Developing training skills: tips you have never been told Part 1

-

We are all trainers in one way or the other and no one was born with a special skill to train. We develop it and those who are good at it; keep at it while learning everyday. In my years of conducting training, I have come to learn certain lessons which I want to share with everyone that desires to become a trainer or a better one.

1. You need to have passion: Passion to train others; passion to see improvement in the system; passion to save lives; passion to see people become better at what they do. I moved from a banking career to international development job specifically in health. While I understood training as a whole, the subject matter was strange but I did something: I looked within to find a connection and I realized that the people I train will be responsible for saving other people's lives. That is where I found my passion.

2. People are key in training: Content without the people to train is no training so we need to have and show genuine interest in the people that we want to train. It is even more important than the content itself. When you don't have genuine interest, it reflects in how you train. The energy will be lacking and energy is very important in training.

3. Look for your own unique style: As a trainer, you need to find yourself in the use of adult learning methodology. You can be soft spoken and be a good trainer; we all complement each other in the act of training. Never try to be like another but find your own unique signature in how you conduct trainings. Fake accent or imitation cannot help; be yourself and find your own strength. Believe me; it works.

4. Be vulnerable: Vulnerability is not weakness; it is a statement.We are not perfect so learn to be vulnerable. You can develop the content and train on it but when you are not vulnerable, your training lacks that originality it should have. Laugh at yourself; share your experiences; smile and say sorry when you are wrong. It is the one secret to remarkable trainings. You will never reach that height until you become vulnerable and people realize that you are just like them. Nothing connects more than knowing that you make mistakes too.

Watch out for Part 2 on developing training skills: tips you have never been told


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Psychology of the Modern Day Learner

-
Image
Infographic by Deloitte Everything is not about technology; for the modern day learner I believe technology is not the real problem. Technology has improved learning considerable but do we know the modern day learner? It transcends the generational types; it is our interest, beliefs, motivation and values. Culture is a way of life and whether we agree or not, we all have a culture. If not personal, we have in our work places, communities, states or countries. It might be unwritten but we know it, we feel it and we see it everyday; though we are advocates of globalization. Who is the modern day learner? The modern day learner is aware that learning is important but hardly has the time for learning. He or she wants to learn but cannot spend hours pouring over materials either hard or soft copy. The modern day learners know what they want. Besides, they have Google to the rescue. The modern day learner is in search of real time information without stress; why learn when I
Read more

Happy Reflection Year

-
Happy New Year! We are thankful for 2021and hopeful for a relief. One thing people continue to talk about is the need for things to return to normalcy. The change has been exhausting; from working from home, home schooling, increasing use of digital solutions and concerns about health. That is a lot to deal with I must confess. The good part is that we have found ways to adapt, prioritize and be better people despite everything. We became more humane and thoughtful towards ourselves and others. As it is usual for the start of the year, everyone is quick to plan, make resolutions and jump into action. Good as  it may seem, it is way more important to reflect. Reflection on the past, the present and the future. You may ask,” what do I reflect on? How do I reflect? How does reflection help with ensuring a purposeful year? What do I reflect on? Successes, areas of improvement, priorities, values, commitments, goals, personal life, relationships, friendships, family and career How do I ref
Read more

Using your internal talent as trainers

-
Image
Every year organizations spend money on consultants for a whole lot of things and training is not left out.   We go through rigorous processes to select the best. I will like to see things from another perspective and that is developing trainers within the organization. You will spend but trust me not as much when using external consultants in the long run. Let me be frank with you; THE BEST RESOURCES ARE WITHIN YOUR ORGANIZATION . They understand the system, people and culture within the organization. What we see is that a lot of organization shy away from this wealth of resource and continue on a ride with too many consultants. Tips for using internal talent as trainers 1. Determine the competencies required for each job role. Nothing complex. 2. Categorize the training offerings that will address the required competencies. Those trainings that can be facilitated by internal talents and external consultants. 3. Design a simple framework for utilizing internal talent
Read more