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Grace Torre is a Toronto-based senior freelance instructional designer and learning strategist with more than 10 years of experience across a wide range of for-profit and nonprofit industries, including professional financial services, banking, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, higher education, and government. Torre enjoys working with diverse client groups, projects, and specializes in applied writing and coaching.

Grace Torre 

Let's explore all the individuals and situations talent development professionals need to persuade and influence.

Make Sure Persuasion and Influence Are in Your Toolbox

October 2020 - TD Magazine

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Who are the more than 5,000 talent development professionals who have earned the APTD or CPTD credential? Grace Torres is a Senior Manager, Talent Management & Employee Experience, in the US. She earned the Certified Professional in Talent Develo

"Professionally, earning the CPTD credential has been a game-changer..."

May 2024 - TD Magazine

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Save Time With ChatGPT

Persuade Effectively and Grow Your Influence

In January, OpenAI’s conversational platform, ChatGPT-3, became the fastest-growing app in internet history. This is just one indication of growing curiosity about GPT (generative pre-trained transformer) and other chatbots in the past few weeks. As one of the first learning professionals to see the potential of conversational AI and one of the few designing the applications for years, I’m excited to see the recent attention paid to this engaging technology.In my book, AI in Talent Development, I outline several ways chatbots can be used as part of a robust learning experience, and ChatGPT-3, the third version in OpenAI’s ChatGPT series, demonstrates most of them. When ATD asked me to write a post on this subject, I struggled to find the value I could add to the exploding conversation. I decided to do what people say I do best: Give you the bottom line and point the way towards practical applications. Let’s start with the basics.How ChatGPT-3 WorksChatGPT operates on an autoregressive model. It’s not as complicated as it may sound. A transformer is a program, model, or algorithm that converts code into something else—in this case, human language. The autoregressive part means the software uses prior events to predict the most likely future events, which is what your brain does all the time. It allows ChatGPT and similar applications to simulate a conversation between two humans. Learn the two keys to making an application like this work:1. Natural Language ProgrammingNatural Language Processing (NLP) allows the bot to recognize input through human speech or writing, eliminating the need for menus or code to engage with it. This same ability enables the bot to reply through text. Before the development of NLP, most chatbots were menu-driven, and the bot responded by selecting the best fit from a database of pre-written options. Conversational AI represents a new way for humans to use computers; it’s a user interface requiring less hardware and prior knowledge than any previous UIs.!CAUTION! Don’t confuse Natural Language Processing with the pseudo-science term using the same acronym. Neural Linguistic Programming is widely disproved and an invalid practice.2. Massive Training DatasetsLike any neural network (including your own), AI models must be effectively trained using a technique called deep learning. Quite frankly, the stunning capabilities of ChatGPT-3 are nothing new. As David Chalmers points out, there is no new technology here. There are many bots with similar abilities, and I described them in detail in 2020. How this bot is trained and how well this approach works is innovative. First, Open AI used the largest training dataset, combining a database containing much of the internet, a huge library of books, and Wikipedia.Then, after refining the bot in-house, Open AI released it free to the world. As we all started to play with it, we were training it further for them. Think of it as a crowd-sourced training effort. The sheer size of the training database resulted in what everyone always expected: Impressive results that can mimic human expression so well it is hard to tell a machine generated it. However, there continues to be an underlying problem: Chatbots are only as good as their training (like us humans). If you consider the source of GPT’s training, you can see why it sometimes makes mistakes.What Can We Do With ChatGPT-3?Because this product is still being explored, there may be new use cases by the time this post publishes. Below are a few applications that can save time and make your work as a learning professional more efficient and productive.Write ContentIf you ask the bot to write a paragraph introducing a subject, it comes back almost instantly with plausible, grammatically correct text. Because its training included unvalidated sources like the internet and Wikipedia, some of the content it produces must be corrected. Still, you can get excellent first drafts and refine your content from there.Summarize DocumentsLooking for a “Reader’s Digest” version of a book or article? Paste the text into a prompt to ChatGPT, and it returns a nice summary that should hit most of the highlights.Write and Troubleshoot Computer CodeBecause ChatGPT was built to analyze and produce output in human language, it is also great at computer languages. Programmers are using it to troubleshoot code. It can even generate new code if you ask it to develop a new capability.Translate DocumentsFar more effective than other translators out there, ChatGPT can take a website or article and translate it into another language.Write and Grade QuizzesYou can feed your content into GPT and ask it to generate a quiz with answers. Or, give it a general subject, like world history, and it will do the same. Feed your student’s quiz responses into GPT, and it will grade them (even essays!).Create GamesI asked GPT to create a game teaching sixth-grade students about the solar system, and the bot came back with a fun adventure through space.Improve Your WritingI didn’t do this for this article, but I could have asked GPT to review my draft and suggest improvements.Conduct ResearchI asked the bot to provide a list of current peer-reviewed studies on chatbot use in education using APA style and received a properly formatted list.Why Does ChatGPT Have Some People Worried?While most of the comments about GPT are positive, you will find a few educators deeply concerned about this new tool’s capabilities.Mimicking Human WritingTeachers are worried about GPT’s ability to write plausible text reading like a human created it and write in a known author’s style. A student could ask the bot to write a paper in the same style as one of their previous works, and it would be hard to tell the GPT paper wasn’t an original student effort. But, again, this mimicking ability is nothing new. AI has generated art in the style of great artists for years. ChatGPT applies the same predictive approach to language.ChatGPT Makes MistakesAnother concern is the bot’s ability to present false information so convincingly that some users forget to validate the response with research. For example, I asked the bot to calculate the mean of five numbers, and the result was interesting. I received a detailed explanation of the statistical definition of “mean” and how to calculate it, which I did NOT request. However, the bot added the five numbers incorrectly.To be fair, ChatGPT wasn’t built to perform math problems. But it didn’t tell me that or report the result might be incorrect. Like any willing assistant, it did its best to provide an answer. If I had been a student relying on GPT’s help, I would have been wrong. The reason for most of these mistakes is the same reason that it is such a stunning improvement in the chatbot experience: It’s primary sources of information are the internet and Wikipedia.I asked Vince Han, one of the pioneers in building chatbots for learning, to sum up the challenges presented by GPT’s new capabilities, and here’s his response:“One of the effects of ChatGPT & increased quality in Artificial Intelligence in general is shifting the skills users need. For example, most users have developed a skill for how to search which is knowing how to craft keywords and how to sift through search results. Now, people will need the skill of discernment, or learning how to decipher truth and views from a chatbot that provides what reads like a definitive answer. So, from a performance support perspective, yes, one can now get an immediate response to a question but how accurate and relevant that response is will be up to them to determine. “As educators, we must now confront a problem that has been boiling for decades—the decline in critical thinking across most domains, demographics, and workgroups. In my opinion, ChatGPT makes this gap more visible and increases the urgency for closing it quickly.Closing ThoughtsBecause Microsoft owns the license for the exclusive use of the model, we’ve all been working for them, revealing exciting use cases that may find their way into AI-enabled Microsoft products. For now, the platform consists of both free and professional versions. It’s an excellent way to begin learning about the promise of AI and our place alongside it. As machine learning expert Santiago Pino says, “AI will not replace you. A person using AI will.”Where Can You Learn More?There are so many articles about this subject right now that I’ve limited myself to a few favorites:Under the Hood of Chat GPT With Myra RoldanHow ChatGPT3 Impacts the Future of L&D in an AI WorldChatGPT Has Educators Scrambling to Keep UpWhat Is ChatGPT and How to Teach With ItWhat Is ChatGPT and Why Does It Matter?What Is ChatGPT? Is It the Beginning of the End?Ger’s Learning Notes #51 - ChatGPTFor more information and resources, Check out ATD's AI Resource page.

ChatGPT-3 Has Everyone Talking

Healthcare literacy is a major issue. Unfortunately, the healthcare industry is teaching its users exactly opposite to how people actually learn language.  In some ways, the healthcare communication challenge is no different than any other industry, because every industry, specialty, and company has its own lingo. Certain words, phrases, and acronyms serve as a communication link between co-workers, providers, practitioners, and vendors. Indeed, the language of medicine and healthcare is complex and precise, and the professionals using these terms were trained for years to become fluent and comfortable with its jargon. For the rest of us, however, this lingo can be confusing and alienating—no different than the jargon of computers, motocross racing, or accounting is to those outside of those communities. Not surprisingly, such confusing language is a chief factor of the healthcare consumer’s frustration and dissatisfaction, with the language barrier a key stressor of communicating with doctors and nurses.  In fact, the terminology of the healthcare industry is particularly challenging for patients and consumers—those served by the system, but also outside the system. (And this is not a reference to those dealing with English as a Second Language.)The Educated “Illiterate” There are all kinds of initiatives and advice on how to train physicians and healthcare professionals to “speak” to patients. The latest iteration seems to be a move toward patient-centric communication. In addition, Plain English efforts to identify the “best language” for the healthcare industry seem to be the prevailing solution to this issue., whereby everything is written at the 6th grade level.  However, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, 90 percent of the U.S. population has a high school degree, and of that group, another 30 percent have attained college degrees (or higher).  Clearly, the issue of healthcare “literacy” applies to college graduates and PhDs, as well as high school dropouts. In other words, the issue has little to do with the educational level of patient or consumer. Perhaps, it is time for a new approach.How Adults Learn LanguageExecuSpeak Dictionary® has conducted research on how adults learn language, which has been detailed in previous ATD blog posts. In a nutshell, the research shows that while adults need seven to 20 repetitions of a new word or phrase to make it their own, they do not learn well under stress (unlike students cramming for a test). Just as experts recognize that doctor’s office setting compromises blood pressure tests, so is learning. Additionally, neuroscientists who research how people process language have discovered that the brain reacts to words it doesn’t in specific ways. The brain may either fill in a meaning (maybe the correct meaning, but maybe not), or it may slide right over the word as though it doesn’t exist. But how can the healthcare industry apply this research? My experience in the telecommunications industry has altered the way I think about sending and receiving information—in that “send” is one verb and “receive” is another verb. Can we turn the healthcare communication and language challenge into a two-way street, akin to the way communications actually takes place? Instead of just teaching medical personnel how to properly speak to patients, maybe we should “train” patients to share the language of the medical personnel.  Moving Forward How can healthcare professionals know what is going on after the appointment a patient? It’s easy to think that patients fail to follow prescribed treatments because they don’t remember instructions and simply need to take the time to write down notes. But perhaps another reason may be lurking: Patients may be confused by unfamiliar terms that need to be defined. Bottom line: While it’s impossible to know what terms will be new or confusing to any one individual, it is possible to provide patients with the support they need once the language learning process is understood.  In Part 2, we will examine how adjusting the learning process can improve healthcare literacy among patients and consumers.

How to Achieve Healthcare Literacy, Part 1

Sales enablement teams constantly receive requests for new training content and work hard to deliver it as quickly and conveniently as possible.But keeping up with the demand can be challenging.In a recent survey, more than half of sales teams said, at least sometimes, they create their own content instead of waiting for marketing. And too often, the content that is delivered falls flat or is ignored. In fact, per a Forrester study, 65 percent of sales and marketing assets go unused because reps feel they’re irrelevant. The antidote? A sales enablement content strategy that prioritizes speed, ease of use, customization, and engagement. This is where AI video comes in. Why Now Is the Time for AI VideoFor years, studies have shown that video is the preferred format for both learners and potential buyers: Seventy-eight percent of survey respondents said they’d prefer to watch a short video to learn about a product or service—far ahead of other mediums. Until recently, creating tailored videos at scale wasn’t viable for most teams: too time-consuming, too expensive. However, today’s AI video tools make a video-first sales enablement content strategy easier to execute than what you’re currently doing.Case in point: Salesloft’s field readiness team.Salesloft’s AI Sales Enablement StrategyAt Salesloft, Senior Director of Field Readiness Joel Fleet leads a small but mighty team that’s laser-focused on business impact. “I like to use the analogy that we’re a pit crew on a racetrack with sales as they’re in the race. We’re very much a part of seeing them be successful,” he says.To manage requests, Joel’s team shares a menu of content types and timeframes with sales to clarify the level of support they can provide—everything from self-serve “micro-enablement” to full-scale change management programs. This structured approach helps ensure the team maximizes its time and delivers timely, just-right support. Joel says pre-built video templates, AI avatars, and text-to-speech tools make it fast and easy for his team to keep up with demand for a high volume of engaging content. And generative AI features make it possible to easily create content quickly from a prompt or reference documents —no video skills needed. “You really will be impressed with what it generates quickly. And then any augmentation you have to do is super easy,” Joel says.Recently, Joel and his team have heavily relied on AI videos, quickly transforming assets to support three major Salesloft events. Explainer videos: For a significant product launch of AI agents, Joel turned a complex, jargon-heavy concept into a simple chef analogy. The result? A memorable, polished mixed media video that helped reps understand and communicate value more effectively.Product training: To enable ongoing learning on new features and messaging, Joel’s team also created a series of short-form videos, featuring dynamic avatars and clear messaging, so sellers could quickly absorb key updates and take action. Role-playing sessions: The night before a big sales kickoff, Joel used ChatGPT and Vyond together to create short videos featuring five prospect types sharing their needs and concerns. With each unique persona in mind, reps workshopped ways to tailor their differentiation talk tracks to various audiences. “In the span of a month, I went from not having ever used the platform [Vyond] to having a full payload of enablement materials created for this massive transformational launch over twenty videos, and the feedback has been strong,” Joel says.Beyond these examples, enablement teams are using AI videos even more broadly for communications like meeting recaps, personalized prospecting, quarterly business reviews, and executive summaries, to name a few.Enable Smarter, Not Harder With AI Videos Reps today need relevant, timely, and easy-to-digest content. Enablement teams need tools that help them scale without sacrificing quality.AI-powered video achieves both. It helps your reps show up, as Joel would say, “fluent, competent, and confident”—and better prepared to help your business stand out in a sea of sameness.

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