“forest, trees, forest, path” by Karsten Paulick is licensed by Pixabay.

September is here, offering a fresh start and the perfect opportunity to focus on your growth and development. As the season changes, it’s an ideal time to dive into new learning experiences and expand your skills. With a variety of free webinars available this month, you can explore topics that will boost your creativity and enhance your professional expertise. Don’t keep the learning to yourself — invite colleagues and friends to join you. Make this September a time of collective growth and shared inspiration!

Tuesday, September 3, 2024, 9 a.m.–10 a.m. PT: AI in Instructional Design: What Works, What Doesn’t, and What Could Be Dangerous
Margie Meacham, Founder of Learningtogo.ai, offers a balanced perspective on artificial intelligence’s (AI) potential benefits, limitations and risks. She’ll cover effective AI applications that enhance learning experiences, such as personalized content creation, adaptive assessments and intelligent tutoring systems, and she’ll also address common pitfalls and ineffective uses of AI in educational contexts, helping instructional designers avoid costly mistakes and wasted efforts. By the end of the session, you’ll have a clear understanding of how to responsibly integrate AI into your instructional design practices, maximizing its benefits while mitigating potential risks.

Tuesday, September 3, 2024, 12 p.m.–1 p.m. PT: Expert Solutions to Your Virtual Training Challenges
If your learners aren’t engaged and don’t turn on their webcams, you aren’t alone! Discover proven strategies and techniques to create effective and engaging virtual training. Cindy Huggett, CPTD, Principal of Cindy Huggett Consulting, will show you how to build a virtual class that overcomes common challenges and leads to learning results. You’ll leave this session with practical tips and strategies that can be applied right away to improve your online classes. Topics Covered in this webinar:

Explore causes of common virtual training challenges.
Create an interactive virtual class with engaged learners.
Apply five key steps to virtual training success.

Wednesday, September 4, 2024, 10 a.m.–11 a.m. PT: The Power of Practice: Redefining Skill Development with Experiential Learning
In an era where digital skills are paramount, traditional training methods often fall short of preparing employees for real-world challenges. Dharshan Chandran, Associate Director of Product Marketing at Whatfix, will explore the concept of “learning by doing” and its effectiveness in unlocking employee potential. He’ll discuss the benefits of providing a safe, practical environment for employees to practice and experiment, reinforcing knowledge with hands-on experience. During this session, you’ll:

Embrace the shift from theory to practice for deeper skill development.
Learn actionable strategies to effectively implement experiential learning.
Understand how simulation software can help L&D provide a safe practice environment for hands-on software training.

Wednesday, September 4, 2024, 12 p.m.–1p.m. PT: Mastering Master Slides in Articulate Storyline 360
Why settle for defaults? Developers often underestimate the power of Master Slides and their ability to level up their designs rather than accepting Storyline defaults. Storyline developers also underestimate the added control by leveraging the layers of Master and Feedback Master slides. What if there were a way to leverage Master slides beyond defaults to manage efficient workflows better? In this session, with Dr. Kevin Thorn, Owner of NuggetHead Studioz, LLC, you’ll learn the underlying structure of Master and Feedback Master behaviours and how to manipulate them to support more engaging designs by unlocking the power of the Master slides in Articulate Storyline 360.

Wednesday, September 4, 2024, 12 p.m.–1p.m. PT: What Makes a Great Training Team? Optimize L&D Performance with Key Processes, Competencies and Effective Team Structure
Organizations are facing new challenges and technologies, making the training team an essential strategic capability. But to ensure the learning and development (L&D) function delivers impact, L&D teams often need guidance on how to set up their internal processes for success. Amy DuVernet, Ph.D., Training Industry’s Director of Training and Development, will guide you through essential research and insights on building a great training team. Whether you’re in a centralized, decentralized or federated/hybrid L&D team, you’ll discover key processes, leadership competencies, structuring strategies and development opportunities to optimize your corporate L&D performance.

Thursday, September 5, 2024, 8 a.m.–9 a.m. PT: Accessible Elearning: Why It Matters and How to Achieve It
As the pressure mounts for enterprises to make training accessible to everyone, many organizations need help starting or accelerating their accessibility journey. Michael Coates, Business Development Director of RWS; Verity Creedy, Vice President of Product Management at Development Dimensions International (DDI); and Anna Rita de Bonis, Software Accessibility Specialist and Trainer at RWS, will cover the essential steps of accessible course design. Anna Rita is blind and can bring the challenges of accessibility to life as no one else can. You’ll also learn from the experiences of DDI, a global leadership consulting firm that’s making rapid progress in enhancing the accessibility of its courses so that all leaders can connect to world-class development.

Thursday, September 5, 2024, 9 a.m.–10 a.m. PT: Accessible Design Starts with Storyboards
“Accessible means boring. Accessibility choices are made in the authoring tool. How can people learn this concept without a drag and drop?” Perhaps these thoughts have crossed your mind when faced with creating an accessible elearning experience. But all learners deserve inclusive courses that are creative and engaging, and accessibility truly starts in the instructional design and storyboarding process. From laying the groundwork in instructional design to crafting engaging, inclusive content and activities, Rachel Serago, Lead Instructional Designer at Artisan Learning, will equip you with the tools to create elearning experiences that truly serve all learners.

Thursday, September 5, 2024, 12 p.m.–1p.m. PT: Introduction to XR training: From Concept to (Virtual) Reality
Are you curious about the transformative potential of virtual reality (VR) enterprise training? Whether you’re familiar with VR and the broader scope of extended reality (XR) training or just beginning to explore its possibilities, this session is designed for you. will explain:

How to navigate the new landscape of VR, AR, spatial computing and Mixed Reality.
Why partnering with business leaders and piloting ambitious XR solutions that will fundamentally re-imagine enterprise learning is critical to success.
What makes for high-value XR pilot opportunities (including hands-on spatial tasks that are impossible, dangerous, costly or inconvenient to practice in real life).
How to build the business case and demonstrate ROI (and overcome barriers to adoption).
How XR simulations are designed (including environments, interactions, error correction and feedback), developed (with professional game engines and game developers) and deployed at scale.

Tuesday, September 10, 2024, 8 a.m.–9 a.m. PT: Inclusive Elearning: Designing for Accessibility (Free for ATD members)
Join Michael Coates, Business Development Director of RWS; Verity Creedy, Vice President of Product Management at Development Dimensions International (DDI); and Anna Rita de Bonis, Software Accessibility Specialist and Trainer at RWS, for a webinar on how to ensure that all learners — including those with auditory, visual, mobility or learning issues — can engage fully with your elearning content. You’ll learn from the unique perspective of an RWS expert who is herself blind, and from DDI, a global leadership consulting firm actively making their courses more accessible. Attend this webinar to discover:

Why accessible courses are good for all learners.
What happens when courses aren’t accessible.
Practical ways to design inclusive elearning.

Tuesday, September 10, 2024, 9 a.m.–10 a.m. PT: Design Dynamic Elearning with Variables in the All-New Adobe Captivate
Join Sharath Ramaswamy, Senior Elearning Evangelist at Adobe, for an insightful webinar where you’ll discover the power of variables in the all-new Adobe Captivate. This webinar will guide you through the process of using variables to create more interactive, personalized and adaptive learning experiences. You’ll learn how to leverage Adobe Captivate’s powerful variable features to enhance your content and make it more engaging and effective for learners. By the end of this webinar, you’ll be able to:

Understand the Role of Variables: Grasp the concept of variables in Adobe Captivate and how they can be used to store and manipulate data within your elearning courses.
Create and Manage Variables: Learn how to create, edit and manage different types of variables to add dynamic content and interactivity.
Implement Conditional Logic: Apply conditional actions using variables to tailor learning experiences based on user interactions and inputs.
Enhance Interactivity: Enhance the interactivity of your courses by using variables to provide customized feedback.

Tuesday, September 10, 2024, 10 a.m.–11 a.m. PT: Elevating the Learning Experience: Leveraging Holistic Support Systems
Experience the world of holistic learning experiences, where support systems emerge as the unsung heroes. In this informative session with Taylor Kong, Senior Instructional Designer at EPAM, you’ll uncover the influence of communities, user-friendly platforms and resource access — all crucial elements in fostering a truly engaging and empowering learning environment. Through real-life case studies and insights, you’ll gain a nuanced understanding of how these support mechanisms can enhance the overall learning experience. The power of these support systems can be leveraged to elevate and inspire learners, reshaping the educational landscape for the better.

Wednesday, September 11, 2024, 8 a.m.–9 a.m. PT: Tailored Pathways to Career Growth: How Learning Experience Drives Employee Engagement and Retention
Disengaged employees present a significant economic burden, costing the global economy trillions annually. Despite evidence linking learning to improved business outcomes, only a quarter of the global workforce feels engaged. While high-performing organizations prioritize learner-centric approaches, aligning learning technologies with diverse learner needs remains a challenge. Join Dr. Allen Partridge, Director of Product Evangelism at Adobe, to explore the gap between the potential of learning to drive organizational success and the complexities of implementation in today’s workforce.

Wednesday, September 11, 2024, 10 a.m.–11 a.m. PT: Your People Have Spoken. It’s Time to Connect Performance and Learning
Corporate learning and performance programs are failing their people regularly. Without connected learning and performance, learners don’t know how to improve, leaders struggle to give meaningful feedback, and organizations waste time, energy and resources on failed competency initiatives. It’s heard all the time from leaders and learners: performance reviews are useless, and corporate learning is broken. So, how can you fix the broken pattern of a typical performance review cycle? During this webinar, Keith Metcalfe, President of Acorn PLMS, will discuss how your organization can introduce a paradigm shift to connect your performance and learning programs.

Wednesday, September 11, 2024, 12 p.m.–1 p.m. PT: Coaches, Trainers and Consultants: Land 3x Larger Client Engagements (Free for ATD members)
It can take the same effort to land a long-term client as it does to close a once-and-done project. But larger talent development programs provide deeper transformation and better ROI for clients, while offering greater cash flow, stability and personal fulfillment for you. In this session, presented by Angelique Rewers, CEO and Founder of BoldHaus, you’ll discover how to create 3x larger T&D opportunities with integrity and deliver superior client results. If you’re a coach, consultant, trainer or business owner (or soon-to-be), don’t miss it.

Thursday, September 12, 2024, 10 a.m.–11 a.m. PT: Selecting an In-Person Training Facilitator: Tips for Choosing the Best
You’ve been tasked with designing a memorable and action-oriented program for an upcoming in-person training, management development series or department retreat. Unsure of the next steps? Join Lisa Carver, Human Capital Business Partner at Moxie Consulting, Inc., to explore the benefits of hiring an external trainer. Lisa will guide you through the process of selecting a “super facilitator” — someone who brings fresh perspectives, leads engaging discussions and encourages practical application of content. A super facilitator can create an experience that motivates employees to adopt new behaviours. Whether you’re planning a one-time in-person training or a multi-year development series, this webinar will provide valuable insights on finding the right facilitator to maximize engagement and build a strong partnership.

Thursday, September 12, 2024, 10 a.m.–11 a.m. PT: Unlock the Power of Blended Learning: Unleash Your Team’s Potential
Traditional learning models are no longer sufficient to meet the diverse needs of modern employees. Blended learning, a dynamic approach that seamlessly integrates online and in-person instruction, has emerged as a powerful tool for driving organizational success. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from the best and transform your organization’s blended learning strategy. The panel, moderated by Brandon Hall Group’s Claude Werder, features Wesley Best, Director of Educational Technologies and Digital Programs at University of Virginia, Darden Executive Education and Lifelong Learning; Mike Lakusiak, Associate Director of Digital Experience at the University of British Columbia, Sauder School of Business; and Todd Moran, Chief Learning Strategist at NovoEd.

Thursday, September 12, 2024, 10:30 a.m.–11:30 a.m. PT: A Facilitator’s Gifts: Uncovering Your Unique Strengths and Style (Free for IPL members)
Every facilitator offers a unique set of gifts for every group of learners they meet. That uniqueness is personal, like a signature. It adds deeper meaning and purpose to the work they do. In this interactive session with Shift Facilitation’s Moe Poirier, Founding Partner, and Boyan Djefersky, Facilitator and Coach, you’ll work with Five Personas to help you accelerate the discovery process, identify natural strengths and uncover your signature style.

Thursday, September 12, 2024, 12 p.m.–1 p.m. PT: Use PowerPoint to Create Beautiful Documents
PowerPoint is used creating documents possibly more frequently than for presentations, and while it’s okay to have a load of text in a PowerPoint document, the lack of visual hierarchy, consistent style, clear layout and key information highlighting means that Death by PowerPoint extends even further. In this session, Richard Goring, Director at BrightCarbon, will look at best practices to ensure your documents look like they’ve been created in InDesign, rather than PowerPoint. You’ll see how to make them impressive, clear and effective at communicating your key ideas.

Tuesday, September 17, 2024, 8 a.m.–9 a.m. PT: L&D Professionals Are Not All Right: Three Ways to Protect Your Team from Tech and Change Fatigue
Are you an L&D professional facing rapid changes in training due to AI, budget constraints and staffing challenges? This session will tackle these critical issues, providing strategies to adapt to AI advancements, manage complex projects, handle numerous training requests with insufficient staffing and refresh your audiences suffering from change fatigue. Join Scott Provence, VP of Integrated Learning Services at ELB Learning, to gain actionable insights for building an adaptive learning culture. You’ll see how everything from behaviour-change science to MVP mindsets can help you lead engaged teams, empower audiences and prove the value of L&D.

Tuesday, September 17, 2024, 9 a.m.–10 a.m. PT: Seven Worst Mistakes in Virtual Training
Discover the seven worst mistakes that make virtual learning drag. You’ll experience easy fixes you can apply to your own content — tips to make your job easier and your training better. Your learners will thank you in advance. In this webinar, Becky Pike Pluth, President and CEO of The Bob Pike Group, will show you:

How to identify design elements that “up” engagement.
Techniques that make webinars participant-centred — as they are modeled to you on Adobe Connect.
Select effective opening and closing activities to break preoccupation and lock in learning.

Tuesday, September 17, 2024, 10 a.m.–11 a.m. PT: Empowering Frontline Hospitality: How to Exceed Guest Expectations Through Training and Development
This webinar explores how to build comprehensive training and development programs that can equip frontline hospitality teams with the essential skills and strategies to not only navigate challenges effectively, but also thrive in their roles. Jessica Lee, Senior VP of Global Talent Development at Marriot, Captain Kate McCue, the first American female captain of a mega cruise ship, and JD Dillon, Chief Learning Architect at Axonify, will delve into the tools and techniques that empower staff to handle demanding situations with grace and build resilience. They’ll also cover how to deliver exceptional service — even during peak periods.

Tuesday, September 17, 2024, 10 a.m.–11 a.m. PT: Five-Step Change Management Process for Integrating a New or Acquired Learning Management System
As learning leaders, many of you have faced the challenge of integrating a new or acquired Learning Management System (LMS) into your organizations. This session offers foresight and best practices to ensure a smooth transition, empowering you to lead your team through this transformative process. Heidi Pelak, Manager of Instructional Design at Best Buy Health, will explore strategies for preparing your organization, crafting a comprehensive implementation plan and discovering proven techniques for a successful LMS integration. Learn how to effectively communicate the “why” behind the change, define key stakeholders and align your technology requirements with organizational goals.

Tuesday, September 17, 2024, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. PT: Unlocking AI: Practical Solutions for Corporate Training Success (Free for ATD members)
Join Jeff Geronimo, Senior LMS and Elearning Specialist, Freelance Learning Strategist at Cottage Health, and Brenda McNabb, VP of Service and Development at Clarity Consultants, for an engaging interview-style webinar where you’ll explore the integration of AI into corporate training programs. Discover insights from real-world case studies, best practices, efficiency improvements and strategies for overcoming challenges. Gain practical tools and examples to enhance training effectiveness and drive business outcomes through AI-driven learning solutions.

Wednesday, September 18, 2024, 10 a.m.–11 a.m. PT: Taming Conversational AI: The SkillGym Case
Learn how to build authentic virtual environments where digital humans engage in natural language interactions, providing real-time responses and insightful behavioural feedback powered by AI and an effective methodology based on neuroscience. SkillGym’s learning approach transforms the typical use of conversational AI, shifting from merely assessing proficiency to experiencing expert strategies and adapting as you go. During this hands-on session, led by Skillgym’s Andrea Laus, CEO, and Matteo Malatesta, Head of Revenues, the innovators behind SkillGym, an award-winning leader in virtual role-playing technologies, you’ll experience the simplicity of creating digital role plays and see them in action.

Wednesday, September 18, 2024, 10 a.m.–11 a.m. PT: Urgent: Close Your GenAI Knowledge Gap Before It’s Too Late
Imagine a world where every employee receives perfectly tailored learning experiences, where content creation happens at the speed of thought, and where deep insights into learner behaviour drive optimal strategies. This isn’t science fiction — it’s the new reality of Learning and Development (L&D) powered by Generative AI (GenAI). Don’t let your organization fall behind. Join this webinar’s expert panel, including Litmos’ Tommy Richardson, Chief Product and Technology Officer, and Dr. Jill Stefaniak, Chief Learning Officer, along with Brandon Hall Group’s Senior VP Claude Werder, as they unveil:

The true potential of GenAI in L&D — separating hype and naysaying from reality.
Real-world examples of GenAI already revolutionizing learning programs.
Crucial strategies for seamless GenAI integration and cross-functional collaboration.
Essential risk mitigation techniques for confident AI adoption.
Concrete metrics to prove GenAI’s impact on your learning outcomes and bottom line.

Wednesday, September 18, 2024, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. PT: How Leadership Works (Free for ATD members)
If everyone in your organization contributes to leadership, how do you ensure that each person discovers and expands their potential to lead? Center for Creative Leadership’s Allison Barr, Leadership Solutions Partner, and Dana Washington, Leadership Solutions Partner, will introduce you to the three key elements — direction, alignment, and commitment — that can help everyone in your organization reach their collective potential. This introduction to CCL’s leadership philosophy shows you how to use their framework to transform the way your organization approaches leadership development. Learning takeaways:

How leadership is a social process.
How to assess the leadership effectiveness of your team and organization.
Three steps for leaders and organizations to increase direction, alignment and commitment.

Wednesday, September 18, 2024, 12 p.m.–1 p.m. PT: Leadership Training Is Broken: What the Data Shows Needs to Change
Join Jared Jones, Senior Partner and Cofounder of Lead in 30, for a dynamic and engaging webinar where Jared will reveal the four critical flaws in today’s training approaches and introduce a practical and actionable leadership framework that aligns leadership development with business outcomes. In this session, you’ll:

Learn how to connect training directly to business results rather than just soft skills.
See real-world case studies from organizations that figured out how to effectively develop leaders.
Walk away with strategies you can apply immediately to transform your leadership development efforts and empower your managers to lead with clarity, alignment and movement.

Thursday, September 19, 2024, 9 a.m.–10 a.m. PT: Advanced AI Prompt Techniques for L&D Professionals
Elevate your use of AI in learning and development with advanced prompt engineering techniques. In this workshop, Garima Gupta, Founder and CEO of Artha Learning Inc., will delve into sophisticated methods for crafting precise and effective prompts to ensure accurate and relevant AI-generated responses. You’ll learn how to tailor prompts for various L&D scenarios, minimize AI-generated inaccuracies, and optimize the use of AI tools for content creation and learner engagement. Through practical exercises and real-world applications, participants will gain mastery in prompt engineering, empowering them to harness AI’s full potential in their instructional design and development processes.

Thursday, September 19, 2024, 1 p.m.–2 p.m. PT: Sales Trainers: 11 Linkedin Tips for Sales Professionals
This webinar is designed for sales professionals looking to leverage LinkedIn effectively to enhance their sales strategy and outreach. By transforming your LinkedIn profile from a mere resume into a compelling resource, you can attract and engage more meaningfully with potential buyers. Throughout this session, Brynne Tillman, CEO and LinkedIn Whisperer at Social Sales Link, will explore practical strategies that go beyond basic networking, focusing on building relationships and establishing trust through valuedriven interactions.

Tuesday, September 24, 2024, 9 a.m.–10 a.m. PT: The Neuroscience of Change: Training That Drives Results
No matter the size, every change requires new learning. The reason 50-70% of change initiatives fail is that typical approaches to change training don’t take into account human biology and that people are wired to resist change. In this engaging session, Britt Andreatta, Ph.D., Creator of science-based solutions that drive success, will cover the brain structures that are activated by change and how they drive higher levels of resistance and disengagement. Explore strategies that maximize the brain’s capacity to learn and embrace change. You’ll leave with new tools for creating training that accelerates adaptability and resilience across your organization.

Tuesday, September 24, 2024, 12 p.m.–1 p.m. PT: Podcasts In Your Learning Solutions
Podcasting is a low cost, effective, portable way to add value to your learning solutions. Organizations are adopting podcasts every day to disseminate and deliver important information to their employees. In this session, Betty Dannewitz, Founder and CEO of ifyouaskbetty, will show you strategies to design, develop and publish your own podcast on any budget (even zero).

Wednesday, September 25, 2024, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. PT: Civility Isn’t a Weakness: Four Skills for Speaking with Strength, Not Force (Free for ATD members)
Do you have to be loud and aggressive to be heard? It certainly seems that way if you go online or watch the news. Yet a recent study shows that speaking aggressively at work damages reputations and decreases organizational effectiveness. If you truly want to influence others and build relationships, civility is key. Join Joseph Grenny, Cofounder of Crucial Learning, as he shares how to speak candidly and respectfully. During this event, you’ll:

Discover the latest research on how to effectively share opinions in the workplace.
Identify how to tell the truth while still maintaining strong relationships.
Implement three skills for speaking with strength, not force.

Thursday, September 26, 2024, 9 a.m.–10 a.m. PT: PowerPoint Pro: New Solutions to Six Common Problems
Most presentations stink and almost all decks could be better. Join Mike Parkinson, Author and Owner of Billion Dollar Graphics, as he shares the six most common presentation and slide mistakes, and his innovative solutions to stop them from happening. Watch Mike transform slides from bland to grand. Make designing amazing decks and slides easy. Sign up now to avoid cringy clichés with Mike’s pro techniques and tools.

Thursday, September 26, 2024, 10:30 a.m.–11:30 a.m. PT: Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic motivators; How to Ensure Learners Apply the Content (Free for IPL members)
Your learners leave the sessions inspired. And then what happens? For many, the enthusiasm is short lived, then back to business as usual. Over the last 15 years, Chris Taylor’s company, Actionable.co, has been tracking and measuring the activities (both in the room and after) that drive sustainable change. Join this session as Chris dives deep into the key drivers of sustained behaviour change, turning data and case stories into practical tactics you can apply to sustain the behaviour change effects of your programs.

Thursday, September 26, 2024, 12 p.m.–1 p.m. PT: How AI Voice Is Changing Learning and Development
It’s been four years since AI voices reached human parody. Now, in 2024, half of the Fortune 500 learning and development teams are using AI voice. This webinar will help your team evaluate AI voice technology solutions like text-to-speech, voice cloning and speech-to-speech. Get ready to take your skills from novice to ninja through an informative and fast-paced session that will give you the foundation to elevate your production skills with this wonderful new technology. Join Jeff Howard, Marketing Manager of WellSaid, in this session to learn:

The AI voice landscape since the generative AI boom in 2023, evaluating text-to-speech, voice cloning and speech-to-speech tools.
How AI voices are trained, the magic behind voice models and how ethics all play roles in AI voice.
The economics of AI voice for corporate trainers, the AI voice ROI calculator your finance team will love.

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