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I remember the day I suggested it. My team totally laughed at me, but they got it. (I was grateful for that.) I mean it really was going to be a fun way to teach new employees how a wireless network works. Granted it was unconventional…but it was something that I did as a kid. Is playing unconventional?

We were going to build a wireless network with Dots candy and toothpicks.

Now before you laugh me off the internet, wait for a second. I guarantee every single one of the employees that we trained that way remembers that part of the training. They may have forgotten what frequencies GSM service ran on, but I know for sure they wouldn’t forget how a call routed on our network.

Sometimes the best training of all is laughable and childish. As kids we learn from playing and games, why should our adult learning lives be any different? Do we really believe that power-point and lectures are going to make me any better at my job?

Unconventional training methods pop up all over the place. Kettleball training for fitness is really catching on. Companies are using video-game-like online trainings to teach people & even one trainer is using Dots to teach about wireless network structures. (haha)

Think outside the box…but remember to think inside the sand box. Put a little play into your trainings and watch that information stick…like Dot candies.

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