Why do learning professionals tell stories? How do we tell them to greatest effect? And where can we find them?

This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross G and Ross D find answers to these questions with the help of instructional designer, learning strategist and author Hadiya Nurridin.

We discuss:

• Where stories are more effective than 'telling it straight'
• How to identify the stories that you can share
• How to help others find and craft their stories.

For more from Hadiya, visit: duetslearning.com

Or check out her book, StoryTraining: Selecting and Shaping Stories That Connect.

For more on the #KyivNotKiev campaign, see: wikipedia.org/wiki/KyivNotKiev

For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work.

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter:

• Ross Garner - @RossGarnerMT
• Ross Dickie - @RossDickieMT
• Hadiya Nuriddin - @HadiyaNuriddin

Today is International Women's Day and we're celebrating it in partnership with Working Chance, a UK-based charity set up to help women with criminal convictions to find jobs. Today on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Gemma and Nahdia talk to Helen Sweet, Head of Employability at Working Chance. We discuss:

• Employability barriers facing women with convictions
• What the Employability Programme comprises
• How you can support Working Chance

To go directly to Working Chance's BIG GIVE campaign for International Women's Day, please visit workingchance.org/IWD You can also find out more about Working Chance via its social media channels: instagram.com/working_chance

twitter.com/WorkingChance

facebook.com/workingchance

Nahdia's discovery about our changing sleep patterns came from "The forgotten medieval habit of 'two sleeps'" article from the BBC. You can read it by following this link bbc.com/future/article/20220107-the-lost-medieval-habit-of-biphasic-sleep

Gemma's bog factoid came from the Scottish Wildlife Trust's 50 for the Future publication. The 'Peatland blanket bogs' article is online at scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/2015/10/50-for-the-future-peatland-blanket-bogs/

For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work.

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter:

• Gemma Towersey - @GemmaTowersey
• Nahdia Khan - @NahdiaKhan

Today on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Gemma, Ross G, Ross D and Sean look at how nudge theory can be applied to workplace learning. We discuss:

• What nudge theory is
• How understanding learner context helps us identify nudges
• Criticisms of nudge theory.

The book we based most of this discussion on has just been revised. Check out the latest version of Nudge here: yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300262285/nudge

We also referenced Thinking Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman: wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinking,_Fast_and_Slow

We mentioned Dan Pink's Drive: danpink.com/books/drive

And Deci and Ryan on 'Self Determination Theory': wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-determination_theory

If you want to hand over cash to help you make commitments, then stickK offers this service: stickk.com (We've never tried it, so this isn't an endorsement).

In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross G discussed The Book of Boba Fett, now streaming on Disney+. For more on spinning space stations, you nerds, check out: wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotating_wheel_space_station

And Gemma discussed her experience of Julie Drybrugh's Write Nights: fuchsiablueblog.wordpress.com/write-nights-at-fuchsia-blue/

Julie joined us to discuss writing back in episode 278. You'll find that episode in this podcast feed.

For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work.

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter:

• Gemma Towersey - @GemmaTowersey
• Ross Garner - @RossGarnerMT
• Ross Dickie - @RossDickieMT
• Sean Brown - @SeanBrownHRTech

Is 'education' a liberating force that prepares children for a rapidly changing world? Or a system of control that kills their enthusiasm for learning.

On this week's Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross G and Ross D are joined by Patrick Cootes, Co-Founder and Chief Learning Officer of Mindstone, to debate. We discuss:

• Traditional perspectives on education
• The purpose of education
• How systems reinforce one another.

During the discussion, Ross D mentioned a podcast segment about students who wondered what it would be like to live on the moon. This was a reference to The Ezra Klein Show: nytimes.com/2022/02/11/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-johann-hari.html

Ross G referenced the Freakonomics episode 'Freakonomoics goes to college: Part 1': freakonomics.com/podcast/freakonomics-goes-to-college-part-1

And research from Pew: pewresearch.org/social-trends/2011/05/15/chapter-5-the-monetary-value-of-a-college-education

In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross D shared the story of Lena Forsen, covered by Wired: wired.com/story/finding-lena-the-patron-saint-of-jpegs

And the story of Shirley Page, covered by 99% Invisible: 99percentinvisible.org/episode/shirley-cards

Ross G shared trivia from the Martin Scorsese film Casino: imdb.com/title/tt0112641/trivia/?ref_=tt_trv_trv

For more from Patrick, see: mindstone.com

Patrick has also written about education at: medium.com/@patrick_85173/the-future-of-learning-3196b05452a3

For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work.

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter:

• Ross Garner - @RossGarnerMT
• Ross Dickie - @RossDickieMT
• Patrick Cootes - @MindstoneHQ | LinkedIn

This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross G and Nahdia are joined by branding expert Professor Doctor Jonathan Wilson to explore these questions. We discuss:

• personal branding
• the benefits of building a brand
• the effort required to connect with your audience.

For more from Jonathan, see: drjonwilson.com

Jonathan offers a course on personal branding at: futurelearn.com/experttracks/developing-your-personal-brand

The book Ross mentioned, by Dorie Clark, was Stand Out: dorieclark.com/books

In 'What I Learned This Week', Nahdia discussed research from McKinsey into 'The rise of the inclusive consumer': mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/the-rise-of-the-inclusive-consumer

Jonathan shared Jason Bell and Osi Umenyiora of The NFL Show discussing racism in hiring practices: linkedin.com/posts/drjonwilson_black-coaches-have-to-be-great-and-it-is-activity-6896410129554554880-fuyX

See more at: linkedin.com/posts/drjonwilson_flores-sues-nfl-teams-in-racism-claim-activity-6894754539036061696-khgA

Jon also discussed the ongoing Joe Rogan backlash. See: linkedin.com/posts/drjonwilson_what-the-joe-rogan-backlash-reveals-about-activity-6894645124333133824-LtY7

And: edition.cnn.com/2022/02/05/media/joe-rogan-racial-slur-apology-india-arie/index.html

Ross discussed Allison Robicelli's night at Chicago O'Hare airport: washingtonpost.com/travel/2022/01/11/ohare-airport-things-to-do

For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work.

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter:

• Ross Garner - @RossGarnerMT
• Nahdia Khan - @NahdiaKhan
• Jonathan Wilson - @DrJonWilson | LinkedIn

This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ger Driesen joins Ross G and Owen to explore what's possible. We discuss:

• what the metaverse(s) is(are)
• how blockchain and NFTs can shape the metaverse economy
• whether your digital avatar needs to look like your physical body.

See Facebook's announcement about their rebrand as 'Meta' at: about.fb.com/news/2021/10/facebook-company-is-now-meta/

Owen referenced Moxie Marlinspike's blog post on web3: moxie.org/2022/01/07/web3-first-impressions.html

The 'let the tiger eat me' anecdote was taken from: futurism.com/neoscope/vr-injuries

For a longer discussion on blockchain, with Ger, see our earlier episode 'Blockchain for L&D (Yes, really!)': podcast.goodpractice.com/96-blockchain-for-ld-yes-really

For 'How to Troll an NFT Owner', see: slate.com/technology/2021/11/nft-image-ownership-right-clicking-saving-copying-trolling.html

Mike Howard, of Oculus, has described the difficulty of creating a digital avatar at: tech.fb.com/avatars-the-art-and-science-of-social-presence/

In 'What I Learned This Week', Owen discussed criticism of Johann Hari's latest book. See: twitter.com/StuartJRitchie/status/1480219761824915461

You can find out more about Hari at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Hari

Ger shared his thoughts on 'labyrinthitis'.

And Ross discussed survey results on what a 'dream job' looks like: rajaworkplace.co.uk/dream-job

You can find more from Ger on LinkedIn and at: anewspring.com/author/ger

For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work.

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter:

• Ross Garner - @RossGarnerMT
• Owen Ferguson - @OwenFerguson
• Ger Driesen - @GerDriesen

In The Business of Race, authors Gina Greenlee and Margaret Greenberg argue that the workplace is the ideal place to talk about race, racism, and anti-racism. This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, they join Ross G and Nahdia to explain why. We discuss:

• opportunities for teachable moments
• the moral case vs business case for racial equity
• the reasons to separate conversations about racial diversity from other diversity initiatives.

Show notes

Find out more about The Business of Race, including links to order a copy, at: businessofrace.com

The LinkedIn page is: linkedin.com/company/the-business-of-race

The Facebook page is: facebook.com/businessofrace

In 'What I Learned This Week', Nahdia discussed the Edelman Trust Barometer 2022, online at: edelman.com/sites/g/files/aatuss191/files/2022-01/2022%20Edelman%20Trust%20Barometer%20Global%20Report_Final.pdf

Gina shared Akala's Oxford Union address, available online at: youtube.com/watch?v=WUtAxUQjwB4

Akala's website is: akalamusic.com

Margaret recommended The Winternight Trilogy, from Katherine Arden: katherinearden.com

And Ross discussed 'The accessibility stalemate', by Christian Heilmann: christianheilmann.com/2021/07/20/the-accessibility-stalemate

For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work.

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter:

• Ross Garner - @RossGarnerMT
• Nahdia Khan - @NahdiaKhan
• Gina Greenlee - @TheGinaGreenlee / LinkedIn
• Margaret Greenberg - LinkedIn

What is it about writing that fires up our souls? And, for those who hate it, is there any hope?

This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross G, Ross D and Gemma are joined by friend-of-the-show Julie Drybrough to answer these questions.

We discuss:

• writing for work, fun and reflection
• techniques to spark creativity
• how writing in groups can give you more freedom.

Show notes

Details of Julie's 'Write Nights' series can be found on her blog at: fuchsiablueblog.wordpress.com/write-nights-at-fuchsia-blue

Details of Dr James Pennebaker's 'writing to heal' are online at: emotionalaffair.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Writing-to-Heal.pdf

See also: Pennebaker, J. W. (1999). Health effects of expressing emotions through writing.

And, from Positive Psychology: positivepsychology.com/learned-optimism

In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross D shared that he'd started taking notes with Evernote: evernote.com

Gemma discussed the VR app 'Notes on Blindness', based on the film of the same name: notesonblindness.co.uk/vr

And Ross discussed The Paper Sky, by Eleanor Mansell: canterburypress.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9781848257672/the-paper-sky

For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work.

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter:

• Ross Garner - @RossGarnerMT
• Gemma Towersey - @GemmaTowersey
• Ross Dickie - @RossDickieMT
• Julie Drybrough - @Fuchsia_Blue

By some measures, the last two years have seen a surge in demand for consumer learning platforms like Masterclass, CreativeLive and Skillshare. Often, these platforms position themselves as an alternative to streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Is this part of a broader trend towards learning as entertainment? If so, what does that mean for learning in the workplace?

In this week's episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross D, Owen, Nahdia and Ross G discuss:

• whether there truly is increased demand for 'edutainment'
• the difference between entertainment and 'fun'
• the role of entertainment in the design of workplace learning

Show notes

At the start of this week's show, Ross G challenged the premise of Ross D's opening question by citing data from the ONS. You can find these data here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/satelliteaccounts/bulletins/coronavirusandhowpeoplespenttheirtimeunderrestrictions/28marchto26april2020

In WILTW, Ross D recommended Stuart Russell's Reith Lectures on artificial intelligence: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001216k/episodes/player

The Netflix series Nahdia mentioned was School of Chocolate: https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81207686

Ross G discussed the history of the burpee, created by Royal Huddleston Burpee Sr. You can find out more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burpee_(exercise)

For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work.

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter:

• Ross Dickie - @RossDickieMT
• Owen Ferguson - @OwenFerguson
• Ross Garner - @RossGarnerMT
• Nahdia Khan - @_nahdia_khan

Five years of this podcast, listening to his co-hosts ramble enthusiastically about the same tired old topics, had left him jaded and disillusioned with the industry he once loved.

And so I say again, that Owen was miserable to begin with. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate...

Starring:

• Ross Garner as Charles Dickens (@RossGarnerMT)
• Owen Ferguson in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge (@OwenFerguson)
• Peter Casebow as the Ghost of Christmas Past (@PeterCasebow)
• Gemma Towersey as the Ghost of Christmas Present (@GemmaTowersey)
• Ross Dickie as the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (@RossDickieMT)
• And Hollywood's Jimmy Stewart as Bob Cratchit

Show notes

In 'What I Learned This Christmas', Peter shared details of a trip he went on with photographer Andy Howard: andyhoward.co.uk

Gemma shared an episode of Matthew Syed's podcast Sideways on 'Oostvaardersplassen: A Wild Idea': bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0012fp4

Ross D shared how 'video on-demand' changed the way we think, from the book 1001 Ideas That Changed the Way We Think: amazon.co.uk/1001-Ideas-that-Changed-Think/dp/1844037509

And Ross G shared the article 'No chips, no problem: Why old video games are better than news one', from Justin Heckert in The Economist's 1843 Magazine: economist.com/1843/2021/11/24/no-chips-no-problem-why-old-video-games-are-better-than-new-ones

We'll be back on January 11. Until then, you can find our back catalogue of podcasts at mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work.

From everyone at Mind Tools, we'd like to thank you for listening to us for a whole other year! And if you'd like to thank us, please do leave us a review. Preferably five stars.

Merry Christmas!