It is difficult to believe that nearly 10 years have passed since we sat down to write the first edition of Telling Ain’t Training. We thought then that we were done. However, when we were approached to produce an updated, expanded, and enhanced version of Telling Ain’t Training, ideas began to bubble to the surface. How could we decline such a tempting offer? So much has happened since Telling Ain’t Training was first published. Yet, so much still remains the same. What to say? What choices to make?
Response to the first edition of Telling Ain’t Training was overwhelming. We heard from hundreds of readers about how the book had affected the way they and their organizations approach training. We also heard from school teachers, professors, and parents who saw how the principles and strategies of Telling Ain’t Training could be applied in their settings. Examples and testimonials poured in. We were so pleased when our readers asked for more. And more is what they got!
In 2004, the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) published our companion book, Training Ain’t Performance, which addresses the more expansive nature of what we do to improve human performance in the workplace. In 2005 and 2006, respectively, we launched our two fieldbooks, Beyond Telling Ain’t Training Fieldbook and Beyond Training Ain’t Performance Fieldbook. These publications further supported the implementation of our approach in organizations worldwide.
The Ain’t series of books (which is what the group of four is often called) were not the only means of spreading the word. In fact, based on the popularity of Telling Ain’t Training, ASTD invited us to conduct Telling Ain’t Training mini conferences throughout the United States. This then led to Telling Ain’t Training events in ASTD and International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) chapters; the Canadian Society for Training and Development (CSTD); and corporations, government agencies, and nonprofits throughout the world. Who could have imagined that Telling Ain’t Training would be delivered live, on average, 20 times a year?
The first edition of Telling Ain’t Training was a wonderfully enjoyable book to write. It wasn’t a typical book for us but more of a conversation about training. We have devoted our professional lives—approximately 80 years combined—to teaching, designing instruction, helping organizations create learning and performance support solutions, and conducting research on learning and workplace performance. We have spent these years in both the academic and corporate worlds. We’ve produced many professional and scientific publications. Telling Ain’t Training was totally different from anything else we had ever written. This edition of Telling Ain’t Training—updated, expanded, and enhanced—remains true to the approach and style set in the original publication.
As with the first edition, we have done away with many of the conventions we normally apply to our writing. Except for a few references to specific individuals from whom we have directly borrowed ideas or words, we have eliminated the usual citation practices. Instead, we have placed at the end of the book a section called For Further Reading (updated and greatly expanded in this edition) that you can consult to dig more deeply into some aspect of what we present. In this second edition, we also provide endnotes to not only cite references, but also position them. The endnotes expand Telling Ain’t Training’s depth. Hunting for research references and citations to bring the new edition up to date, enhance it, and add more evidence to support or update its content was an intensive two-year activity. But what an exciting and enlightening one it was! Reading articles, manuscripts, reports, research abstracts, meta-analysis studies, books, and even interview summaries significantly expanded our own horizons. We are happy to share what we discovered as we scoured the universe for new material.
Just as in the first edition, we have maintained a conversational—almost speaking—tone in our writing. We’ve also used contractions, dialogue, asides, fun exercises, teasers, challenges, and any other technique we felt would keep this book as reader-friendly as possible.
To create Telling Ain’t Training: Updated, Expanded, and Enhanced, we took what accumulated research and well-documented professional procedure have demonstrated to be sound and desirable practices for training-learning (that is, the deliberate actions taken to trigger desirable skill/knowledge acquisition and the outcomes of these actions) and made them more approachable than typically presented in the scientific and professional journals. Our purpose was to make the best principles of training available to both newly appointed trainers and more experienced practitioners searching for explanation and confirmation on why certain things work (or perhaps don’t). In no case have we “dumbed down” the research findings. We have worked diligently to maintain the integrity of the various researchers’ and authors’ works while modifying the language (never the ideas or findings) to make their discoveries accessible to a broad training audience. In this latest edition, we also spend more time and space on how the basic principles of training-learning play out in a changing world—one that has experienced the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001; a major economic downturn; and the advent of many technological advances such as e-learning, webinars, social media, e-readers, and virtual worlds. Workplace learning has been transformed in ways we could have not imagined when we wrote the first edition.
With respect to technology and training, we felt that the best way to include content about this ever-changing scene would be by deferring to someone with greater expertise than we possess. Fortunately, our colleague and friend, Marc J. Rosenberg, who has authored excellent books on e-learning and the use of technology to improve human performance at work, accepted our invitation to become part of the writing team. He co-authored the section of this book called “Training-Learning With Technology and Beyond.” This section consists of two chapters. The first provides a historical perspective and conceptual framework for using technology in training-learning. The second is more pragmatic and includes rich examples of technology at work. We are extremely grateful for the knowledge and wisdom he has shared to expand and enhance this second edition of Telling Ain’t Training.
You will notice that we have divided the book into five sections containing 13 chapters. The first two chapters describe the contents and lay out a road map for what lies ahead. The ensuing chapters provide you with both substance and tools to bring Telling Ain’t Training: Updated, Expanded, and Enhanced to life. Each chapter starts with a brief overview of its highlights to help you prepare yourself for the content that follows. To avoid too much “telling,” which is almost inevitable in a book, and one-way communication, which is what we’re asking you not to do, every chapter contains activities that are meant to engage you in meaningful ways. The exercises—many of them fun, several of them timed to increase the challenge—offer opportunities for you to interact with the learning content. All of the chapters (except the first one) conclude with brief, summary exercises and activities that prompt you to recall what you’ve learned and help you retain key points when you’ve finished reading the book. Along the way you will encounter the following icons:
This icon signals an important fact for the reader.
This icon identifies key points for using the information we’ve supplied.
This icon accompanies a review of the major takeaway knowledge in each chapter.
We would like to thank former ASTD Press acquisitions editor Mark Morrow for inviting us to create the original Telling Ain’t Training and for supporting us so enthusiastically through its preparation and the other books in the Ain’t series, including this updated, expanded, and enhanced edition.
Our thanks also go to Justin Brusino, ASTD Press acquisitions editor, who was the project manager for the second edition of Telling Ain’t Training. His assistance, guidance, and support were most appreciated.
Our sincere appreciation goes to Tora Estep, former ASTD Press senior associate editor, for cleaning up our text beautifully without straying from our central message or style.
There is no way we could have completed this book without the constant support of our very dear right and left hand, Barbra Hellwig, who took care of all the hard stuff while we wrote. Barbra, we are eternally in your debt.
We have no words to express our deepest appreciation to Samantha Greenhill, who collaborated on this fifth book in the Ain’t series. Her ability to work with us, tolerate our unending demands, and not flinch from our tight timelines never ceases to amaze us. Calmly, she absorbs what we send her, along with our cryptic instructions, and turns it all into something coherent. Astonishing!
In creating this book, we thought especially about the countless workers and managers who find themselves thrust into the role of trainer, often with no formal background in training and learning. Our hope is that these individuals feel guided and supported by this publication.
One of the greatest joys of writing a book in which you share what you have learned with readers is that of sharing the experience with a co-author you admire. We are not just co-authors; we are also professional colleagues and life partners. To each other, then, thanks for continuing the journey together.
Harold D. Stolovitch and Erica J. Keeps
Los Angeles, May 2011