BRIEF Experiential Learning Technique
What is BELT ?
BRIEF Experiential Learning Technique, or BELT, is a proven method to teach attention-starved people in a way that is memorable, engaging, and effective. This certification is ideal for anyone who:
Leads professional training (in person and online)
Designs training curriculum
Leads “train the trainer” workshops
Manages learning and development
The problem with coursework—in person or online
How do you feel when you find you’re going to spend a day in training? Excited that you get to build new skills? Or are you expecting a know-it-all instructor will lecture for hours until your brain goes numb?
Too many training courses make this mistake. What’s bad in the classroom has proven to be even worse online.
It’s time for a different approach to learning
At The BRIEF Lab we know that:
The person who is talking—and doing—is the person who is learning.
Brevity makes learning easier.
Humor and fun are essential, especially with serious
subject matter.
With BELT Certification, instructors can:
Choreograph every lesson so the student is an active participant.
Ensure exercises are practical, relevant and challenging, never theoretical or unnecessarily difficult.
Set a tone that is always conversational and personal.
Learning doesn’t have to be so lame!
BELT-certified instructors learn how to be:
Selfless (not about me, but you).
Clear and concise communicators (always a conversation).
Fun-loving (permission to enjoy life by finding time to laugh).
“Boring training is also bad training. Participants tune out instead of tuning in.”
How to Get BELT-Certified
There are three levels of BELT Certification:
1. Learning the BELT fundamentals
2. Applying BELT to your curriculum
3. Delivery assessment and instructor evaluation
The Story Behind BELT
When I was first asked to design a communications course for our Special Operations Community, I wanted it to feel completely different—not just the content, but the learning experience itself.
So, we ditched the lectures and the PowerPoint and set out to reimagine what training could look like, pulling together a curriculum that blended the best of experiential learning with our belief that effective instructors must be brief and authentic. We used it as the basis for building our learning center—The BRIEF Lab in Southern Pines, NC—and to design all of our courses that way.
Today, as online and hybrid training become the norm instead of the exception, it’s time to share this proven approach with other instructors, trainers and learning leaders. It’s time to say enough is enough: Boring training must go. Not just because it’s painful but because it’s wasteful and dangerously ineffective.
I hope that BELT Certification will inspire you to deliver the kind of training that is profoundly effective and rewarding for everyone involved.
—Joe McCormack