Some of the most fun I had this year (well, that I can blog about anyway) was delivering a class called Power Teaching to a large group of creative, talented and enthusiastic entrepreneurs.
I wanted to share a key takeaway from the class, that I have applied over and over again in the two and a half decades I have been involved in training and development. Following it involves stepping away from the pack which can feel a bit scary — but it is so worth it in the end.
(View the video directly on YouTube here)
As a result of Power Teaching, students shipped a huge number of interesting classes – everything from how to set up a virtual law office to how to find your purpose in life. I promoted all the classes in this post, which was encouragement for many participants to get their classes done and ready to share with the world. And I am pleased to say that many people sold all the slots in their classes.
I am hosting Power Teaching again this January. I would be delighted to work with you. Join by tomorrow to be featured in the mid-February blog post round up. If you want to amp up your class with some instruction on selling, check out the Holiday Bundle, which wraps Power Teaching and Ethical Selling That Works into a special offer. This expires tomorrow, Wednesday, December 21 at 5pm Pacific. Details here:
https://escapefromcubiclenation.com/2011holiday/
Good luck designing and delivering some killer classes and presentations next year!
Yes!! Thank you for this! I’m currently redesigning my life 101 course, and will take this to heart. I was so excited about it, but overwhelmed my students with too much! So many didn’t get very far. On the one hand, I feel like all the info I cover needs to be covered (and felt like I already kept it from going way in depth), but then, I get the point that if they aren’t even getting to the next week of content, what does it matter?
Will begin chopping. And using graphic images to convey info (of course! great idea!)
Thanks!
sorry I missed out on joining the Power Teaching class… hope to get on the waiting list. Love Yoda… there is no try, there is only do! 🙂
[…] material is good too. I could randomly pick almost anything she’s posted to feature but this is a great reminder of simplifying your presentations or products. Interesting equation.. take what you want to cover and “whack it in half” and then “whack it […]
“Less is more” is a phrase I have heard often, and I am finding it to be so very true in almost every aspect of my life. Thank you for the reminder to apply it to the tutorials and classes I am planning and producing! Here’s to a great 2012!!
May the force be with you, Pam. I love the Yoda doll. xoxoxox Great video, U rock girl!
While I think many, or at least some of us, have felt this in our gut, as you said, we’re afraid to do it because “everybody” else talks fast to cram stuff in and loads a ton of bonuses on on top of it. I’d much rather do it your way. Finding that balance btw simple and valuable is definitely a goal of mine for 2012.
Yoda is on my high council too Pam. Sometimes he’s hard to understand.
🙂
Steve
Always an awesome reminder.
Power Teaching was such a great course for me because it gave me a framework not just for courses, but also the educational eBooks that I’m putting together. It gives me a great framework to set up the entire book — making me identify up front what I want people get out of the eBook helps me stay focused on what I’m choosing to include and why.
Thanks SO much for this video Pam! I absolutely LOVE it. You present such a simple concept, but it makes SO much sense. I see time, and again, that we are all on information overload these days, so when we are teaching our clients and students a concept/technique/strategy we really want them to implement the LESS we say the better. Truly, less is more.
Thanks so much for highlighting this important principle! You’ve got me wanting to review all my trainings and cut them in half! 🙂
Best regards,
Sydni
Sydni Craig-Hart
The Smart Simple Marketing Coach
Pamela,
I’ve been deleting your emails, just because of time constraints.
But I found time to view this one. Some very good points, so you won’t get junked so easily in the future.
HOWEVER, Yoda may be cute, and remembered for just one useful phrase (probably borrowed from the USMC)but do you really expect useful answers from somebody 900 years old who still can’t speak English?
Pam,
This is great! I hope more people get to “less” when it comes to powerpoint presentations, and deliver more. It’s like “niche your information down”! Focus on one area and deliver relevant points surrounding it.
Awesome Yoda btw. There are tons of Star Wars fans out there, embarassed to admit it, so maybe this liberates them a bit. 😉
May the force be with You!
(love the high counsil concept)
+Erika
I’m a huge Star Wars fan to Pam! Just watched it the other night on Spike TV. 🙂 As always, great video. I’m looking to start webinars next year so this helped.
Oh, Pam, you (and Yoda) are so right! I remember you talking about this in the Power Teaching Challenge, and I had to laugh, thinking about all the classes I’ve taught over the years, and how much I’ve tried to cram into them!
Ack!
Thank you for putting attention on this. It’s a bit of an up-hill battle when we’re working against the general cultural notion that “more is better!!!!”
But really, isn’t it better to get ONE really transformative piece from a class than 57 bits you’ll never even absorb?
*Slips away to continue designing upcoming retreat in Istanbul, Turkey, with renewed attention to trimming the fat*