Chart your course, let the learning begin, and shoot for the stars!

Articles

Susan offers articles on a variety of subjects. We hope that you find the articles of value and they meet your personal and professional needs.

Peruse this page to see if any of the summaries spark your interest.

Happy reading!

Susan Articles

During a Pilot Program

Susan walks you through the elements needed to conduct a pilot program for your new or revised training initiatives. Find out what you should say to participants in a pilot training program. Discover what follow up steps you should take to ensure that valuable feedback of the pilot is collected.

Read Article

The Meeting Agenda Details

You’ve created your agenda for your meeting…but have you considered everything you may need? Look over the details that are often overlooked.

Read Article

One Way Designing Training Works

Susan is often asked about how she designs training. Here is one example of how she worked with a client to create a first draft of a training program.

Read Article

Agenda Additions

Creating and distributing an agenda is important in making your meetings more effective. Get some hints on what you should consider in formulating your next meeting agenda.

Read Article

My First Client

Susan is often asked about how she designs training. Here is her first client experience when asked to document…and redesign a training seminar.

Read Article

The Dos and Don'ts of Creating Training Materials

Susan shares the dos and don’ts of creating training materials. These quick tips are sure to help you to begin documenting your ideas, knowledge, and skills so that others can be taught these critical components which are necessary for your organization’s success. (Cincinnati Women Biz Magazine printed this article in 2007.)

Read Article

What? A Meeting Agenda?

Most meetings are poorly planned. Creating an agenda is a great first step in making your meetings more effective.

Read Article

Being Aware

Susan encourages you to choose one moment in your day to be aware. She asks you to snap out of your routine and really consider your next step.

Read Article

Being Aware

Susan invites you to choose a moment and being – being aware.

Read Article

How to Find Content When You Need It

Trade magazines, journals, and publications are great source of content, but you have to be able to find it. Read Susan’s organizing tip.

Read Article

Leadership: A Call for Acknowledgement and Uniqueness

Acknowledge, recognize, and support – find out why these three components are necessary in being a successful leader.

Read Article

Attracting Perfect Customers

Attract your perfect customer by standing firm in who you are and what you do. Read about the lighthouse as a metaphor to this idea.

Read Article

Where Do I Sit?

Susan provides you with options for moving participants around in seminars and workshops so that participants have opportunities to work with, and get to know, other participants.

Read Article

Team Activity – Spirited Role Clarification

Susan shares one of her favorite activities to use with teams – especially those who need to clarify the team members’ roles and responsibilities.

Read Article

Development Time

Susan is frequently asked about the amount of time it will take to design a class. Here are some thoughts to consider.

Read Article

Imagination and Brainstorming Bring Immediate Results

Do you want to add two new games to your training opportunities? One is on conflict; the other one is on stress. And if they don’t work for your situation, they might spark your imagination!

Read Article

Just Because I Can: The Secret

Susan shares what she knows to be true.

Read Article

What Does "It" Look Like?

Want a fun activity to have learners focus on the topic being discussed? Check this article out!

Read Article

Facilitator, Trainer, or Presenter?

Training terms can be so confusing and, unfortunately, I don't have a solution to this issue. However, if you'd like to see all the terms other people use to describe me (Susan Otto), what I do, and what I create, take a look. You will no longer feel like the only confused training practitioner in the world of training vocabulary.

Read Article

Designing Training Materials

If you want a summary on how to create training materials, here's a brief article on a complex subject. The article provides you a variety of concepts to consider when designing.

Read Article

Dinner with Thiagi

Check out a quick, yet interactive, activity that Thiagi had ASTD attendees participate in at a dinner meeting. It's a simple frame game that you can use with a variety of content. Quick, simple, effective…and it's no secret!

Read Article

Do You Remember?: The Interviewee’s Comments

Do you need a game to remind interviewers how important observation, remembering, note taking, and group sharing are to the interview process? Read about this game, which was accepted by ASTD and included in their 2006 ASTD Training and Performance Sourcebook.

Read Article