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of staff training for Bell Atlantic. Her techniques on one accelerated
learning course cut training time by 42 percent, on another 57 percent. And the very first
thing they did was change the atmosphere.
Top Swedish high school teacher Christer Gudmundsson
agrees: "The atmosphere from the time your students enter the classroom must be
thoroughly welcoming."12 And the late Charles Schmid, of
San Francisco, California - a world pioneer in new teaching methods - found mood-setting
music one of the major keys to achieving learning rates at least five times better than
before. "And that applies everywhere, from preschool to a business seminar teaching
computer technology."13
Liechtenstein's Stockwell - one of Europe's leading
new-style trainers in both schooling and business - says the importance of well-designed
colorful posters cannot be overstressed. "Overhead projector slides, 35mm slides and
flipcharts are fine," he says, "but posters are miles better - and all should be
up around the walls before any learning session begins. They're peripheral stimuli. Their
constant presence engraves their content into your memory, even when you're not
consciously aware of them." He also says color psychology is important. "Red is
a warning color; blue is cool; yellow is seen as the color of intelligence; green and
brown have a pacifying effect and are warm and friendly. Never forget that effective
posters make a strong impression on the long-term memory. They create memory pictures
which can be called on when required although they were never consciously learned."14
Stockwell even brings his own specially-designed chairs
- ideal for relaxed learning - to seminars he runs in the United States.
It's also the kind of lesson that all educational
institutions can learn from the best businesses:
 The
Seattle-based Nordstrom chain of clothing stores is used in dozens of management seminars
as a model in profitable service - and it always has freshly-cut flowers in its customer
changing rooms.
Every
international airline welcomes passengers on board with soothing, calming music - before
presenting safety demonstrations.
Visit Hawaii,
the tourist capital of the mid-Pacific on a package tour and you'll soon slip into a
welcoming vacation mood as you're greeted with a lei of island flowers.
Visit Disneyland
or Disneyworld and you're immediately struck by the cleanliness and total atmosphere.
Contents Page Preface
Introduction
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