery slope to a tragedy. In certain training environments the “worst that can happen” is that someone gets killed or seriously injured. Just because you have been lucky in the past and that has never happened in your agency, does not mean it cannot and will not happen.  If you are planning a reality based training exercise involving people, moving … [Read more...]

Two weeks ago I wrote about Beware the Prodigy Myth, Tip #11 from Daniel Coyle’s The Little Book of Talent: 52 Tips for Improving Your Skills. Tip #3 is Steal Without Apology. In the tip Coyle quotes Pablo Picasso who said, “Good artists borrow. Great artists steal.” He also quotes Linda Septien, founder of Septien School of Contemporary Music, which he describes as, “a hotbed near Dallas that has produced millions of dollars of pop music talent.” Septien says, “Sweetheart, you gotta steal like crazy. Look at every performer better than you and see what they got that you can … [Read more...]

In a previous post I wrote about the fact that My Way is A Way and not The Way.  What prompted me to write this week’s post is the push I am seeing to make a particular style of martial arts a “National Standard” for policing. There is a difference between:  Explaining what you teach, how you teach it, and the impact you have seen from what you teach, and let other people make their own decisions about the practicality of what you teach for them and,Stating that everyone should do what you do because it works for you and it should be a National Standard.  For … [Read more...]

Tip #11 in Daniel Coyle’s book The Little Book of Talent: 52 Tips For Improving Your Skills is, “Don’t Fall For The Prodigy Myth.” As part of a program I am working through I reread The Little Book of Talent. I am a fan of Daniel Coyle’s work including The Talent Code and The Culture Code and had read The Little Book of Talent: 52 Tips For Improving Your Skills a few years ago. We were tasked with identifying the Tip that resonated most and share why.  While there are a lot of great tips in this book the one I chose was, “Don’t Fall For The … [Read more...]

Simple, plain language is usually the best for presentations. This is especially true when you are speaking at conferences, to groups where people are from different agencies and different roles and to groups where there are non-law enforcement people in the audience. You have likely been to presentations, or listened to podcast interviews where it sounds like the speaker was using big words simply to show everyone how smart they are. If people do not understand your message, then it was not smart to use that language. If people have to continually consult a dictionary to know what you are … [Read more...]

“You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you’re finished, you’ll know absolutely nothing whatsoever about the bird….So let’s look at the birds and see what it’s doing – that’s what counts. I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something.” Richard P. Feynman It is easy to get caught up knowing and using the buzzwords of the day, but not actually knowing what they mean and how to apply the concepts that underlie the name. Simply dropping terms into a conversation or saying that I employ the principles in my … [Read more...]

VUCA is a term you hear a lot these days, as it has become common lexicon in many fields. VUCA is an acronym for Volatile Uncertain Complex and Ambiguous.  Law enforcement professionals today live and work in a world of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. On his website, John Black DBA, says, “Policing is complexity within complexity, and police use of force is arguably one of the most complex things to understand.” The question for you as a trainer is, “Are you preparing your people for this VUCA world through your training?”  To prepare the heroic men … [Read more...]

No AssholesNo BulliesNo Dickheads No EgosNo Toxic Leaders Take a step back and have a long hard look at the people in all positions in your training section and your training cadre. If you have people that fall into the above listed groups then have a courageous conversation with them and let them know this behavior is unacceptable and if they want to continue in their role as a trainer they need to change their behavior. If they are unwilling to change their behavior, then move them out of training positions. This goes for the leadership group as well as the … [Read more...]