Episode #1 Martyn Spendlove

Episode 1 featured learning & development professional Martyn Spendlove, who recently set up Rebellious Learning & Development during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

JR 
Good morning, everybody. Thank you so much for tuning into my first episode today of The Video Lowdown. It's the power of video in a podcast. I am so, so excited to get this going today, it's been in the works for a couple of weeks. We've got a fantastic guest joining us today, he's just waiting in the green room as we like to call it. 

Just one or two really quick housekeeping things today. By all means, if you're liking what you're seeing, please do share the link around obviously it helps out the show and you know, helps the guests as well to reach new networks. And also, there is a chat box on the screen. So if you're watching live, please do leave questions, comments. And at the end, if we've got any juicy ones. I'll go through them with Martyn and he can give us some answers to some of your questions. We've got about 30 minutes to get through!

So our guest today is called Martyn Spendlove. Now he believes in the ‘creative rebellion’ Really interesting, interesting topic and interesting theme. I'm sure it's gonna tell us more about it later on. He's a learning and development professional. 

Let's not waste any more time, Martyn. How you doing?

MS
I'm good. Yeah, I'm alright. Thank you, Jamie. And you said I was in the green room, but it's gonna be blue! [laughs]

JR  
I mean, digital! Virtual Green Room, we'll call it. 

MS
it's virtual. Yeah, gotcha. Gotcha.

JR
Thank you for joining me today on the debut episode. I'm really excited to talk to you. We've worked together a little bit in the past, trained together a little bit in the past too. So we've, you know, we’ve met at quite a few different crossroads in life. And I'm really excited to find out a little bit about that.

MS
Something seems to keep bringing us back!

JR
Exactly, it surely does, it surely does. I'm really excited today to talk to you about video, the power of video and how you're using video in the learning and development field. Obviously, as a result of the current situation, you know, you've made some changes, you've implemented some new cool things. 

Talk to us a little bit about who you are, what you do. What does learning and development mean in this kind of modern world?

MS
Ah, yeah, great questions. Where do I start? So, yes, I've worked in learning and development for the past 11 years. And I started with long term unemployed people. I didn't really know that I could train people, until I jumped in and started training people! And I've worked for the NHS, I've worked for corporate sector, I've worked in Travis Perkins and I've just finished working for a company called Cordon Group who deliver facility services, security recruitment services all around the country and, actually as far reaching as Australia. 

Learning and Development for me; it's not about giving learning to people, but it's helping people to understand where they can find learning from and I think the more that becomes digital, it's helping people to find where they can access learning more effectively. We talked about just in time learning. And that means that people have access to what they need when they need it in order to pick up the tools and skills that they require. So it's  quite broad. It's not just standing in classroom delivering learning to people like the old days, we thought that that was the best way to deliver training. It's not anymore.

JR
It does have value though, right? 

MS
Yeah, absolutely still has value. I think it's important to engage groups of people and bring them together to share learning with each other in the real world. But I think there's a massive opportunity for digital learning to give people what they need when they need it.

JR
Yeah, absolutely. So I think that's really, really interesting. I'm in the events world as a video producer and face to face is, the bread and butter. So we're now moving in the direction of virtual, and so it's completely understandable that especially during this challenging time, where we're only forced to meet virtually through video - through phone, you know, through this digital connection, we need to retain that human connection somehow. And I think that the stuff that you're venturing into.

Now, with this whole creative rebellion thing, I think is, is flipping some of those ideas on its head in a really cool way. So, talk to me a little bit about believing in the creative rebellion. What does it mean? It sounds so cool. Sounds like a strapline for some sort of futuristic film. Talk to me a little bit about that.

MS
It does, doesn't it?

I want to say it's, first of all, it sounds gimmicky.

And I thought it was at first and I almost dismissed the idea that my new business would be called Rebellious Learning and Development. Because I wanted to have something disruptive and I thought about disruptive learning development. We can deliver programmes of learning that disrupt people's ways of thinking, but where does it start before that? And I thought, well, it has to start with the choice to rebel against what you already know. 

That's where I got the idea of this, this creative rebellion I looked into into who's doing it at the moment. And I've seen some great articles that talk about this being creatively rebellious. So think of anyone who has achieved something great in life. 

Think of somebody who's invented something that's changed the world. They would have rebelled against your ways in order to create new. So it's not a new concept - it's not new at all. I've taken that idea of adjusting my way of thinking and not settling for the way that I think right now. How can I think differently in order that I can recreate something that that has something slightly different attached to it,

It's making people think differently or encouraging them because I can't make people do anything! Encouraging people to think differently about the way they learn at work, whether they access something digital, whether it be they come to a classroom based session, whether it be that they read something, and learn from that, whether it be that they go and watch somebody else do so - because it teaches them how to be different.

And that's, to me, creative rebellion. It's those people who do something that's completely out of their own comfort zone, to think in a different way and behave in a way that is creative, and perhaps artistic and completely innovative.

JR
Yeah, I think that sounds fantastic Martyn, and you could argue really that the word disruptive is perhaps not as disruptive as it was like five years ago, maybe there's lots of people that using that word, so you've kind of created this you know, you've kind of come up with this creative solution around around that word without using the word disruptive. You're actively doing that but not you know, not not using that word. And that's really fascinating. 

So you've got a really rich history in learning and development. You're clearly passionate about it. And obviously my passion is video. Absolutely love video. So I want to start talking video with you. I want to get into the meat of it!

You mentioned to me before the show you've curated, directed, hosted lots of video, lots of learning and development video content over the past two to three years. So, you know, why did you venture into that territory? What's that process been like for you? And have you seen many developments over the last few years on how that content is delivered?

MS 
That's it. Yeah, that's interesting is it's having to adapt to the fact that as learning development professionals can't be everywhere, we can design materials, and we can send them out to people, but how do we know that people are truly learning from them and giving their business values through changing behaviour? 

That's what a learning development professional should be doing. I'm sure that anybody watching this who is in learning development, if any of my colleagues are watching this, they would agree that learning development can't just be delivering learning and then leaving at the end of the day. Yeah, it has to be ‘what kind of value have we given the person’ and also the business they're working for? Has it increased their ability to be more productive has it made them more satisfied in the work that they're doing? Perhaps it's given their team a new boost and injected some kind of energy that they didn't have before. We need to see that out the back end of what we do. 

So video is a big part of that. And you probably remember - video has been a learning tool all the time - ever since I was a kid. Sitting in the classroom in the science room. They’d wheel out that overhead, but they've also got that big trolley with a massive telly on it.

JR
Yeah, that's right. Big CRT, 2 foot thick! I love it!

MS
And you'll sit there and you think, Oh, it's gonna be a video from the 70s Open University programming that nobody's up for watching in the mornings. And you'd watch one of these things and it would be used to educate you. And that's in a way not changed. It's just come along. 

JR
So technology’s changed.

MS
Yeah, thank goodness!

JR 
My grandma had a Hitachi VHS top loader with a wired remote. Before she passed away many years ago I used to watch copies of 1989 Batman recorded on BBC One. I'll try and get the tracking, wired remote, top loading absolute gold. Massive, massive you could literally like break a car with it! Great big thing as big as the iMac’s are now - fantastic bit of kit.

MS  
Big as the iMacs! Amazing with a screen that big. Yeah, things have gone down. So the players are smaller and the screen so massive! 

So that gives us the opportunity of course to ensure that we're giving people the right video content at the right time. So when I say that I've curated video, it's accessing the video that I might require in order to deliver particular topics. So for example, if I'm delivering Customer Care programmes, That might be that I'm delivering face to face. I could curate video footage to use within that training session. So I could embed it into my PowerPoint presentation. Or I could simply cut away and introduce, like a two three minute video in order to spark a different kind of thought. It breaks up the day a little bit. People don't need to hear my voice. I get to check my notes. Well, of course! So it's quite strategic.

JR
Yeah absolutely. 

MS
And then and then of course, we can unwrap it. And we can ask people questions based on what they've just seen and ask them what they think the best practices are. So that's, that's one way that curation of video really helps. 

Another thing would be that I've also got something to send people before they come on to a course or start a programme. Maybe it's a video from their Managing Director saying, ‘Hey, everybody, welcome to this exciting opportunity. You're gonna have a great time learning about these topics and you'll come out the other side, a better person’, but you can do it as a way to introduce somebody who can't be present at every single learning interventions. 

So curation for me is having the right videos are the right time to be able to use when I need them.

JR
And I think, you know, I think that the whole idea of being able to use video to replace somebody in person. I think this is kind of a natural transition on to some of the benefits of using video in the L&D world, you know - not just in the L&D world, in all in all sectors - but specifically to what you do, Martyn, that there are obviously myriad benefits of using video. Some of which you've mentioned. 

I think what I can see from what you're saying is it helps you give a blended approach, so you're not 100% reliant on everybody, like physical people being there. You're also not 100% reliant just on using video and pumping it all off onto a pre recorded bit of, you know, bit of video, because obviously, in certain industries, things change, messages change, so the videos would need updating, and it's easier to do that in person than it is to re record the video. So You know, there are two sides to the coin. 

But I think having that blended approach, and you know, tailoring that approach to your audience is absolutely key and we all learn in different ways, right? I mean you must see it all the time. Some people don't learn from video. I cannot, I cannot imagine how that is possible. I honestly can't, I will put my hand on my heart and say that I just think video is the best way for people to engage, to watch and learn, to be educated. I just think it's incredible.

But I would say that because I love it!

MS
Let me crack that shell, hang on a minute! [laughs]

JR 
You’re never gonna crack it, you're never gonna crack it! [laughs]

MS
Hey, listen. If video doesn't give people something to interact with, then it can be quite a passive way of learning content. So you sit and watch the videos, you get the information, maybe make some notes and stuff like that, but you can't interact with the videos. So it's not the most powerful way to get learning to happen within a person.

I'd like to ask you, so for somebody who says, I can't learn through video, why do you think that person might not be able to?

JR
That's a good question. I mean, maybe I was just being devil's advocate because I think everybody can learn through video. So maybe I was just saying that some people say they can't learn through video, but I don't know why they wouldn't be able to because I think video and film you know, goes back to, as you said, the early videos watching in school. 

You go back to early film and early cinema - people react and engage with moving image because of the emotion that it instils in people and the emotion that it evokes. So, when you've got the moving image, and the lighting mixed with the sound, and the music and everything, I don't, I don't feel there's a more powerful medium than video and film in order to do that. 

But you know, maybe specifically I'm talking about entertainment. So when you're talking about learning I appreciate what you're saying and in that trying to get people to engage in that bit of content, which is where maybe that blended approach comes in.

MS
Yeah, you're right. Yeah, but blended learning is key. I mean, blended learning has been a thing that any learning professional and professional will know is on every job description required, you need to have a good understanding of blended learning techniques. And where video comes in with that is, it's it. Yeah, it could be that somebody sent a video.

And it's, for example, the big thing that came up a couple of years ago was GDPR. So one of the quick things to do in order to help people to understand GDPR more effectively was to send out a mass video to everybody in the business and get people to to watch the video and understand a little bit about GDPR. Did that mean that people watched that video and understood the responsibilities around GDPR? In my experience, people have said ‘not fully, no’. They got some ideas and they kind of understood it, but they didn't know what their responsibilities are. 

So there were gaps. Perhaps after that video course we needed a questionnaire or a quiz or something, perhaps we needed a piece of e-learning to support the videos and chop the video up into small chunks and place it into embed it into a piece of elearning so that people can engage with it instead of just passively watch so yeah, I think I think the video does help people to learn absolutely, but you need the other aspects of blended learning as in action you need reflection to be triggered. You need people to be able to make a plan based on what they've seen in order to implement what they've learned from the video for sure. Yeah, blended learning is the thing.

JR
Yeah. Completely understand Martyn and I think talking of a potential downside to having an initial video... God forbid I ever down talk video!

[MS laughs]

I know what’s wrong?! Gonna lose subscribers even before we’ve started! 

I think actually having that, using GDPR as the example, having that initial video, actually is a blanket approach to get the facts out to people. But really what it doesn't do for the people watching it is give them information on their own personal circumstance. So you're saying that initial video is good for information, and people may engage with it because it might be animated, have cool music, or it will get the message of what GDPR is, but then afterwards, people are left with, ‘Well, how, how does that apply to me? How can I take these guidelines and rules?’. 

And what I do think what you're saying then is, well, having that follow up procedure as part of that learning and development process, following up with them in order to, you know, find out their specific requirements and once is is important.

MS
I think so creating personal impact helps do that.

JR
Yes!

MS
Before we proceed. I used video way back. When I say way back, I'm not that old! A company way back about seven years ago. Oh my god, it was about seven years when I worked for the NHS!

I was responsible for working on a fire safety course, which was going to be an hour long. And we were to roll it out face to face making it fully compliant with the fire awareness because it needed to be something that we saw people attend across the sites around Northamptonshire. 

And yes, when we looked at this course that existed, it was a good course and everything but it taught people how to make a fire, as in it had the fire triangle in there and it had all the elements that you require in order to create and put out a fire but that's not what we wanted people to do. We wanted people to recognise that there was a fire, raise the alarm, and leave the building. So how do we get people to do that? Well, we used video to spark it all off. To create personal impact, to get them to feel something emotionally before we went into how to ensure that the safely evacuated building.

The way we did that was by showing the football stadium fire, Bradford City FC 1985. So we showed the footage from that which perfectly demonstrates the horrific intensity in which a fire can spread and the impact that it has on people if they go and look at the fire as opposed to get away from the fire. What that then led to was seven or eight minutes of video. It made people feel emotionally connected to the result that fire can have on people. They started sharing stories within an hour. They started to think differently about the way they would approach a fire. Now they're not saying I'd get the fire extinguisher and put it out. What they're now saying is I know where my alarm point is. I know my evacuation route.

JR
Fantastic. And you've done, you've just explained there, which is what I as a video producer do, we start with the goal first. So obviously you will do that all the time in learning and development, but what is the actual goal and then work backwards? And how are you going to how you're going to hook people in? And how are you going to get them to bite on that bit of content? 

I'm really, really enjoying talking too much! 

So we're, we're 20 minutes in already. We've got 10 minutes left. And I believe all those people that are watching, it's going so quickly. Thanks for all those people watching so far. If you've got any questions for Martyn - I'd say any questions for me, but this isn't about me it's about Martyn. So you've got any questions for Martyn or questions about video in the L&D world and then pop them in the chat box and I'm sure we'll have a chance at the end to run through them. But thanks for supporting and watching!

MS
You’re gonna get the questions now!

JR
Yeah, but I'll be sitting here. That's why I have a guest. You can answer them for me! [laughs]

So, we need to talk about the C word.

I think. Yeah. Appropriate? Yeah, I think so. It's only 20 past 10 in the morning. 

MS
I think we can get away with it. That's okay. 

JR
All right. You're on COVID-19 you say? What word was anybody else thinking? Yeah. COVID-19 is the one.

It's obviously had a huge, huge impact on everybody in the world. That's an understatement of the year. But we know the impact that is having globally, and a lot of people are using video to help keep social comms going. So not necessarily just learning and development but just to keep in touch with people. But what you've done during COVID 19 is quite remarkable. And I can see your little Scrabble tiles in the background there. 

So we actually have had a question come in that says what does Rebellious Learning do? So this person has asked just at the right time! During this time, you've faced some challenges, you know? Work wise - so just talk to us a little bit about what Rebellious is and why you felt this was an appropriate time to to go with it.

MS 
Oh, yeah, great. So I got made redundant at the end of March this year and I've been working in my role for four and a half years as learning development consultant, an internal consultant for a large group of businesses. And when it came to the end of that I started analysing my options. And I thought, well, I've been in learning development for around 11 years, and I've got loads of experience across multiple sectors, I need to start thinking about how I can do this for myself. 

And, and I was thinking about my why I'm a big, big Simon Sinek fan. I really like what he talks about and Simon Sineks ‘Start with why’ makes a lot of sense. Really, really good deep thinker, comes out with some fantastically philosophical musings. And one of the things that I thought was, ‘Why do I do what I do?’, and I think the real reason is because when I help somebody to be able to learn something that they didn't know before that enhances their lives, they thank me for it. And if I can help somebody on their path by helping them to rebel against something that limited them in the past. Then I've done a great job that day. Yeah. So Rebellious. Rebellious really is me. I wasn't academic. I was somebody who learned my way after coming through school.

So I figured that some of the best learning comes when you're interested in something but that spark needs to come from realising that you aren't as good as you want to be. And to me, that's creative rebellion. 

So it's that it's that moment of realisation and saying, ‘Okay, I want to rebel against the way I am now to become the person that I should be’. I think Rebellious Learning & Development, my business, is going to be focused on delivering learning development solutions, whether it be remote like this, could be a webinar, could be a virtual classroom.  

I'm working with a client at the moment in his onboarding Which is going to help him with his new starters. So that's what I'm doing today. And eventually, I'll be going out to businesses working with their staff on personality profiling, and facilitating their people being better as a result coming out of the COVID-19 situation to see where they get. And that, in a nutshell is what I do. So I'm engaging with people understanding what their learning needs are, and identifying what kind of solutions would help them to help their people be more rebellious. In creative what yeah,

JR
I hear you. I love it. I love the word rebellious. I think it's great. It's not a word I've heard for a long time. So I think it's a it's a good time for that word to be in the atmosphere when people are talking about career moves, isn't it?

MS
Yes, the word is often used in a negative context, like political rebate is, this is not what we're talking about. But creative rebellion has to be where, for example, Sir Isaac Newton discovered the theory of gravity while The plague was going around the country. That's creative rebellion - he took his situation and realised something, I'm going to push against the grain and I'm going to convince my peers that this is a real thing. Creative rebellion!

JR
Well I'm sure you're going to be able to help people find their gravity during this crazy time. I think you mentioned to me Martyn before this show, that a video had actually helped you land your first client. You do lots of video content on Instagram, Facebook. I know you set up a YouTube channel which is yet to have content but will do soon. So yeah, talk to us about that video that helped land that first client.

MS
Yeah, I've done a few videos so I'm not sure which one the client actually approached me after But yeah, my video content, which was great. So I was putting videos together just reflecting on what I was going through in the current situation. One of the things was that I went on a course with the Academy of executive coaching last year. And it really inspired me to think about neuroscience. And one of the things one of the tools and techniques that I picked up was the five things that you use in order to ground yourself when you are emotionally hijacked in a situation when you can't think clearly. And it helps you to re-engage your logic. So I posted a video saying, ‘Here's five, here's something you can do when you need to re engage your logic in a situation’ and had a glass of beer. And I said, here's my beer glass. It contains beer that I like and it's fluffy and foamy, and it makes me feel nice. I feel better already and I took a little drink and people seem to like it. So yeah, but just been doing this kind of thing. Just improvising a little bit and kind of try and see new stuff out. Yeah. So that's me and they said, hey, let's let's do some work.

JR
Yes, brilliant mate. You know, they're spending a lot of time on social media, a lot of time scrolling through their news feeds, and people producing video content now talking about what they're doing, what they're up to, whether it's related to work or not. All this content is, is helping you be at the front of people's minds when it comes to learning and development and not just learning development. But just, you know, just you being on a camera being comfortable doing it is going to inspire other people to do it as well. So I think hats off to you. It's fantastic. I am an avid follower of the content that you produce. And I'm, you know, I'm so stoked that our first guest today is you, it's fantastic. 

MS
Thanks!

JR
No, no, not at all. So in under a minute if you can, before we come on to a final bit of housekeeping, I'm going to put anybody that wants details of how to get in touch with you. I'm going to put that slide up at the very end of the stream for 30 seconds or so. But in the future moving forward, you set Rebellious up, you're obviously very passionate about L&D. You're using video to a fantastic degree. 

What does the future hold for you? Where do you see yourself going with it? Do you see yourself using video more, not just for your learning and development clients, but for yourself as well?

MS
Oh, good question. Lots of good questions today. Okay, so where do I see myself going? I see myself engaging with clients from all walks of life. So it could be a small business who have a handful of staff locally who want to be able to improve their ability to provide customer care. So I'd like to be able to go into that kind of business and present something using video as well. And then helping them on their learning journey. 

It could be a big client, it could be a multinational organisation, where they need to understand how to identify their team's learning needs. And they'll be able to support them through the whole learning journey from start to finish all the way through to the final evaluation where we see what kind of value we've put on the training that's been provided. So it could be a distance, it could be face to face, but I see myself in the near future, having regular conversations with people who are passionate about getting the best out of their people in business, or personally, could be personally as well. I'm providing some coaching sessions on a professional level. 

I'm not executive coaching level, but I can help people through coaching techniques professionally.

JR
Yeah, and I think that's really clear. I think your skills, your passion, your love for it, come across, you know, in spades, and I think it's just fantastic. 

So, where can people find you right now? And you said you're working on YouTube, we are going to put your details up at the end. But where? Where would you like people to be directed to? So they can check out some of your stuff and what you're all about right now.

MS
Oh, great. So anybody who wants to have a conversation with me, would be fantastic. So you can get in touch via rebelliouslearning@gmail.com. At the moment, that's where I'm operating from. I'm on LinkedIn, Martyn Spendlove. I've got a really unique name. It's spelled with a Y and My surname is Spendlove there's only one of me on there! So if you search on LinkedIn, you'll no doubt find me, and strike up a conversation there. And of course, I've got an Instagram account as well. So I'm looking to promote Rebellious Learning on Instagram through pictures and videos on there as well. 

JR 
You're so lucky having that unique name when you type my name into Google. I'm about 700 blonde American teenage girls. I don't know why. I'm not sure why because my name's Scottish. I have no idea. Yeah, I've got no idea why. But yeah, that's what happens when you Google me. 

Martyn, listen, thank you so much for coming on today. It's been fantastic. I'd love to catch up with you again in maybe six months time, see how you’re getting on? And have you back on the show. But in the meantime, thank you. I'm just going to do a couple of housekeeping bits and then we're going to drop your details on the screen. Thank you so much.

MS
Super. Thank you, Jamie. And thanks, everybody for watching. Welcome.

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Contact Martyn on martyn.spendlove@email.com

Find out more about his company Rebellious Learning & Development.

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/martyn-spendlove-
Instagram: @rebelliouslearning
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rebellious-Learning-Development-101110441596782/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWnh6TV-23GGiTlKw7v9UtA