subject: Improving Training - 5 Tips to improve delivery [print this page] Improving Training - 5 Tips to improve delivery
Ifyou are thinking about or have been asked to deliver training for the first time the following article may be able to offer some simple pointers.
Delivering training to professionals is an enjoyable and rewarding experience when done correctly, but many in-experienced trainers can run into some common problems when first delivering training.
Below are 5 tips which can help make your training more effective.If
1. Make you training fun
Just because someone knows a lot about a subject it doesn't mean they can communicate this in an effective and interesting way. Make sure your training is enjoyable and engaging for your audience, remember people have given up an entire days work to be with you, the last thing people want is to be bored and switched off by your delivery.
2. Get the venue right
The room is an important element of the day and the layout and facilities will really influence the experience of your participants.
Personally I never lay the room out in classroom fashion, I find conference style with groups of participants at various tables much more effective, it also means group activities and break outs are much easier to manage.
Make sure you make friends with the venue staff as issues around temperature, lunch and car parking can upset delegates and influence their experience of your training course.
3. Do your homework
Effective training delivery doesn't just happen in the classroom. For training to really work you need to do your research and really understand your clients business, this is crucial for effective training delivery. Many trainers do not complete thorough enough research and consequently offer sub standard training which does not meet the required outcomes for their clients (see point 4).
4. Focus on the outcomes
For training to be really successful we really need to focus on the outcomes we want to achieve. Far too often trainers are so focused on the look of there PowerPoint slides and the running of the day they forget about the most important element, what do people need to learn?
Remember the outcomes for your training course should be the start not end point during your training development.
5. Make it inclusive
The people your training know more about where they work than you do. Make sure you give ample opportunity for participants to be engaged in and have a say in what is covered.
Some ideas to make your training more inclusive could include: prior engagement with participants, setting joint outcomes, aims and objectives and responding effectively to questions as they arise.
Nothing switches participants off like a training who cannot or will not deviate from their programme or script.
In summary effective training is participant focused training. Think about all of the training you have attended, the good and the bad. Now think about how much you remember from it all, not much but I bet there are a few sessions and experiences that really stick in your mind.
The trick to deliver effective training is to make sure your courses offer some of these moments to your participants, make sure you give people something to remember.
I think we can safely assume that your participants wont remember endless slides and chalk and talk.
