If you are a corporate trainer, then you will want to have the best impact that you possible can on your trainees. To an extent this means that you need to focus on delivering good sessions, and on engaging with your trainees. Your own personality and that of the people that you work with will always have some impact on the effectiveness of your sessions, but these tips will help you to produce the best results for most clients.
Make Your Training Simple
People who set more than 3-5 goals at a time are far more likely to fail. Define clear objectives for your trainees to work towards, and communicate them well.
Learn Through Practice
One common trainer trap is that trainee consultants bombard trainees with too much information. Instead of doing this, take a simple concept and teach that, then build on that later in the session as your trainees practice. Answer problems when they arise, using questions or confusion as a teachable moment. People are more likely to remember things if they learn by doing.
Take Advantage of Pre-Work
If the training environment offers the opportunity for pre-work, use it to prepare the trainees for the session, so you can spend less time teaching, and more time on actually applying the skills that you are delivering.
Get Trainees Involved
When someone is talking, they are learning. So, get people involved in the discussion. Get them to explain things to each other, and ask lots of questions while you teach. People who are engaged in a session through discussion or by sharing their own knowledge are more likely to retain the information that they learned once the training is over.
Take Time to Follow up
The training does not end when people walk out of the classroom. Take the time to follow up – ask for feedback about the sessions. Tell people that they are free to get in touch with you if they run into questions or problems in the field. Ask people to submit their own experiences, or to come back to train the next intake. That ongoing engagement will cement the learning experience for them.
The above are just a few ideas for how to make your sessions better and more effective. Being a good corporate trainer, just like any study, is a lifelong pursuit, and the more you invest in your skills, the better you will be at helping others develop theirs.
