In every training session, what the trainers and trainees decide to focus on depends on what they will make out of the session. If their focus revolves round frivolities, be sure the session won’t be productive and if it’s well-organized, planned and mapped out for a purpose, all will run well for the purpose it was marked out for. In this piece, I will explicate on how you can always make every training session count.
First, start by making training very specific. It’s important to make sure that the training you are providing to your staff is training they can actually use and will be relevant to their job role. It may seem easier to just ask everyone in your company to complete training as and when it pops up, but it won’t be particularly helpful for them. This may be especially tempting with eLearning, as if you’re already paid for access to the content, it may seem easier to just ask everyone to complete it, rather than taking the time to see who the training is actually suited for. If you are running a session for customer facing staff, think about who really needs to attend that session, as people who working in your internal IT department, for example, probably won’t find the training very useful. Not only will it be a huge waste of time for people who don’t need to complete that training, they will no doubt be very unhappy about having to do training which is not relevant to them. Take the time to look over all your staff and assess who really needs to complete each training. Your staff will be a lot happier if they are not having to complete extra training all the time, and if all the training they are receiving is very relevant and useful to them (Morrison, 2015).
Furthermore, strike the right balance between training and discussion. “A good workshop or training session for me has a good blend of actually learning stuff – being taught theory and ideas around things, but with lots of breakouts so that you can talk about what you’ve heard,” Fitzgerald said. The UK-based career coach continued thus: “Participants need to have the opportunity to share experiences, play with the theory, and work out what it means to them.”
Roberts also makes use of similar approach and he testifies to how awesome it has been productive. He said: “What we tend to do is a bit of knowledge share, then a few breakout sessions to drill down into different areas and try and get some discussion going, then we leave participants to do some action planning at their tables,” he said. “… During the day, they will all have taken on different bits of roles and tasks and bounced ideas off each other – that’s what you need to do to fundamentally change the way you run your processes. A lot of time went into planning the structure of the sessions, but it has been well worth it as the team has been delivering the sessions for three years, and received good feedback. The winning formula is about “variety really, trying to keep people active and not just give them information overload” (White, 2017). When you are able to successfully draw the line between practical and theory, the trainees would connect and enjoy every aspect of the lesson.
Also, define your objective and make your intentions known. You should always have a goal with your communication—something you want from your audience. Once you have an objective, you must pair it with an intention (a one-word verb) that will color your delivery and help you reach that goal. Once you identify the appropriate intention (i.e., to excite, persuade, or engage), your voice, gestures, and body language then must support it. You should be able to complete the following sentence with any message you deliver: “I want to __________ my audience, so my audience will ___________________.” (For example, a trainer may want to empower their team members with new procedures so they can be more efficient and productive at their job.) (Mills, 2013).
Also, ensure you create a pattern interrupt. Since most meetings or presentations last longer than 15 to 20 minutes, it is important during those meetings or presentations to change things up frequently by creating what is called a pattern interrupt. Examples of pattern interrupts include asking questions, incorporating physical activity, changing speakers, or even breaking the group into pairs or smaller groups. By using a pattern interrupt, you keep your audience actively involved and buy yourself more time for fuller engagement. In the same vein, ensure you make it a dialogue and not the usual monolingual exchange known with most trainers. Try to make the delivery of your message an interactive experience with an audience instead of a one-way communication (with you doing all of the talking). Think of every training or presentation as an interactive experience, as much as possible: Solicit feedback frequently, ask questions throughout, and check in at various intervals to confirm understanding to ensure your points are being understood (Mills, 2013).
In addition, reel out the benefit of the training. “What’s in it for me?” This is what every audience is thinking at the start of your training or presentation. Audiences always will be looking for a tangible benefit you can provide to them with the message you are delivering, so don’t be shy about stating concrete and specific details about how your program or plan could have a positive effect on productivity or the bottom line. How will it save them time, save them money, or make their job or life easier? Clearly and equivocally spell out the benefit you are providing for those giving you their time and attention (Mills, 2013).
In conclusion, make the process fun-filled. Training sessions can have the unwanted stigma of being boring and pointless. No one wants to sit through a lackluster training session. Make sure to keep your training activities exciting and fresh, so you will inspire and energize your attendees. A well-known training anecdote says that trainees forget 50% of what they learn as soon as they leave the room so delivering training sessions using a variety of activities will help to enhance the learning experience by making it memorable. These types of training sessions could include: team building activities, e-learning, instructor-led training, blended learning, practical and experiential learning, problem solving and role playing. Measuring the impact of these different types of training by polling your attendees before and after the session is highly valuable as you will be able to tell what works well for you and your attendees (Waugh, 2018).
References
Mills, G (2013). 7 Secrets to Engaging an Audience. Retrieved from https://trainingmag.com/content/7-secrets-engaging-audience/
Waugh, B (2018). 7 Tips for Delivering a Stand-Out Training Session. Retrieved from https://www.meetoo.com/blog/2017/7-tips-for-delivering-a-standout-training-session
White, S (2017). Tips on Giving an Effective Training Session. Retrieved from https://www.fm-magazine.com/news/2017/may/effective-training-session-tips-201716731.html
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