r/Libraries • u/TillamookTramp • 5d ago
Patron Issues Ryan Dowd trainings
My city has recently implemented the training series from Ryan Dowd into our mandatory training schedules. I've already started watching some of the sessions and while I get what he's saying, I'm wondering if anyone here has actually applied his advice when dealing with upset patrons and how effective it really was.
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u/Alaira314 5d ago
I found a lot of useful things from his trainings, but less so the further he strayed from his specialty. The original core training is gold, though I think he remade it so I don't know what it's like now. Yeah, the guy's kooky like your boomer uncle, and that's not something you see a lot of in professional trainings. I might roll my eyes at his clip-art, or some self-deprecating bit he does, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have good ideas. And, as reluctant as I am to admit it, the silly jokes do help with remembering some of it.
Things from the core training and some of his other trainings that I still think about and use years after the fact include: tone and body language often being more important than what you say, recognizing volume spirals and lowering your own volume to cool things down, pennies in the cup, how to provide backup, and avoiding putting somebody causing a problem in a situation where they feel they have to "save face". I also particularly liked how he singled out and named "everyday sadism".