It seems that in any type of training, personal rapport is the most important ingredient. I have that as my main tenet - in fundraising, I call it establishing trust.
Here's am excerpt from a recent story from the Los Angeles Times about a consultant working with underachieving schools to raise test scores!
Dennis Parker is a part-Cherokee trainer in rural Zamora, Calif., who
sports a silver ponytail beneath his cowboy hat. But his recent
demonstration was aimed at training a different breed grappling with far
bigger tasks: educators under mounting pressure to raise students'
standardized test scores.
As a dozen educators watched, Parker
explained that good relationships are key toward boosting achievement
and that horses and humans both respond to similar strategies. Build
rapport with friendly chatter. Gain respect by giving out tasks. And
give treats not simply as rewards but just to be fun.
"Can you do that with your kids?" Parker asked. "It's like training horses; you don't break them, you teach them."
At Wilson in Santa Ana, Parker demonstrated the art of building
relationships, using his horse-training techniques with fourth-graders.
He bantered with them, saying they looked like sixth-graders. He used
fun language — learning is "easy easy lemon squeezy" — and let the
children choose the colors of classroom magnets. Offering choice helps
children — and horses —become more cooperative, he said.
Personal rapport, he said, is one of the most overlooked tools in the quest to raise test scores.
"I
work on relationships as much as the curriculum," he said. "Kids won't
exert a lot of effort if they don't like or respect their teachers or
have a say in their day."
To read the whole story
