In case you missed in (not sure how you would have managed that!) the newest member of our Royal Family has been born. Prince George is probably the most talked about piece of news in the UK with his arrival bringing an uplift of spirits across the nation. It got me to wondering whether workplaces can benefit from the accompanying positivity.

Now, whilst much has been written in recent times about the link between employee mood (or engagement) and the impact on individual/organisational performance, can someone's mood affect their ability to learn?

An interesting study was published in Psychological Science back in 2010 which considered this very issue. Researchers looked at whether mood affects ability to learn and whether the type of learning being undertaken made a difference. To undertake the study they had people learn either something new which required rules or something new which required more flexibility and creativity. They influenced each groups mood by playing music and/or showing video clips. They found that when learning something which required mental flexibility or creativity, being in a positive mood made the learning more effective. However they found no link between a someones mood and how well they learn if they are learning something which is rule based.

So based on the findings of this study that we Trainer's can increase the impact and effectiveness of our sessions just by making sure our delegates are in a good mood when they join us to learn - so long as what we are teaching requires some creative thinking. And with the general upswing in the country's mood when better to deliver those thought provoking, problem solving sessions?

How do you ensure your delegates sit down to learn in a positive frame of mind?