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 A
Message From The President
From
Sharon Boller
President, CIASTD
Beyond
the Monthly Meeting:
Why
You Should Get Involved in CIASTD
The
CIASTD mission statement in action
Sitting in the president's chair provides lots of opportunity
for reflection. What I've found myself reflecting on is the
tremendous people power we have within CIASTD. The CIASTD
mission is to link people with resources to improve human
performance. I've been actively involved with CIASTD for eight
years, and I've now accumulated almost five years experience
in working on the CIASTD board. These opportunities (yes,
opportunities!) have enabled me to rub shoulders and exchange
ideas with the best and the brightest people in Indy. On the
CIASTD board alone, we have an amazing array of talents and
abilities:
-Two PhD's who work at major
institutions of higher learning (Linda Bush from ITT and Linda
Edington from University of Indianapolis)
-The head of the performance
management group at a major insurance company (Dan Johnson
from American United Life)
- an MBA who works in sales
at a major training and development firm (Vic Holove from
Paradigm Learning Systems)
- the team leader for performance
improvement in parenteral manufacturing at a major pharmaceutical
company (Merry Horner from Eli Lilly)
-an OD consultant for a highly-reputable
consulting firm (Sonya Showley from Right Management Associates)
- three individuals who own
their own successful consulting businesses (Jim Patton of
J. Patton Consulting, Debbie Featherston of WorkPlace Partners,
and myself from Bottom-Line Performance, Inc.)
The
collective education and years of experience held by these
individuals is incredible. All of my colleagues on the Board
have been in the field for several years. Some of us are getting
close to marking 20 years in the field and a couple of us
are probably beyond this milestone. And…I'm not even
mentioning the people whom I met while on the Board, but have
since finished their terms and moved on to other roles - Dr.
Henry Merrill at IUPUI, Karne Valencic of LifeWorks, and Marianne
Whelchel of Delta Learning Group.
What's
the point of all this reflection? Once again, I'm back to
my mantra (i.e. last month's newsletter article) of the need
to get involved in the organization to fully benefit from
it. If I would not have been willing to lend some time and
talent to the Program Committee eight years ago, I would not
have developed friendships and professional relationships
with many of the people I know today. I would not have learned
from these people. If I would not have been willing to accept
a role on the Board, I would have missed knowing some of the
best people I have ever met - people whose behavior demonstrates
the meaning of words such as commitment, creativity, innovation,
and involvement. The people who are actively part of CIASTD
have helped me learn, grow, and flourish in my field. I hope
that I have given back to them in return.
Sharon
is the founder and president of Bottom-Line Performance, Inc.
She has been in the field of training and development for
more than 15 years and has gained extensive experience in
instructional design and performance consulting.
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New
Members
In
each issue of The Facilitator, we will list members that have
joined or re-joined CIASTD since the previous issue. Since
the last issue of The Facilitator, we have signed 23
members. To see a list of the new members, click
here. If you are a member of CIASTD, and would like access
to the complete membership list, it is available on our web
site at www.ciastd.com.
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Member
Profile
Meet
Debbie Wohlberg
As
a regular feature of The Facilitator, "Member Profile"
features a profile of a randomly selected member of CIASTD.
At every meeting, we will randomly pick a member from those
attending, and profile them. The idea is to help everyone
get to know each other better. In this issue, we are profiling
Debbie Wohlberg.
Professional
ExperienceDebbie has worked for Delco Remy International,
Inc. for 20 years. Delco Remy is a leading worldwide manufacturer
and remanufacturer of automotive electrical and drivetrain/powertrain
products. Delco Remy International was formed in 1994 when
General Motors began selling off portions of its company.
Since the spin-off, Delco Remy has completed 14 acquisitions,
engaged in four joint ventures, built two remanufacturing
operations, and made major roads internationally. Once heavily
dependent on GM, Delco Remy has since more than tripled the
business with other OEM's and aftermarket customers.
Debbie
is currently the Training and Development Manager. She assumed
this role approximately one year ago. Prior to this, she had
been the Staffing Manager for seven years. "I have been
with Delco Remy for 20 years holding many different HR positions,"
said Debbie.
Professional
Background
"As a high school cooperative education student working
at Delco Remy, General Motors for one-half days and going
to school one-half days during my senior hear, I learned that
I enjoyed working with people and the environment that a big
company had to offer," said Debbie. She went to Ball
State University for two years earning an Associates Degree
in Business. She was immediately hired back on with Delco
Remy, General Motors, in the Accounting Department. Debbie
was in the Accounting Department for approximately four years
when an opening came up in the HR Department. She applied
for and was selected. From there, she has worked in various
aspects of HR. When the spin-off occurred in 1994, she was
selected to help staff the new company and to develop the
new HR Department. "This was the best experience I have
ever received," said Debbie. "I learned to wear
many hats and to work in a very high-paced organization."
She later received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Management
from the Indiana Wesleyan University LEAP program.
Personal
Background:
Debbie is a widow with two sons (17 and 13), a cat and a dog.
"I enjoy spending family time with my sons whether it's
attending their school functions, vacations, church or working
outside together," said Debbie.
Debbie
recently did a training session on Ken Blanchard's book, Gung
Ho! The training was given to help motivate the management
team in Delco Remy's manufacturing facilities that were experiencing
a layoff. "The message is not new, but it is told with
a new twist. I would recommend this reading to anyone who
works for a company that is experiencing changes."
We
asked Debbie for any advice she could offer training professionals.
Her words come with the endorsement of experience: "My
advice for any working professional is to keep looking for
positives to help keep employees motivated. The working environment
is changing so fast that anything you can do to help others
focus on their value to the company is certainly appreciated
and necessary."
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Volunteers
Needed
The Communications Team of CIASTD is looking for volunteers
to help with Publicity and the Newsletter. Volunteering is
an excellent way to get more involved with the CIASTD organization
and to meet other training professionals. The Newsletter is
looking for writers to help write stories and the Publicity
Committee is looking for people to work on a variety of sub-committees.
Time commitments are minimal (we know everyone is busy!) and
you can be involved at a level that is comfortable for you.
If you are interested, you can contact the Newsletter Editor,
Jay McNaught (jmcnaught@cinergy.com , (317) 838-2151); Publicity
Chairperson, Krista Skidmore (skid11@msn.com, (317) 815-3829,)
or the VP of Communications, Debbie Featherston (feathers@iei.net,
(317) 595-0315).
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CIASTD
Continues Volunteer Bucks
Do
you wonder what those funny "bucks" are that you
get when you come to CIASTD meetings? Beginning in March 2001,
CIASTD began issuing Volunteer Bucks. Members are able to
use them to purchase great gifts at the CIASTD Auction, to
be held at a special program in May. So hang on to those bucks…
they'll be valuable in May.
Members
may earn Volunteer Bucks by doing the following…
Serve
on the Board of Directors $50
Attend Board Meetings $5
Be a Committee Chair $40
Be a Committee Member $20
Attend Committee Meetings $5
Be a Monthly Program Chair $10
Be a Monthly Program Greeter $10
Attend Monthly Program $5
Bring a Guest to Monthly Program $20
Present Monthly Program $50
Attend Fall Forum $30
Submit Article for Newsletter $40
Sponsor New Member $20
Join CIASTD $20
Renew CIASTD Membership $25
Complete HPI Certificate Program $50
The
program will be retroactive to January 1, 2001. Any member
that has met any of the above since January 1, qualifies for
the appropriate Volunteer Bucks. For further information please
call the CIASTD office at (317)- 841-1395.
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April
Meeting
The
April 19 CIASTD meeting will feature a presentation by Mark
Hershman titled, "Business Success: Coaching vs. Mentoring."
The meeting will be 8:30 - 11:30 a.m. at the Ivy Tech State
College, Fourth Floor Auditorium. (Note: There will be a Cranberry
Juice Cocktail hour from 7:30 - 8:30 a.m.) Ivy Tech State
College is located at 1 West 26th Street near downtown Indianapolis.
Free parking is available behind the building (enter just
north of Fall Creek off Illinois St.).
Participants
will have an opportunity to define business coaching and mentoring;
assess one's own communication style that enables an effective
coaching experience; and will learn what are characteristics
that make for a good coach and mentor. Participants should
leave with an understanding of coaching and mentoring, criteria
for strategic decisions when working with individuals and
teams as a coach, and characteristics of what makes for an
effective coach and mentor credentials.
Mark
Hershman is absolutely passionate about coaching. He has been
coaching for over ten years and is the former president of
Executive Coaching division of Jennifer White's group. He
is the Past President of the Greater Indianapolis International
Coach Federation. He is a certified RESULTS coach and is certified
to train coaching skills for CCUI.
Click
Here to Register Securely on the Web
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CIASTD March Meeting
The
March CIASTD meeting featured a presentation by Len Mozzi,
titled, "All the World's a Stage - Theater Skills for
Trainers/Presenters." Len explained how theater skills
and techniques could be used to improve training.
Len
began the presentation explaining that we are always on stage.
As a part of our daily lives we find ourselves playing different
parts for different occasions. By learning to play the trainer
role well,we can improve our training productions.
 Act
1, Scene 1: Len led a discussion on the setup of a room for
training. He emphasized how different setups can be used for
different purposes. All should enhance the production; help
participants focus on the presenter, while meeting the other
objectives of the training event. Len said that he is on a
campaign to move projection screens away from the center of
the room, and put the "podium" in the center - the
rationale being that the presenter should be the center of
attention, since the speaker should be more interesting than
the visual aids.
As
trainers, we should think of the "speaking area"
as a stage. The "actor" needs to have places to
go and things to do on the stage. By having various areas
to go to, the presenter can achieve "focus with movement."
Movement causes the audience to watch. As we move, we should
work on "signposting." Signposting is the art of
moving to different physical locations to make different points
- and stopping movement when we are ready to make important
points. Len encouraged trainers to vary sitting and standing.
Standing helps to foster intimacy, while standing helps trainers
regain focus. Len also encouraged that the trainer get close
to the audience and to use large gestures.
Len
spent some time explaining the importance of eye contact.
He had the group do an exercise to practice making eye contact
with the people they were speaking to. Len explained that
it takes a moment for the speaker to make good eye contact
with an audience member. There has to be an instant of recognition
from the audience member - an awareness that the speaker is
looking at him/her - before it really counts as eye contact.
Good eye contact almost forces the audience to pay attention
and listen to the presenter.  Besides
keeping the audience focused on the speakers, it is important
to keep the presenter focused on the audience. Len showed
the trainers a number of exercises they could use to help
warm up and prepare for delivering quality presentations.
Exercises included the "String and Beam" exercise,
physical stretch exercises, and voice stretching exercises.
In the string and beam exercise, the trainers were to picture
that they were perfectly balanced on a pillar that extended
to the center to the earth; that strings were attached to
the top of their heads that extended to heaven and held them
up, and that other strings were attached to their shoulders,
pulling them up and apart. As they spoke to another person
they were to imagine a beam of light on their chest focused
directly on the person they are speaking to. This exercise
is great for helping the trainer to focus on individuals and
come across as balanced. Len also suggested picking a theme
song that you can play in your head that will pump you up.
As you prepare to "take the stage" play the song
in your head and focus on it instead of what you might say.
Len
recommend a book titled Freeing the Natural Voice by Kristen
Linkletter.
Act
II: Ken discussed learning styles. For adult learners, approximately
45% are visual learners, 45% are tactile kinesthetic, and
10% are aural. Ken advocates proportioning the time we spend
as trainers accordingly. He encouraged the trainers to involve
the learners: have them work in pairs, do individual exercises,
and do activities.
Remember:
Less is more. This is particularly true when putting together
slides for presentations. He suggested using larger fonts
than on the slides typically found in PowerPoint. Don't just
use words on graphs. Graphs and diagrams can really help.
He also suggested using different backgrounds to cue the audience
for different activities: one background for exercises, one
background for quotes, and different backgrounds for different
sections of the presentation. He encouraged using movement
in the slide. Ken also did an excellent job of blending music
into the slides he used in his own presentation.
Len
Mozzi combines his 20 years of experience as a theater professional
and university educator to provide a unique perspective on
presentation skills. His business clients have included Eli
Lilly and Company, Delta Faucets, DuPont, Ryder Trucks, and
the United States Defense Department.
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