327 — How to win an industry award

Industry awards offer a chance to reflect on your work, raise your profile and win some prestige, but they also take a lot of work. So if you’re going to enter, you want to maximise the chances of winning.

In this episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, former co-host James McLuckie of MAPAL joins Ross G and Ross D to share his insights and entrant and judge. We discuss:

• how the process works
• advice for structuring your submission
• how to deliver a persuasive presentation.

If you’re interested in entering an award, check out the Learning Technologies Awards (learningtechnologies.co.uk/learning-tech-awards) and the Learning Awards (thelearningawards.com/)

For details of Ross D’s recent win, see: mindtoolsbusiness.com/resources/blog/ross-dickie-wins-bronze-learning-technologies-awards-2022

At the top of the show, Ross G referenced the Learning Performance Benchmark, a free tool that can help you take a data-based approach to evaluating your team’s L&D performance. To find out more, visit: mindtoolsbusiness.com/solutions/learning-performance-benchmark

In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Ross D recommended Deep Work by Cal Newport: amazon.co.uk/Deep-Work-Focused-Success-Distracted/dp/0349411905

James discussed #SpedUpSounds and an article from The Guardian: theguardian.com/music/2023/jan/10/sped-up-songs-spotify-youtube-tiktok

Ross G recommended Stephen L Chew and William J Cerbin’s article on the need for a theory of how people learn, published by Inside Higher Ed: insidehighered.com/views/2017/12/05/need-theory-learning-opinion

Thanks @NeilMosley5 on Twitter for that one.

For more from MAPAL, see: mapal-os.com/en/

For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work.  

And if you’re looking for help designing digital learning experiences in 2023, why not contact our Custom team at custom@mindtools.com

We're offering 10% off your first custom project if commissioned in January 2023. This offer only applies to new custom learning customers and work must be commissioned before midnight, January 31 for discount to apply. 

Connect with our speakers   

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter:

Ross Garner - @RossGarnerMT    

Ross Dickie - @RossDickieMT

James McLuckie - @JamesMcLuckie