IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL FIND OUT ABOUT:

* How she used to throw up before speaking in public and how she overcame that fear

* How she manages the participants (and her own) energy levels over a five-day workshop.

* Why it’s important to shut the world off (and your phone) when you’re in a learning environment

* Why you need a sense of humour when working on the road

* Her strategies for ensuring introverts are heard in a group workshop

* Her simple hack that ensures participants grasp the instructions of a group activity

* The two things she would do differently if she had to start her business again

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Nikki McMurray has over 25 years experience in the adult education industry.  Her roles ranged from managing registered training organizations, managing the training function within organizations and facilitating.

Her facilitation style is respectful to the adult learner’s past experience and qualifications with a hands-on, highly interactive approach with a focus of connecting theory with practice.

Clients comment that programs and personal coaching conducted by Nikki are high quality, very practical and personally challenging.

She has a diverse background that includes consulting in a training and on the job coaching capacity to Mining open cut and underground (coal and hard rock), Rail, Water, Gas, Manufacturing, State and Federal Government industries as well as many others.

REFERENCE

* Corporate Learning Partners

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Leanne: I’d like to introduce you to our guest today. She has over 25 years experience in the adult education industry. And as a facilitator, she’s terrific at really honing in, and evaluating the dynamics of a group. She ensures that all of her sessions are hands on, and interactive with the focus on connecting theory with practice. Her background expands consulting, training, and coaching for industries for a company called ‘Corporate Learning Partners’. And she’s worked in open cut and underground mining, rail, water, gas, manufacturing, and government. Welcome to the podcast, Nikki McMurray.

Nikki: Thanks Leanne

Leanne: Nikki, 25 years is a long time to be working in education and learning in development. Have you ever had a career outside of that industry?

Nikki: Yes, in the very early days, I was in IT and then I went into Marketing. And I happened to get a job in the world of corporate adult education, fell in love with it, and haven’t left it since.

Leanne: So do you think some of the IT, and marketing skills helped you where you are today?

Nikki: I think absolutely, absolutely. And you know even though you’re in the industry of adult education, you’re actually in everyone else’s industry. It’s not just adult education in its purest form like a university. You’re in and out of different industries, and that’s what makes it interesting and exciting.

Leanne: How did you actually get into the world of facilitation and education?

Nikki: I took on a job as a coordinator of P&O and it was in their training and education area.  I really enjoyed the vibe, and the excitement, and the enthusiasm, and the fact that when you partake in skills or knowledge there’s a certain amount of excitement for the participants, and sometimes even nervousness.

From there, I went to uni at night, and then studied adult education. And I was actually not a facilitator for a very long time. I stayed in Administration, and I worked my way up to being a site manager for a computer training firm that concentrated only on corporate. And about 12 years ago, I walked away from corporate, and started my own business. And that was the first time I ever facilitated full time.