More Praise for This Book

“A brilliantly accessible guide to developing training that works! This book brings the best of current academic thought to the practitioner in a conversational, practical, and usable format. The endnotes are a phenomenal resource for anyone who wants to dig deeper. Simply superb.”

Bonnie Beresford
Vice President, Client Services, Capital Analytics

“I’ve been recommending this book for years to my staff, my students, and friends who work for nonprofits. It’s the most accurate and easy-to-read book for anyone who wants to help someone learn. The new section on technology is especially helpful for those of us involved in online learning. And my doctoral students will love this updated version with more than 300 references.”

Petti Van Rekom
Professor, Training and Performance Improvement, Capella University
Director of Online Learning, Iowa Writers Online

“It is hard to improve on their original, wonderful training guide, but Stolovitch and Keeps have managed to do just that. This edition of Telling Ain’t Training identifies changes organizations must make to meet modern workplace skill and knowledge improvement challenges. The endnotes are exceptional. What a treasure trove of scientific and professional resources for additional research and reading! Telling Ain’t Training is an essential resource for trainers.”

Connie Denicola
Instructor Development Manager,
National Center for Biomedical Research and Training

Praise for the First Edition

“A critical topic delivered in a compelling way. I can see how this book will elevate the conversation about learning and performance.”

Allison Rossett
Professor of Educational Technology, San Diego State University

“This practical, innovative, and well-researched book on how we all learn is an invaluable tool for all learning and performance professionals. As a former vice president of training and change management, I would have made the book mandatory reading for trainers, coaches, and managers, had it existed. Well done!”

Michel Desjardins
Senior Vice President, BDC Consulting Group,
Business Development Bank of Canada

“This is a great book that will change your perceptions about teaching. I have always listened carefully to what Harold and Erica have to say on this subject. Now I have what I always wanted—a readily accessible Harold and Erica. A convincing, fun, and interesting read.”

J. Kimball Dietrich
Associate Professor, Finance and Business Economics,
University of Southern California

“I believe in Telling Ain’t Training so much that I have ordered five copies and am going to do a book study with the five trainers we have in our district. I am so excited to get the opportunity to share the information from your book with my trainers. I feel they will benefit and be brought up to the next level.”

Kenyon Boswell
Technology Training Supervisor, Katy Independent School District

“I wanted to let you know how your book, Telling Ain’t Training, has positively transformed a company’s training program and me! The most exciting part has been the comments from the new hires who have gone through the training: ‘It’s so organized,’ ‘It’s so easy to understand,’ ‘This is the best training I’ve ever been through….’ The most incredible part is the feedback from the current staff concerning the high level of the new hires after training and also the fact that the current employees are so intrigued with the new training that they want to go through it themselves! Thank you for such an enlightening, easy-to-understand, transformational book!”

Pamela Sullivan
Recognition and Retention Consultant, PS Sullivan & Co.

“I have just finished reading your book Telling Ain’t Training, and I wanted to drop you a note to commend you on an excellent book. I have been reviewing considerable literature for the past few years, and I think your publication is one of the clearest, most straightforward publications I have come across in a long time. I am recommending that everyone in our training organization review it because it serves as a great tool to ‘bring everything together.’”

Steve Sniderman
Performance Improvement Consultant, Global Education & Training,
Global Sales Division, Amway

Readers Share How Telling Ain’t Training, First Edition, Was Used in Their Organizations

“At Merck Sharp and Dohme (New Zealand), we drew together a group of people who are involved in the training and education of others and began monthly forum sessions based around Telling Ain’t Training and Training Ain’t Performance. The main changes have come from the growing awareness within the group that they should be performance based and learner centered. It has significantly changed the way they see their roles, and, in particular, caused them to go back to the drawing board to look at what they are trying to achieve and why. In almost all cases, my group has changed its approach from being ‘trainers’ to ‘improvers of performance.’ When they do put together training they now carefully consider how to best enable people to learn as opposed to just attending a course.

“We used to have a calendar of typical training workshops that either consisted of too much material being transmitted or too many activities that were superfluous and didn’t result in performance improvement. So our trainers are now starting with the learners and what they need to know and do and are then designing training and other performance support to enable it. The result has been less but more relevant training, less money, and the content and structure match the performance outcomes required.

“I laminated a simple, brightly colored card for each person that simply reads ‘Performance Based and Learner Centered.’ I’ve noticed that everyone has it above their desk as a reminder for their educational efforts and workplace conversations. We’ve already seen new learner-centered materials being produced together with shorter modules in formats that maximize retention and learning. Thank you for a couple of outstanding books that have been written in a way that walks the talk!”

Rob Bialostocki
Learning and Development Manager, Merck Sharp and Dohme (New Zealand)

“I am a teacher of developmental English at Baltimore City Community College. My students often have deficits in more areas than just grammar and mechanics. Their skill deficits often include the behavioral—not so much bad behavior, but lack of self-esteem. Few of my students feel comfortable working in a group. Even fewer know how to address a speaker or form a good question.

“When I returned from the Arlington, Virginia, Telling Ain’t Training workshop, I immediately employed the ‘Press Conference’ technique in my class. The only modification I made was that I coached students on taking turns to ask questions and in ways to pose questions politely.

“The technique demonstrated a remarkable amount of potential in my students. They were far more comfortable working in groups and asking questions after they participated in the exercise. I feel that, with more practice, I will be able to apply the technique in my class with aplomb. Thank you for teaching me how to conduct Press Conferences in the training/instructional classroom.”

Carole Quine
Associate Professor, English, Baltimore City Community College (USA)

“I organized a book club for about 25 trainers dispersed throughout my company. Because training is very decentralized here, we don’t really have many opportunities to share experiences or learn from one another. By choosing Telling Ain’t Training for our inaugural meeting, I hoped to instill a foundation for future discussions. We had a lively dialogue around this relevant book. I am currently designing a class that is ‘PowerPoint free’ where the focus is on the learner. Less is indeed more! Thanks for the inspiration.”

Janet DiVincenzo
Senior Instructional Designer, Fulfillment Training,
New Century Mortgage (USA)

“I have used what I have learned from Telling Ain’t Training in perhaps more subtle ways than changes to ‘training courses’ themselves:

• I have purchased copies for members of the corporate learning leadership team to open their thinking to fundamentals and challenge the way we often think about training (for example, basic understanding of when training is even relevant or the most effective means of addressing performance gaps or knowledge/skill gaps).
• I created my own four-page summary and share it with colleagues when certain topics come up (for example, someone recently stressed the importance of just-in-time training and that a little of the right stuff is more effective and often much cheaper to create than large volumes of content).
• Two key overall messages that I have promoted are
  —the concept of ‘learner-centered’—simple but powerful, easy to explain and have others think differently about what training should provide and how we offer it
  —the understanding of ‘the human learner’ and the way our senses work, including filter mechanisms; it explains so much.

“Thanks for the book—I use it weekly in many ways!”

Mick Thomas
Learning Leader, Dow Chemical