Become a Good TRAINER  

Training should inspire action rather than fill people with knowledge.

          People learn best when they are enjoying their training and feel they are contributing to discussions and helping to make decisions.       

          Successful leaders realise their greatest asset is not capital assets but a motivated, efficient, well-trained satisfied workforce.        The key that unlocks the door to opportunities is learning. To maximise trainees earning power, help them maximise their learning power.

Five tips to help you become a good trainer 

* Start with a need assessment

          Your first job is to find out what people already know.  Then find out what they want to know, or need to know. This should then be discussed with their leaders.  Next, develop a challenging and enjoyable programme relevant to their needs.

          What do the trainees do? Who are they? What is their background?

          Never forget, people, learn best when they are enjoying their training.  There is no lessening of the ability to learn as we age but you need to slow down and have more fun. 

* Involve trainees in their learning right from the start

          People have many experiences to share and they like to contribute, so get them involved right from the beginning before you start a training programme.

          People learn best when they know they need new skills. 

          Arouse interest to encourage people to want to learn.

          Structure training around tasks relevant to work needs, to problem-solving, or life situations.

          At the start, set and discuss training objectives. Next, find out what the trainees need to do to reach these objectives.

          Consult them on their learning priorities. “Here is the list of topics I propose to cover. Which three topics do you consider to be your high priorities?”                    

* Make training enjoyable

          Lecturing is one of the most ineffective ways to train, so keep talks to a minimum.

          People enjoy training games and challenging competitions.

          Set up teams and let the teams compete for solutions to problems or new ways to work. Keep challenging them! Give small prizes for the best results.

          Encourage participants to express their opinions and have lively discussions.

* Set exercises that are worthwhile and relevant with useful practical recommendations

          Training should be relevant to the needs of an organisation, or to improve the career prospects of the trainees.

* Use a variety of training methods

          People will learn more quickly if you use different ways of training. Use group discussion, role playing etc. with plenty of good visual aids.  

          Short repetitive training sessions can help reinforce learning because they have more impact and relevance. Long sessions can be very tiring.

          Keep asking;  “What did we learn yesterday at our last training session?”  Keep reviewing and reminding your participants.

          If people start to wilt during training, take a break. Play a game, let them go for a walk or a swim, or break for coffee. Do something different, so they return refreshed and keen to continue.

          A good trainer can make learning fun and satisfy participants. Don’t regurgitate other peoples sessions build your own unique ways to train.

          ‘Variety is the spice of life’ so make your training interesting, entertaining, challenging and enjoyable using numerous training ways. The greater the involvement the more people learn.

–Geoffrey Moss

“Experience is the best teacher, but today time and technology must be taken into account.”

Source: “Training Secrets – Helping adults learn”. Available from Moss Associates Ltd, New Zealand & Cengage Learning Asia, Singapore, also published by Business One IRWIN, USA. Available as a hard copy and as an e-book from Amazon.com.

PS. The author has run workshops in a dozen Asian and Pacific countries. Over 2,500 people have attended his workshops. He has run 31 workshops at the Singapore Institute of Management. (See “Training Secrets – Helping Adults Learn”, for forty-nine different ways to train.)