Learning Rebels Podcast cover art

Learning Rebels Podcast

Learning Rebels Podcast

By: Shannon Tipton
Listen for free

About this listen

 Get the live, unfiltered conversations behind the popular Learning Rebels Coffee Chat. Workplace Learning will never be the same.Copyright 2021 All rights reserved. Career Success Economics
Episodes
  • Creative Thinking: The Unexpected Essential Skill

    Creative Thinking: The Unexpected Essential Skill
    Feb 17 2026
    It all started with the BIG question on the table. What skills did we need in 2025 that we didn't see coming—and what does that mean for our careers? This Coffee Chat was all about looking in the rearview mirror at the year behind us and thinking forward to what skills matter now. We kicked off with the big one: prompt engineering. Would we have known in January 2025 that mastering AI prompts would become critical? Some of us saw the signals, but most of us didn't jump on it fast enough. The question became: how do we get better at spotting trends before they pass us by? The conversation turned to staying informed and developing a radar for what's next. Reading widely—Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, industry newsletters—and practicing pattern recognition helps you see what's coming down the hall. One participant carved out intentional innovation time each week to stay ahead of trends. Another pointed out that AI isn't just a tool—it's part of the workflow now. Prompt engineering, understanding AI agents versus simple prompts, and knowing which AI tool fits which task all became essential skills this year. We explored creativity, storytelling, and binge-worthy learning. One participant asked: what if we designed learning people actually wanted to come back to, like a Netflix series? The group talked about framing content around compelling narratives, using humor and relatability (even corny stuff works if it's memorable), and building playlists instead of learning paths. Old-school techniques came back up too—process mapping, branching scenarios, empathy mapping, and the lost art of asking the right questions. Not "What problem are you solving?" but "What happened that brought you to my office today?" We also tackled content curation with purpose. Throwing an entire library at people doesn't work. Instead, we need to help learners build targeted playlists—whether it's curated courses, YouTube videos, or internal resources—that actually match what they need. And we talked about dusting off skills like questioning, critical thinking, and creative problem solving. These aren't nice-to-haves anymore. They're essential. The takeaway? The skills we need keep shifting faster than ever. Staying curious, staying informed, and staying flexible isn't optional—it's how we keep up. So what skill are you sharpening as we head into 2026? Stay curious! -Shannon Video Transcript Transcript Summary Chat Box Other Resources: Don’t forget! Pass the Cranberry Sauce Q1 Coffee Chat Schedule Coffee Chat Schedule Blog Posts: Order taker to STRATEGIC Business Partner (2025) Five skills L&D professionals couldn't ignore 6 must-have skills for 2025 Ditch Engagement! Create Learning People Can’t Ignore Why Everyday Development is Crucial to Closing the Skills Gap Podcasts: Harvard’s Taylor Swift Course What You’re Really Learning Examples: When HR Goes Too Hard Destinos: An Introduction to Spanish - Annenberg Learner Webinar: Creating Training Videos That Stick: Small Changes for Improved Outcomes LinkedIn Posts LinkedIn post on Microsoft by Dylan Tokar Building Your Radar: How to Spot Signals and Make Sense of Change by Al Dea Dear Leadership, We Need to Talk Not Activity by Shannon Tipton Books: The CEO's Guide to Training, eLearning & Work: Empowering Learning for a Competitive Advantage by Will Thalheimer Think Like a Marketer, Train Like an L&D Pro: Strategies to Ignite Learning by Bianca Baumann and Mike Taylor Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip and Dan Heath The Accidental Instructional Designer by Cammy Bean Practical Empathy by Indi Young Be part of the Community. Gain more valuable resources to build your skills! Learn more here. Join the conversation Be part of the live chat! Sign up here. Hire Learning Rebels When you need learning that sticks, we’ll fight to make performance results happen. Visit the Learning Rebels website to learn more Host: Shannon Tipton Podcast produced by: Obsidian Productions
    Show More Show Less
    31 mins
  • Demands and Deadlines: Working with Stakeholders

    Demands and Deadlines: Working with Stakeholders
    Feb 10 2026
    It all started with the BIG question on the table. What do we wish our stakeholders knew about learning—and how do we actually tell them? This Coffee Chat was all about the communication breakdowns between L&D and stakeholders, and how to fix them without just venting for an hour (though we did some of that too). We kicked off with a hard truth: sometimes the misunderstandings are our fault. When we say yes to impossible deadlines, we train stakeholders to keep asking. So how do we break the cycle and have better conversations? The group tackled the classic stakeholder statements. "Everyone needs this training" got unpacked with the five whys—asking why, why, why until you get to the actual problem they're trying to solve. We talked about shifting from big questions like "What's the business goal?" to smaller, clearer ones like "What behavior are you seeing that you don't like?" or "What failures are we trying to prevent?" Sometimes stakeholders have more clarity around what they want to avoid than what they want to create. We explored practical tools for working with SMEs and stakeholders. Training request forms that are short enough to actually get filled out. Checklists that prompt SMEs to gather what we need without us having to nag. Discovery meetings where we fill out the form together. And the magic phrase: "If I don't hear from you by Friday, silence means yes." Documentation and receipts matter—send back what you agreed on so there's no confusion later. The conversation turned to getting real reviews from SMEs. Sit with them and go through it together. Send them one section at a time instead of a 20-minute course. Give them specific examples of what feedback looks like—"This looks great" doesn't help, but "I like the tone you used on slide 3" does. Test it with someone who knows nothing about the topic. Read it out loud. Project it on a big screen. All of these catch things you'd never see otherwise. We also vented about the things that drive us up the wall. Everything defaults to one hour. SMEs who tell us the solution instead of the problem. Requests that arrive with "turn this into a game" or "make a video" already baked in. The key is reframing without being combative—asking what "game" means to them, explaining constraints, helping them break content into need-to-know versus nice-to-know buckets. The takeaway? We need to communicate better, set expectations upfront, and remember that stakeholders and SMEs aren't the enemy—they just don't know what we need unless we tell them clearly. So what's one conversation you could reframe this week? Stay curious! -Shannon Andrew Jacobs Chatbox Andrew Jacobs Transcript Transcript Summary Resources The Learning Rebels’ The 2025 Edition: From L&D Order-Taker To Strategic Business Partner Where L&D Will Survive and Where It Will Die In Age of AI What is Gilbert’s Behavior Engineering Model? Gilbert's Behavior Engineering Model Andrew Jacobs’ PPT Andrew Jacobs’ Four Cs: Collaboration - this is where we want to be but requires us to agree with their outcomes and theirs with oursCooperation - we have different objectives from the business but we work with them to create effective elements which support bothCoordination - we can't help the business but get out of the businesses' way so they can do their thingCompetition - we're trying to get attention and fight for awareness with every other team, e.g. facilities, IT, Finance, etc Cathy Moore’s Action Mapping Management by Wandering Around Andrew Jacobs’ Linkedin Books Leading the Learning Function: Tools and Techniques for Organizational Impact by MJ Hall and Laleh Patel The Trusted Learning Advisor: The Tools, Techniques and Skills You Need to Make L&D a Business Priority by Keith Ketting Employee Engagement for Organizational Change: The Theory and Practice of Stakeholder Engagement by Julie Hodges Be part of the Community. Gain more valuable resources to build your skills! Learn more here. Join the conversation Be part of the live chat! Sign up here. Hire Learning Rebels When you need learning that sticks, we’ll fight to make performance results happen. Visit the Learning Rebels website to learn more Host: Shannon Tipton Podcast produced by: Obsidian Productions
    Show More Show Less
    43 mins
  • Small Budgets and Big Impact: Scrappy Design That Actually Works

    Small Budgets and Big Impact: Scrappy Design That Actually Works
    Feb 3 2026
    It all started with the BIG question on the table. How do we design learning fast without sacrificing quality? This Coffee Chat was all about scrappy design—doing more with less time, smaller budgets, and whatever tools you've got at hand. We kicked off with a reality check: sometimes your best work isn't your most polished work. It's the work that gets done and actually helps people. One participant shared a story about creating an entire electrostatic discharge course in one week by scanning a workbook into PowerPoint, adding a quiz, and launching it. Five years later, that "rushed" course was still running successfully. The conversation turned to mindset shifts and practical workflows. Progress over perfection. Templates over starting from scratch. Using tools in ways they weren't necessarily designed for—like turning PowerPoint into a graphic design tool or loading your brand guide into ChatGPT so it generates content in your voice. We talked about recording subject matter experts and repurposing that single video into scripts, podcasts, mini clips, job aids, and course content. One video, ten different outputs.| Tool recommendations came fast. Canva for templates and quick graphics. TechSmith's suite (Snagit, Camtasia, Audiate) for seamless video workflows. iSpring for PowerPoint-based courses on a budget. Gamma for AI-powered slide design. Genially for building interactive content and internal resource hubs. The group emphasized finding tools that talk to each other—upload once, edit everywhere, export in seconds. We also tackled the tension between being scrappy and putting out crap. There's a difference. Scrappy means helpful and useful, just faster. It means asking "What do people need to do?" before jumping into a full ADDIE process. Sometimes your analysis is one question. Sometimes the solution is a Word doc, not a course. And sometimes you say yes to the request, then gently steer the conversation toward what'll actually work. The takeaway? Build your workflow. Know your tools. Reuse what works. And remember—scrappy doesn't mean sloppy. It means smart. So what's in your scrappy design toolbox? Stay curious! -Shannon Resources: Video:VimeoScrappy Design & Smart Shortcuts - Coffee Chat Chat Box: Learningrebelslearningrebels.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Scrappy-Design-Smart-Shortcuts-chat.pdf Transcript:OtterOtter.ai Note | Otter.ai Transcript Summary: Learningrebelslearningrebels.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Scrappy-Design-Smart-Shortcuts-Summary.pdf Resources: The Scrappy Instructional Designer’s Workflow Guide Dr Phil's Newsletter HeyGen TechSmith Tools Camtasia Snagit Audiate Screencast Keynote PowerPoint Storyline 360 Gamma Canva Canva Design School Presentation Zen Nolan Haims Creative ChatGPT Claude Monday.com Copilot Mico BrightCarbon BrightSlide Scribe Miro Venngage Vyond Sana Synthesia Goose Chase Genially Books: DataStory: Explain Data and Inspire Action Through Story by Nancy Duarte slide:ology: The Art and Science of Presentation Design by Nancy Duarte Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences by Nancy Duarte Leaving ADDIE for SAM: An Agile Model for Developing the Best Learning Experiences by Michael W. Allen (Author), Richard Sites (Contributor) A Trainer’s Guide to PowerPoint: Best Practices for Master Presenters by Mike Parkinson Do-It-Yourself Billion Dollar Graphics: 3 Fast and Easy Steps to Turn Your Text and Ideas into Persuasive Graphics by Mike Parkinson Downloadables: ChatGPT CheatSheet: Learningrebelslearningrebels.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ChatGPT-CheatSheet-10.pdf Image Prompt Sheet: Learningrebelslearningrebels.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Image-Prompt-cheatsheet.pdf Be part of the Community. Gain more valuable resources to build your skills! Learn more here. Join the conversation Be part of the live chat! Sign up here. Hire Learning Rebels When you need learning that sticks, we’ll fight to make performance results happen. Visit the Learning Rebels website to learn more Host: Shannon Tipton Podcast produced by: Obsidian Productions
    Show More Show Less
    40 mins
No reviews yet