Training is not about the leader talking (Talking is not training and listening is not learning!). It is about arranging activities so people can learn. Being able to ask questions and listen is essential to good teaching. Here are five tips.

Tip 1:

Use soliciting questions - Asking people their opinion about something is often referred to as the "good pupil" questions. Asking a specific person can be seen as a compliment. These are not "stumper" questions, but rather those where the person is sharing an opinion.

Tip 2:

Use commitment questions - Try using a leading question, "If I can convince you that this is the best way to do this, by the end of the training session, will you agree to go along with me?" This allows you and the learner some "wiggle" room and it assumes that learners can grow and change during the session.

Tip 3:

Ask clarifying questions - Do not race to answer questions. Have the person asking the question confirm your understanding. Repeat the question and have the person elaborate or correct your perceptions. How many times have you seen a trainer answer a question, only to have the learner say, "Well, that is not what I was asking about."

Tip 4:

Ask questions to help you learn - This is really a listening tip. Open-ended questions, "Well, how should we be handling this situation?" requires that you pay attention and concentrate on what the volunteer or staff member is saying. When people feel they are being heard it raises their self-esteem and respect for the listener.

Tip 5:

Listen and then follow-up - As the person to elaborate on their idea. If someone expresses an opinion and stops you might say, "That's interesting." This is usually enough to encourage more communication.

• Computers, in all there various forms are quickly becoming part of the entire world-cell phones, wireless modems, portable computers are changing the way we communicate. In some countries there are few "land-line" based phone services, but people in small villages have cell phones.
• The average years of use for cars in the US will soon be 22 years (Volvo is already at 20).
• All the technology we have today represents only 1% of the technology that will be available in 2050.
• By 2005 the global population of users of the Internet will reach 300 million.
• By 2002, the Africa ONE project will ring that continent with broad band fiber optic lines that will provide high-speed Internet access for all of Africa. (More information is available at http://www.africaone.com.)
• 60% of Japan's populations will have online access by 2005.
• In 2010 most of the US will be wired for high-speed data access.
• Rapid changes in job markets and work-related technology requires continuous training. This means that a substantial portion of the work force (and volunteers) will be in retraining programs.
• It is projected that schools of the future will be in the business of training children and adults around the clock and all year long.
• Time, not money is getting to be the world's most precious commodity.
• More young people wish to start their own businesses, rather than work for someone else.
• Information based organizations are replacing old style hierarchical one. Everyone is being consulted-staff, clients, volunteers, stakeholders, before decisions are made.
• More specialists are needed for the information-based organization.
• Training will be carried out increasingly by state, local, and private organizations.
• Changes in technology and life expectancy are pushing workers to retire later.
• It is projected that people will work at one career, then take time off, return to school and start a new career.
• The "work ethic" is disappearing. Tardiness and sick leave abuse are on the rise. Job security is not the motivator it used to be. (In a 1993 survey, 60% of college freshman said they were willing to spend three years in jail and be considered a criminal, if they would end up with $ 5 million.) This is worrisome to many executives of all types of organizations.
• Gen X and dot-com generations have more in common with others their age around the world than with their parents.
• Younger people, (20's and 30's) want news and information quickly. They are regular patrons of CNN and USA Today. Time is everything.
• The decline in birthrates in the 1960's and early 1970s means there is a coming shortage in the labor force. This will grow more acute as time moves toward 2010.

IMPLICATION - So what do all these facts and projections mean for your program? You no doubt have some ideas. We would love to share them with our readers. Send your observations about the impact on your program of technology to our Web Master via email at lbunt@bmi.net. In your subject line type "tech observations" to help the Web Master filter the email. We'll collect the best ideas and publish them in a future issue of Volunteer Today.

Are there days when you think about changing jobs . . .all day? Does the grass look greener anywhere but where you are? Here is a simple test to assess your level of engagement and compare it to 50,000 people in 615 different types of organizations. Provant, Inc., a Boston-based provider of performance improvement products and services, created it.

Think about your job and in the columns below list your level of agreement with the 17 words. Put the appropriate number in the box provided.

To score:

Total all the numbers _________________

Divide the number by 68 _________________

Multiply by 100 _________________

Final Score _________________

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*Remember: Taking this test doesn't tell you if you should leave your job, but it is one indicator of your motivational level.*

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100 or over - You are fulfilled on the job and in the top 25% of employees in this study on the basis of motivation

92-99 - Basically fulfilled and in the second quartile

83-91 - You are "hanging in there" and in the third quartile

82 or less - You have a "motivational deficit and are in the bottom quartile

Canadian Centre for Social Entrepreneurship Faculty of Business University of Alberta, Edmonton http://www.bus.ualberta.ca/ccse/

Community and Not-For-Profit Leadership Program The Banff Centre for Management http://www.banffmanagement.com/non_prof.asp

Interdisciplinary Studies in Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Management The Centre for Voluntary Sector Studies Faculty of Business, Ryerson Polytechnic University Toronto, Ontario http://www.ryerson.ca/cvss/isnvsm.html

Nonprofit Management and Leadership Program Simon Fraser University Vancouver, British Columbia http://www.sfu.ca/cstudies/bus/nonprofit/

Nonprofit Sector Leadership Program Henson College, Dalhousie Univeristy Halifax, Nova Scotia http://www.dal.ca/~henson/nonprofit/index.html

Non-Profit Sector Management Certificate Program Vancouver Community College Continuing Education http://www.vcc.bc.ca/ce/non_profit.html

Nonprofit and Management and Leadership Program Schulich School of Business York University Toronto, Ontario http://www.yorku.ca/dept/nmlp/

The McGill-McConnell Program for National Voluntary Sector Leaders Faculty of Management, McGill University Montreal, Quebec http://www.management.mcgill.ca/exec/vleaders/set00.htm

 

Close to 200 colleges and universities offer academic programs on nonprofit and volunteer sector management. They are usually master's degree programs, but not always. American Humanics sponsors undergraduate programs, as well. If you are looking to push out the professional development window, consider taking a course at one of these colleges. A full list resides at http://pirate.shu.edu/~mirabero. Thank Roseanne Mirabella, of Seton Hall University for keeping up with this list.