The Mindtools L&D Podcast

People are more satisfied by explanations that contain neuroscientific jargon and images. Why? Because dopamine fires up the hippocampus, and that's a fact! (Warning: It's not.)   This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Owen and Ross G are separating fact from fiction as we discuss neuroscience with Amy Brann, author of Make Your Brain Work .   We discuss:   The meaning of neuroscience (as a dis...

Who knows why anyone does anything? Well… people who craft psychometrics claim that they can answer this question. And this week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Owen and Ross G are going to find out how! We're joined by Lucie Ilbury, a Chartered Occupational Psychologist and Head of Client Enablement at Sova Assessment. We discuss: What psychometric assessments are for The characteristics of an ef...

Since the dawn of history, people have been telling stories. Obviously, because the recorded history we have is in the format of a story. Now Ross Garner, Ross Dickie and David from the Mind Tools L&D Podcast crew are applying that technique to learning.   We discuss:   The benefits of storytelling for learning   Examples of effective storytelling at work How new technologies give us exciting oppo...

Our mental wellbeing can depend in part, on our role at work. How do stress levels of colleagues, managers and directors compare, for instance? What is it about those roles that influences stress levels? In this week's episode of  The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Emotion at Work's Phil Willcox shares the findings of his latest research report "Managers feel the pinch". We discuss: The research finding...

In our 300 th episode of The Mind Tools L&D podcast, we are LIVE from London!    Owen, Nahdia and Gemma were joined by two special guests, Julie Dirksen and Phil Willcox, and a live studio audience buzzing after Day 1 of the Learning Technologies 2022 conference and exhibition.   There was something for everyone! We spoke about:   Perspectives on the LT conference and exhibition   Designing learni...

We're all familiar with one-off learning events like e-learning modules, workshops and virtual classrooms. They're common because they're logistically easier for everyone, but how we can adapt these to embed learning after the event? To discuss, Ross G and Owen are joined by Paul 'Westy' Westlake, Digital Director at PeopleUnboxed, and host of the PeopleUnplugged Podcast. We discuss: Problems with...

Back in episode 279 of this podcast (February 1, 2022: 'Why work is the ideal place to talk about race'), we spoke with authors Margaret Greenberg and Gina Greenlee about their book The Business of Race. But while we talked extensively about personal experiences and inner work, we didn't have a chance to dig into what L&D can do to promote an anti-racist workplace. So this week on The Mind Tools L...

Gamification promises fun activities, increased user engagement and – ultimately – better workplace learning. But do points and badges really make a difference? In this week's episode of  The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Ross G, Sean, Tracey and podcasting n00b Sam Brown tackle this issue. We discuss: The difference between 'gamification' and 'game-based learning' Good and bad examples of gamification...

There are more and more people working in a hybrid way. What does this mean for how we meet, develop relationships and support learning? In this week's episode of  The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Gemma T and Owen explore these questions with  HR for Hybrid Working author and Director of Epic HR, Gary Cookson. We discuss: What makes for an effective hybrid meeting Experiences that tend to be better 10...

Why is chronic stress, or burnout, on the rise? Who suffers the most? Is it an individual or an organisational problem?    In this week's episode of  The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , author Jennifer Moss speaks to Gemma and Ross about the problem of burnout.  What burnout is What causes such chronic stress What does and doesn't help ease the problem? You can find out more about Jennifer's work, and he...

What is a digital mindset? Why is it important? And can non-technical people really contribute in digital roles? In this week's episode of  The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Ross D and Ross G explore these questions with researcher, consultant and author of Digital Mindset , Dr Paul Leonardi. We discuss: How anyone can adopt a digital mindset The importance of collaboration, computation and change How...

Why is it so difficult to start something new and stick with it? How do we gain and maintain momentum? And why do we tire of what we're doing?  In this week's episode of  The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Ross D and Ross G explore these questions with Smart Growth author and disruption theorist Whitney Johnson. We discuss: what we mean by 'smart growth' the 'S Curve of Learning' model what L&D teams ca...

Interactive checklists, immersive VR games, bitesized elearning and so many possibilities in between. Learning designers are spoilt for choice when it comes to interventions. How to choose the "right" one?  Gemma, along with Tracey, Sean and David  from the Mind Tools Custom team discuss: what we mean by interventions  who and what to take into account when making a decision examples of interventi...

What are your organisation's values? How were they shaped? And what impact do they have on your future? In this week's episode of  The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Ross G and Ross D discuss these issues with speaker, consultant and author Nathalie Nahai. We discuss: the importance of values for retaining talent and attracting customers how an organisation's values are shaped whether 'values training'...

How and where have people been working over the past 12 months? What barriers to learning have they faced? And how have perceptions of workplace learning shifted? These are the kind of questions we're exploring on this weeks episode of  The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , as we dig into this year's 'Learner Intelligence' report. Ross G, Owen and our own Dr Anna Barnett discuss: how work across industries...

In a first for The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , we are coming to you this week LIVE FROM THE METAVERSE. Gemma, Mike, Jonathan and Claire met in Horizon Workrooms to discuss: what it feels like to meet in VR applications of VR that go beyond health and safety training which VR experiences are meaningful, and which are still 'fluff'. The VR experiences discussed were: Richie's Plank ( oculus.com/experie...

In this podcast, you'll learn: what learning outcomes are how to write learning outcomes and why presenting outcomes as a bulleted list is boring at best, and ineffective at worst. But seriously, this week join Ross D, Ross G, Tracey and Sean as they explore the characteristics of good learning outcomes and their connection to business objectives. For more on this topic, see Dr Will Thalheimer's b...

What are L&D practitioners excited about in 2022? Will we be drawn to bright, shiny objects like skills-based talent management? Or will we continue to focus on the lasting impact of Covid-19? This week on  The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Ross D and Owen are joined by Donald Taylor to discuss the results of this year's Global Sentiment Survey. We cover: the headline takeaways from the report regional...

Is curiosity a trait that we have, or a muscle we can build? To find out, Owen and Ross G are joined this week on  The Mind Tools L&D Podcast  by Stefaan van Hooydonk of the Global Curiosity Institute. We discuss: What curiosity is What stops us being curious at work How we can develop our curiosity. For more from Stefaan, including access to his free diagnostic, visit: globalcuriosityinstitute.co...

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 yo...

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...

In 2008, Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein published Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness . Since then, nudges have been applied to public policy, healthcare, business and tech. 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...

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...

What is a 'brand'? Why is it important? And how can your team 'build their brand'? 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 Jonatha...

Emerging tech will shape the future of how we work. It's just a question of when! 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...