John Tomlinson set out to develop a podcast that focused on sharing training tips and effective tools for L&D professionals. But he found the conversations taking a deep dive into other topics. From there, the Trainer Tools podcast was born.

Each month, Tomlinson interviews an experienced L&D professional, and together they delve into a topic of relevance to those in organizational learning and change. For example, in the "Following Their Path, Not Yours" episode, Tomlinson and psychologist Nadja Petranovskaja discuss the training room. Petranovskaja argues that online learning should be treated as a supplement to classroom learning. She also strongly emphasizes the value of classroom facilitation, particularly when the trainer lets learners guide the session.

In her view, overplanning a presentation will be to your detriment. Rather, you must know your topic and which ways your audience may steer the discussion. Facilitators should be there to teach learners what they don't know and leave them with what she has coined as "shiny eyes"—that is motivation and confidence.