My aim for this blog site

I set this blog up to talk about the world of training and facilitation. I plan for it to be entertaining and educational. As I am both a curriculum developer and a trainer, I am constantly looking at new ways to do things; everything from new templates for PowerPoint to new advances in electronic projectors.

As for the entertainment part, I will be baring my soul and telling stories of my successes and failures, of the weird and wonderful people I come across in my training life. I don't know about you, but it seems that there is always someone in the class that stands out, for better or worse. I personally like the heckler. I once had a giant of man called Moses in my class. I had been warned that he could be trouble and that he was there under sufferance. My client even told me that he had to be ejected from a previous class recently. Apparently it took several staff members to manage this feat.

Anyway, as I did the standard round table introductions I got inexorably closer to Moses. When he introduced himself he was surly and challenging and I thought that what went on in the next minute or so would dictate the whole day-long seminar so, I joked about his name, his size (he really dwarfed everyone else) and asked him a few fairly tough questions, and then continued the round table.

The morning session went well, and although I kept catching Moses' eye, I couldn't work out what he was thinking. Had I really ticked him off, or had I established who was the boss in this situation?

At this point I should tell you that I am 5' 6" tall (I never could get the hang of metrics) and Moses was around 6' 6" and built like the side of a barn. At coffee break he stormed up to me, and I thought - okay this is where it gets interesting. As he got closer to the group I was talking to I could see my clients looking worried and starting to move towards us in force. My little coffee network parted like the red sea and I saw this large arm covered with red hair heading towards my head. As I flinched I felt the arm encircle my shoulders and Moses gave me a bone-crunching bear hug. As he slowly released his grip he looked down at me and said in his unnaturally quiet but deep voice "you're alright". His face was creased in a smile, his face red below a ginger mop of hair.

I never had a moment of bother with Moses after that, he was a positive force throughout the session and although I never saw him again, I often wonder how my convert to business training is doing!