Greg Owen-Boger

The year 2020 will be remembered for many things, most of them incredibly sad, frightening, and shocking. In this global context, the frustration we all feel with virtual communication seems like such a small thing. We have to stay at home and work online every day? In the big scheme of things, that’s not even a blip.

Nevertheless, we are all experiencing a crash course in virtual communication. And when placed in the narrow context of working from home, that is frustrating and… Show more

The year 2020 will be remembered for many things, most of them incredibly sad, frightening, and shocking. In this global context, the frustration we all feel with virtual communication seems like such a small thing. We have to stay at home and work online every day? In the big scheme of things, that’s not even a blip.

Nevertheless, we are all experiencing a crash course in virtual communication. And when placed in the narrow context of working from home, that is frustrating and exhausting. Like a sock twisted in your shoe, it’s noticeable and annoying even if it doesn’t keep you from walking. Here are some strategies to make virtual communication easier and more efficient. Show less

Partnering with subject matter experts can really pay off. SMEs (we pronounce it smees) bring credibility and relevance to live training. They enrich learning programs with their insight and depth of experience. But content expertise alone isn't enough to deliver effective training. . . .

SMEs want to do well in the classroom, but it's often unfamiliar terrain. They're authorities on content, not talent development. Without guidance, they may overshare or find themselves unable to… Show more

Partnering with subject matter experts can really pay off. SMEs (we pronounce it smees) bring credibility and relevance to live training. They enrich learning programs with their insight and depth of experience. But content expertise alone isn't enough to deliver effective training. . . .

SMEs want to do well in the classroom, but it's often unfamiliar terrain. They're authorities on content, not talent development. Without guidance, they may overshare or find themselves unable to facilitate a productive discussion---all of which frustrate learners. But, with the right approach, you can bring SMEs into the training room successfully, in a way that makes learners, instructors, and managers feel like their goals are being met.

"Effective SMEs: A Trainer's Guide for Helping Subject Matter Experts Facilitate Learning" is the blueprint to managing SME-led training. Authors Dale Ludwig and Greg Owen-Boger offer first-rate advice gleaned from decades helping presenters, instructional designers, and SMEs become better communicators. Underlying all their tips is their belief that SMEs and instructional designers must get comfortable with each other's role. The authors lay the groundwork for you, describing the fundamental principles of a successful training event and the personal approach they contend every SME and ID bring to the training table. You'll discover how to design learning events with the needs of SMEs in mind. And you'll try out best practices for coaching SMEs to deliver training efficiently and effectively. The authors also share detailed and relatable workplace scenarios drawn from their vast business experience as well as job aids to assist you in a variety of learning situations.

Effective SMEs is the rare book that addresses both designing for SMEs to deliver training and coaching them to be effective once they're in the training room. Don't plan your next live training event without it. Show less

Bringing subject matter experts into the training process can be one of the best things learning leaders can do. SMEs bring depth of experience, enterprise-wide perspective, and credibility to the learning process. Their stories bring content to life.

Reliance on SMEs also brings risk.

In this article, Dale and I discuss ways to coach SMEs to be successful in the training environment.

Various articles, webinars, and blog posts for the Association for Talent Development (ATD).

"The Orderly Conversation" is a groundbreaking resource for business presenters. It offers a new approach to the getting-business-done presentations you deliver—an approach that’s more appropriate for the real world of business and more practical for every type of presenter and presentation.

Our goal is to replace many traditional assumptions about what it takes to succeed and replace them with something better.

This book is unique for a couple of important reasons. First, it… Show more

"The Orderly Conversation" is a groundbreaking resource for business presenters. It offers a new approach to the getting-business-done presentations you deliver—an approach that’s more appropriate for the real world of business and more practical for every type of presenter and presentation.

Our goal is to replace many traditional assumptions about what it takes to succeed and replace them with something better.

This book is unique for a couple of important reasons. First, it focuses on the type of presentations you actually deliver. Other resources available to you—books, blogs, academic courses and the corporate training they have inspired—do not. They focus on speechmaking. Your presentations require a fundamentally different approach.

Therefore, much of what you have been taught about presenting has to be replaced. This includes, for example, the notion that a perfect presentation is possible, that practice will guarantee success, that graphic images on slides are always better than words, and that there are rules about where to stand and how to gesture. We’ll talk about how these assumptions hamper your success.

Second, we respect your individuality. We know that the challenges you face as a presenter are unique and that you will not improve in exactly the same way as anyone else. The recommendations we offer have to be adapted to you and your needs. We’ll help you with that whenever we can. Show less

I am but one of many contributors to this book by David Zielinski.

A reader-friendly collection of the best tips, tactics and lessons learned from the world’s top presentation coaches on becoming a more influential, tech-savvy presenter. Eminently practical, the book offers advice crafted only for the real world, where time-starved businesspeople often have little time to design slides or rehearse presentations, have yet to discover many of the little used-but-valuable features of… Show more

I am but one of many contributors to this book by David Zielinski.

A reader-friendly collection of the best tips, tactics and lessons learned from the world’s top presentation coaches on becoming a more influential, tech-savvy presenter. Eminently practical, the book offers advice crafted only for the real world, where time-starved businesspeople often have little time to design slides or rehearse presentations, have yet to discover many of the little used-but-valuable features of PowerPoint that can save time or enhance slide design and still adhere to “urban myths” of the presentations field.

The book will also be among the first titles to offer offering practical advice on how to use mobile devices for greatest presentation impact, how to use design software other than PowerPoint; how to apply social media tools like Twitter to aid in delivering presentation messages; and how to use webconferencing not just to reduce travel costs, but to deliver more effective informational, training or motivational presentations across geographies. Show less

Earlier this week I was coaching a senior executive on a very high-stakes presentation. He told me he wanted to be perceived as trustworthy. Setting trustworthiness as a goal is common among our clients, so there was nothing new about it in this situation.

But as the discussion went on, he asked me what he could do to ensure that his audience saw him as worthy of its trust.

His question had me stumped for a bit. Just what exactly CAN someone do to be perceived as trustworthy?… Show more

Earlier this week I was coaching a senior executive on a very high-stakes presentation. He told me he wanted to be perceived as trustworthy. Setting trustworthiness as a goal is common among our clients, so there was nothing new about it in this situation.

But as the discussion went on, he asked me what he could do to ensure that his audience saw him as worthy of its trust.

His question had me stumped for a bit. Just what exactly CAN someone do to be perceived as trustworthy? Words won’t do it. Saying “trust me” is an engraved invitation NOT to. You can’t stand a certain way, or gesture or smile in a way that would build trust. Presenting solid data is certainly a good and necessary thing to do, but it alone won’t build trust.

Then it occurred to me. “Their trust is yours to lose,” I said. Show less

This White Paper was written by my colleague, Dale Ludwig, Ph.D.
For Learning and Development leaders, few things are more
frustrating than ineffective training sessions. Not only are they a
waste of resources—both in money and in time spent away from
work—they also poison the L&D well for participants in the
class.

This is especially true with presentation skills training. Trainees
come to a presentation skills workshop with specific needs,
varied levels of… Show more

This White Paper was written by my colleague, Dale Ludwig, Ph.D.
For Learning and Development leaders, few things are more
frustrating than ineffective training sessions. Not only are they a
waste of resources—both in money and in time spent away from
work—they also poison the L&D well for participants in the
class.

This is especially true with presentation skills training. Trainees
come to a presentation skills workshop with specific needs,
varied levels of experience and, in many cases, a high level of
anxiety. Too often, though, the difference between what
presenters need and what the class delivers is vast. When that
happens, trainees walk away saying:
“I got nothing out of it.”
“That’s not going to work for me.”
“That was a waste of my time.”

This white paper addresses these issues and
provides recommendations for ensuring that
presentation skills training meets the needs of the
business and each presenter in the class. Show less