I freely admit that I am still very much trying to learn when it comes to effective training. I take each session as a distinct opportunity to impart information to attendees and recognize that although the information may be the same, the needs of the students are unique to each event. Following are a few training suggestions that might be beneficial as you develop your own training style:

1. David Frank of AICS recommends 10 hours of preparation for each one hour of training. Although this may seem a lot, it is probably about right for the first time you conduct a new session or topic. Once you have developed the format, theme, points, exercises, etc. you can usually go back to the material, tweak it and proceed with a growing confidence as you conduct the sessions over and over. Do not let the material become stale or dated.

2. Try to keep it simple (the old KISS principle) in that covering too much information can rapidly go from true training to a data dump with attendees overloaded with details that may or may not make sense. Asking yourself: “What is my goal for this class?” is very important since you need to have a focus. Covering everything about everything is not very practical.

3. If time permits, have each attendee introduce themselves and either ask a question (about the topic in the class) or volunteer some information they know about the topic. This may not work with a very limited time frame or a very large group. Not only will it give you a great opportunity to interact with them but it will also open them up to what you are going to present. One key aspect of the introductions is that it helps me to fine tune my presentation “on the fly” based on their comments and feedback thereby customizing the standardized materials to better respond to their particular needs.

Although the material may be the same, each class is different. Your comments and questions are important. I hope to hear from you soon. Until then, keep it clean...

Mickey Crowe has been involved in the industry for over 35 years. He is a trainer, speaker and consultant. You can reach Mickey at 678-314-2171 or CTCG50@comcast.net.


posted on 1/6/2017