Training from the Heart: Developing Your Natural Training Abilities to Inspire the Learner and Drive Performance on the Job

This book argues that the most effective and influential trainers have at least two things in Common - they know why they are trainers, and they understand that training is a partnership. Training from the Heart shows you how to find your own "training heart," and then how to use this insight to create a learning climate that will encourage your learners to apply lessons from the classroom to the job. Training professionals willing to take this journey of self-discovery are encouraged to take "action" and are given ample assistance by the authors through the use of self-assessments, thought-provoking checklists, and other learning tools. In addition, you will find many useful first-person vignettes throughout the book that demonstrate why training from the heart really works.

Barry Lyerly has a master's degree of arts in counselor education from the University of Iowa. As the former director of training at Marshall Field's in Chicago, he has trained and coached hundreds of people in a broad range of subjects, including presentation skills, leadership, team building, interpersonal effectiveness, and sales. His clients have included Crate & Barrel, Ace Hardware, Rockwell International, Bank of America, Lake Forest Hospital, and McDonald's Corporation.

Lyerly founded Lyerly Seminars in 1984. He has been a featured speaker for the Midwest Training Conference in Chicago, Illinois Hospital Association, Data Entry Managers Association, American Society for Training & Development International Conference & Exposition, and the Chicago Sales Training Association.

Lyerly has trained other trainers on his unique learning design, Insight to Action. Trainers who have benefited from this design include "professors" at McDonald's Hamburger University, internal and external facilitators at the University of Chicago Hospital's Academy, and HR professionals at the Bank of America. Cyndi Maxey earned her master's degree of arts in communication studies from Northwestern University at Evanston. She is now a speaker, trainer, and author who helps people fine-tune their speaking and listening skills. As the owner of Maxey Creative since 1989, she has developed and presented workshops internationally for such clients as Wendy's International, DARC Development Corporation, and Discover Financial Services.

She was a co-author for The Communication Coach: Business Communication Tips from the Pro's, a business communication anthology published by Coloring Outside the Lines in 1998. Her articles have appeared in several publications, including Training & Development, Professional Speaker, Training Today, Business 2 Business Marketer, and Employee Relations Quarterly.

Maxey, a certified speaking professional with the National Speakers Association, is a popular conference presenter on training and communication techniques. Active in the local and regional leadership of ASTD, she has won several ASTD-sponsored awards for service to the training field.