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Training DVD Devotee
May 12, 2008
DVDs are good for more than feet-on-the-coffee-table evenings. Even before your tired day is over, they can be a useful addition to a run-of-the-mill training curriculum.
By Jocelyn Godfrey
You recall sitting through educational films in high school health class, right? Remember the ones with the fake gushing blood and amateur acting, followed by instructions on how to call 911 or patch up a gaping wound caused by a huge falling log? Even with the sometimes over-the-top scenarios, high school movies offered a welcome break from the monotony of everyday education. Students often find more meaning—not to mention entertainment—learning from a film rather than a book or lecture.
Your staff members are older and (hopefully) wiser than they were in high school, but they're still motivated by what grabs their attention and holds it. As managers, why not continue the trend by motivating staff through visual means? "We live in an A.D.D. culture. People are going to pay attention to the sparkliest thing in the room," says Sam Glenn, motivational keynote speaker and author. "If we are managers, this means we have to adapt by creating 'A.D.D.-friendly' ways of tantalizing and teaching our staff."
One such A.D.D-friendly approach is through increasingly popular training DVDs (or videos), designed to present key learning points in an entertaining, visually enhanced manner. Topics include customer service, sexual harassment prevention, motivation and meetings, change management, leadership and management, workplace issues, diversity, and sales training. Featuring motivational speakers, actors, or celebrities ranging from Lance Armstrong to The Muppets, these programs have been around since the 1950s, but took off as big business when the VCR entered the picture in the 1980s. "It's like having a professional speaker on staff, only for a fraction of the cost," says Glenn, who has his own motivational series produced by EverythingAttitude.com. "Whether you want to rev up the troops or teach them a specific skill, there is a DVD out there for you, which pays for itself by allowing you to watch it over and over again."
How are the DVDs used? Many are broken up into chapters, so they can be watched in phases and utilized in staff meetings, or as openers to larger events, offering flexibility. "Video-based training content is not a replacement for hands on learning, but it can add perspective, entertainment value, and discussion components to a more detailed learning experience," says Dini Coffman, partner/owner of Enterprise Media. "A DVD helps reinforce the lessons."
The training video industry exploded with the hit "In Search of Excellence," by Tom Peters and Bob Waterman, which was later broadcast on PBS, Coffman explains. "It changed the way managers trained their employees," she says. "All participants can sit in one room and watch the film and then discuss the topic. This can be done repeatedly so it also becomes cost effective. The sales of various DVD programs have grown significantly since then." Price tags on these training DVDs typically range from $300 to $1,000—higher than your average home movie—but necessary to cover production costs, and still less expensive and more flexible than hiring a speaker or putting together an entire seminar.
Using a DVD training program by a professional speaker also can be a way to test your staff’s response to the speaker. "We have found customers will buy a DVD of a presentation and then may decide to hire the speaker to come in and provide a personalized experience for the organization," says Coffman. Distributors across the country make one-stop shopping easy, carrying hundreds of titles in an online-based store. Enterprise Media, besides being a distributor of such titles as Glenn's "A Kick in the Attitude," also has produced more than 70 business titles, including "Life is Good…and Work Can Be Too!," a profile of the successful retailer Life is Good, and "Who Says We Can't Do It? Lance Armstrong's Journey."
Whether a corporation, college, library, hospital, school, or government agency, businesses of all sizes are utilizing DVD training programs to capitalize on cost issues and entertainment value.
Jocelyn Godfrey is president of Spiritus Communications, a provider of marketing, advertising, and publishing services. For more information, visit www.spirituscommunications.com.
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