distance-learning-Bird-Office

Whatever your profession, youl’l need to do some on-the-job training at some point. Maybe after a big meeting with the international head office, your manager decided you needed to update your skills. Maybe you made the big decision yourself because you wanted to improve your skills (your English, for example). In either case, distance learning is a practical option.

Why?

Pyjama party with your trainer!

First of all, many distance training sessions can be done by Skype or by telephone. That means that you can follow your training in your pyjamas. Remember, however, that the trainer can see your upper body, so you may not want to wear that old AC/DC tee that your baby vomited on. No one sees what your wearing below the belt though. Pyjamas and bunny slippers it is!

Money, the planet, and your health

Second, distance training means no traveling. While it can be fun to occasionally travel to that fancy meeting room you found thanks to Bird Office, we all know: the less time you spend in traffic the better. By traveling from your desk to a quiet room, youl’l spend less time in traffic jams. Youl’l burn less petrol. Youl’l feel more relaxed and less stressed. Your budget, the environment, and your colleagues will all thank you for going with distance training.

The choice is yours

With distance training, your choices are almost endless when it comes to trainers. For example, if you live in VillePerdue, theres’ a good change that there arent’ many trainers offering that program youv’e been looking for, like “Organizing Effective Conf Calls With Multinational Teams.” However, theres’ probably someone in your time zone that offers that training. Google it and you shall find it!

Stop sacrificing your lunch hour

Another advantage? You dont’ have to feel quite so awkward about eating or drinking during the training. This is especially true for those 12-2pm sessions. Everyones’ hungry. Everyone just wants a to eat something to hold them off until the late lunch break, but no. Your’e in training. If your’e training over the phone or Skype, you can at least drink a smoothie to hold you over. You’ll probably want to avoid eating carrot sticks though…

Want a lesson at 11pm? You got it!

Thanks to the magic of time zones, you can have lessons early before you head to that big conf call, or late at night after youv’e put the kids to bed. Look for trainers in time zones slightly ahead or behind yours and your schedule suddenly becomes so flexible. OK, sure it means starting your day before the sun rises or ending when everyone else has been asleep for an hour. Maybe it means an extra 2 shots of espresso. But your’e investing in yourself!

Distance training is more than just boring online exercises and page after page of multiple-choice questions. Distance training can be truly dynamic, with a mix of printed materials, online materials, independent study, and sessions with a trainer. Its’ even possible to attend group distance training.

Think of it as a conf call, but far more exciting.

And if, despite everything, you don’t want to work from home, you can still try a training session organized in Bird Offic’est training rooms.

An American in France since 2004, Christina coaches clients to better communicate in English through face-to-face and distance training programs. With her YouTube channel Speak Better, Feel Great TV, she is on a mission to boost the English level of French people everywhere. If youv’e got a meeting with Americans soon, youl’l definitely want to sign up for her Speak Better, Feel Great Newsletter.