Avoiding the “Bad Training, Faster” Trap in the Age of AI

Training budgets are bigger than ever, but only 12% of employees apply what they learn. Enter AI — powerful, fast and everywhere. But without direction, it just produces bad training faster. In this complimentary Training Industry webinar, Mike Taylor, learning designer, speaker and author of “Think Like a Marketer, Learn Like an L&D Pro,” will show you how to stay in the director’s chair. Learn how to orchestrate AI as your crew while focusing on the human touch that makes learning resonate and drive real change.

This interactive webinar will provide easy-to-understand insights on:

* How to effectively guide AI tools instead of letting them guide you
* Practical ways to use AI for the heavy lifting while you focus on empathy, creativity and connection
* Why faster content alone doesn’t equal better learning — and how to avoid the “bad training, faster” trap
* Simple strategies to orchestrate AI as your crew, so learning resonates and drives real change

Transcript

1. Avoiding the “Bad Training, Faster” Trap in the Age of AI Mike Taylor trainlikeamarketer.com
2. Picture this…
4. Cinematographer Sound Engineer Talent
7. www.trainlikeamarketer.com ‘Cast’ Selecting the right solutions 'Direct actors’ guiding SMEs & facilitators to deliver impactful content. 'Scout locations’ Deeply understanding the environment & their audience
8. www.trainlikeamarketer.com Achieve intended impact and truly resonate with the audience.
9. www.trainlikeamarketer.com AI can help us be MORE HUMAN!
10. www.trainlikeamarketer.com $300+ BILLION
11. www.trainlikeamarketer.com Apply training to their jobs
12. www.trainlikeamarketer.com Demand Investment Results Not matching investment
13. AI for everything
14. creating more content, faster creating more content, faster Creating more content, faster
15. trainlikeamarketer.com ‟The biggest risk is that AI just makes us more effective at doing something that's deeply ineffective.” Philippa Hardman
16. trainlikeamarketer.com What’s your biggest fear with using AI?
17. www.trainlikeamarketer.com Making more of the wrong stuff faster
18. trainlikeamarketer.com Consider how you’ve used AI in your work.
19. www.trainlikeamarketer.com Insert Topic ↓↓↓ Slide Deck
20. www.trainlikeamarketer.com Fast Generic Output
23. trainlikeamarketer.com How do you feel about that video?
24. trainlikeamarketer.com VIDEO
25. trainlikeamarketer.com
26. www.trainlikeamarketer.com Feel the difference? Which one is more impactful?
27. trainlikeamarketer.com “When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures of emotion.” Dale Carnegie Writer and Teacher
28. www.trainlikeamarketer.com culture fears industry aspirations
29. www.trainlikeamarketer.com Humans are UNIQUELY positioned
30. trainlikeamarketer.com ‟AI needs you. Most AIs are built to be assistants, but think of them as an apprentice—they're much closer to an apprentice than an expert.” Ethan Mollick
31. www.trainlikeamarketer.com Emotional Intelligence Recognizing what resonates with your learners and why Creative Problem Solving Make a boring compliance policy unforgettable by creating 'what would you do?' moments Strategic Vision Prioritizing learning initiatives based on business impact Research Synthesis Summarize/Synthesize large amounts of information Speed and scale Generating 20 different scenario variations or translate languages Consistent output Generate quiz questions with consistent difficulty and quality AI HUMAN
32. trainlikeamarketer.com Most successful AI efforts keep humans in the director’s chair. https://donaldhtaylor.co.uk/research_base/focus02-talk-to-action/
33. trainlikeamarketer.com
34. trainlikeamarketer.com What can AI take off your plate?
35. Passive Consumer Creative Force
36. www.trainlikeamarketer.com So what does this actually look like?
37. www.trainlikeamarketer.com The Director's Framework 3 decisions that change everything
38. trainlikeamarketer.com Phase 1 Pre-Production What does success look like? What context does AI need? What's non-negotiable?
39. trainlikeamarketer.com Phase 2 Production Give context, not just commands Set constraints Define your role (and AI's role) Describe success criteria
40. trainlikeamarketer.com Phase 3 Post-Production Does it connect emotionally? Does it reflect authentic context? Where does it need the human touch? What would I never say?
41. Passive Consumer vs Director Approach
42. trainlikeamarketer.com The Task: Create a learning scenario about giving constructive feedback to underperforming team members for new managers
43. trainlikeamarketer.com
44. trainlikeamarketer.com Giving Constructive Feedback — Scenario Practice Scenario: “The Missed Deadline” • You’re a manager at a marketing firm. • Team member Alex coordinated a client campaign that launched 3 days late. • Alex is creative and dedicated — but often underestimates timelines and doesn’t communicate delays early. • You need to give feedback that helps Alex improve without discouraging their motivation. Your Task 1. Plan how you’ll approach the feedback conversation. - What’s the key message you want Alex to take away? - How will you balance honesty with support? 2. Role Play with a partner: - Use the SBI Model (Situation–Behavior–Impact) or DESC Model (Describe–Express– Specify–Consequences). - Keep it specific, respectful, and focused on growth. 3. Debrief as a group: - What worked well?
45. trainlikeamarketer.com
46. trainlikeamarketer.com Developing New Managers in a Relationship-Focused Culture Company Context - Family-owned for 50+ years - Long-tenured employees, strong sense of loyalty - Deeply relationship-oriented, “family” feel - Challenge: Low accountability and discomfort with tough conversations Learning Goals - Balance relationships and results - Build confidence in giving feedback and holding others accountable - Transition from peer to leader - Strengthen trust through fairness and consistency Key Learning Themes - Lead with Care and Clarity – Be kind and clear - Trust Through Accountability – Consistency builds credibility - Communicate Expectations – Define success clearly - From “Family” to “Team” – Support performance, not just harmony - Coach for Growth – Use simple, practical feedback models Design Approach - Interactive workshops using real plant scenarios - Role-play: feedback for long-time coworkers - Peer coaching circles for practice - Manager toolkit: feedback phrases, accountability checklist
47. trainlikeamarketer.com Aspect Developing New Managers Constructive Feedback Scenario Cultural Fit Tailored to relationship-based, long-tenured culture Generic, context-agnostic Learning Depth Mindset + skill Skill only Behavioral Outcome Sustainable change through cultural alignment Temporary skill application Emotional Intelligence Addresses fear, loyalty, and belonging Focuses only on mechanics Impact Builds accountability culture over time Demonstrates feedback model briefly
48. Human Decisions Improve AI Outputs
49. trainlikeamarketer.com Common Directing Mistakes
50. www.trainlikeamarketer.com I got 80% good output but something feels off MISTAKE #1 The first output is never the final output.
51. www.trainlikeamarketer.com I don't know enough about AI to direct it MISTAKE #2 You know learning. You know people. That's enough.
52. www.trainlikeamarketer.com My organization just wants speed MISTAKE #3 Your job is to show them what directed AI can do
53. trainlikeamarketer.com ‟…will depend as much on the emotions of humans as it will on the effectiveness of AI technology.” Philippa Hardman
54. trainlikeamarketer.com Consider how you use AI in your work
55. www.trainlikeamarketer.com Scenario: You need to create onboarding content for remote customer service reps about handling frustrated customers.
56. www.trainlikeamarketer.com Director Questions What does success look like? What context would AI never know What's non- negotiable?
57. trainlikeamarketer.com In chat, give one success criteria for this scenario d
58. www.trainlikeamarketer.com Everyone's success criteria is different = Everyone's context is different = Everyone needs to direct differently
59. www.trainlikeamarketer.com What if AI's output feels off?
60. www.trainlikeamarketer.com Your gut reaction is data. Trust it."
61. www.trainlikeamarketer.com Humans are uniquely positioned to understand the context that creates emotional resonance.
62. trainlikeamarketer.com AI tools are your expert crew members
63. trainlikeamarketer.com What can AI take off your plate—so you can focus on what humans do best?
64. trainlikeamarketer.com Phillipa Hardman Phillipa Hardman Josh Cavalier joshcavalier.com Ross Stevenson stealthesethoughts.com
65. trainlikeamarketer.com The Framework Pre- Production: Decisions before AI Production: How you direct Post- Production: How you judge
66. 3 Things to Try this Week Pick one AI task and run it through the framework Notice when AI output "feels off" - investigate why Share the framework with one colleague
67. trainlikeamarketer.com What’s ONE task you’ll approach as a director this week?
68. "When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures of emotion." Dale Carnegie
69. trainlikeamarketer.com Use AI for the tedious work so you can deploy your superpower…
70. trainlikeamarketer.com Humanity Direct an experience that connects
71. We need more directors.
72. Take your seat Make learning that matters
73. Contact/Resources URL.com/resources