Safety Training Net - Jan. '26

New in 2026, Safety Training and Communication Calendar, Safety Days, trAIning, Preemptive Storytelling, and What & Why Activity

Linda Tapp

Jan 30, 2026

∙ Paid

New Year - New Additions

There are a few changes you will see in The Safety Training Net this year.

The focus will be on training and communication, as much of our success as EHS professionals/trainers relies on strong communication skills. The monthly calendar themes will also be linked to communication. Even if you only do a little safety training, or stop doing it altogether, communication skills are something you can take with you anywhere.
I am looking for subscribers who would like to be published in a collection of safety training ideas. If you can write one page, you can be a published author! To learn more, click here.
Many companies have at least one annual “safety day” where employees, and sometimes others like contractors, family, and/or community members take part. I’ll be including a new Safety Day section with ideas specifically for these events, so you can add more interactivity and fun to yours.
Each newsletter will include something related to training and AI. You will find it in a new trAIning section.
I am also opening up the opportunity for sponsorship and limited advertising. If you would like to learn more, click here.

Many people ask me for ideas for their annual “safety day.” One of my favorite consulting projects was helping an international brewery create 25 safety training games and activities for use across its plants worldwide during their version of a safety day. “Safety Days” take many different forms and are called different things, but almost all provide some type of fun and interaction for employees. I recently asked EHS pros on LinkedIn what their safety day looks like and heard some great ideas. I will be sharing those as well as many others in this new Safety Day section of this newsletter.

💡 January’s Safety Day Idea is a QR Code Scavenger Hunt. I have discussed QR code scavenger hunts for fire safety and new employee orientation in past issues of the Safety Training Net. (Links to both of these are available to paid subscribers in the VIP section below.) A QR Code Scavenger Hunt can be a great way to involve employees, as well as contractors and other visitors, like family members, in identifying key locations around a facility. To learn how to create your own, read more about it on the SafetyFUNdamentals blog.

The 2026 Safety Training and Communication Calendar is Here!

VIP Subscribers have access to the complete 2026 Safety Training and Communication calendar. Each month includes training ideas related to events occurring that week, plus significant historical EHS events. Each month also has one major theme related to safety training communication.

The topic for January is Preemptive Storytelling. Preemptive storytelling in safety training means explaining the *why* before people fill in the blanks themselves. When changes are made without context, such as new rules, new PPE, and new procedures, workers may create their own stories. Preemptive storytelling is a way to get ahead of that and involves sharing the reason, the risk, and the real-world trade-offs up front, along with why the change is necessary and how it will make the workplace safer. If you wait until there’s resistance, you’re already behind.

Download the Preemptive Storytelling Sketchnote here.

What & Why Training Activity

Experts in learning transfer suggest we ask ourselves “What does this remind me of?” and “Why does it remind me of it?” when we are learning something new. When learning new material, you may be doing this already, but are you encouraging your trainees to do this?

One of the best ways to get trainees to remember the information you need them to remember is to ask these two questions:

1 - What does this remind me of?

2 - Why does it remind me of it?

For example, if you are presenting a training class on silica awareness and ask trainees what it reminds them of, what do you think they could say as an answer?

Next, if you asked them why it reminds them of that, what would they say?

In the case of silica, the hazard and the controls are very much the same as asbestos. If a trainee has been working safely around asbestos, they will have an easier time working safely with silica. By asking them to think about the reasons why something is similar, you are helping them to put the new information into their long term memory.

What is the next training class you are going to deliver? Where can you use these two questions? What will you be trying to learn new yourself? Remember to stop and reflect on these two questions, and you will do a lot for your own and your trainees’ ability to later remember and use the information.

I have created an activity based on this method of learning called What & Why. You can download it here.

I really appreciate it when subscribers share this newsletter with others who might benefit from it. I’d like to thank the following people who have shared The Safety Training Net in the past. (I’ve removed last names for privacy).

THANK YOU Shonda P., Nancy M., H. G., A.J. V., E. H., Mohammed A., Michaeline C., Sajida F., W. M., B.R. B., Atencio G., Charlsia F. Haley D., Blane A., Reese S., Calvin B., Bernadette S., Binit, Cindy B., Edward K., Ellen E., E. G., R. C., James W., and Karen.

Please share this newsletter with those who might enjoy it.

Did you know, to help combat the use of AI by students taking exams, a few professors are reverting to oral exams instead of the traditional paper and pencil tests? I support the idea of oral exams in safety training because they reduce the issues that can arise when a trainee has poor or no reading skills, though administering an oral test to every trainee is likely impractical. What do you think?

Oral exams are rooted in ancient traditions but are gaining popularity across various disciplines and class sizes. You can read more about this here, although it is behind a paywall that requires you to create a free account to access it.

Are you a consultant or supplier? Here are two new opportunities to check out.

You can now sponsor and/or advertise the next issue of the Safety Training Net and reach over 4,000 subscribers from around the world! Read more here.

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VIP Section

Hi VIP! Thank you so much for being a paid subscriber and supporting this newsletter. Many of the resources in this newsletter are only available to you, and these download links are provided in the section below. As a VIP, you also have access to all issues published since this newsletter kicked off in 2021! The Safety Training Net is still only $50/year so if you know someone who could benefit from these resources, please use the button below to refer them to this site. Thank you!

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