From Boring to Interesting - Making Training Effective

Being a good trainer requires experience and skill. Experience comes from practice and skill from learning the theories, applying them, getting feedback and consciously improving.

Some things that will help you improve are:

  • Know your target audience - what's in it for them? What do they expect? Why are they attending your training?
  • Sometimes go back to basics - it's a good chance to reevaluate your performance
  • Find ways to generate interaction and get your participants doing something
  • Provide as much variety as practicable
  • Demonstrate where possible - it will save many words
  • Use humour wherever possible. If associated with analogies, this can help participants recall specifics
  • Consider your training as a marketing exercise When you prepare your session (you DO prepare don't you?) think of it in terms of you having to make a sale. I know this sounds odd, but when you think about it, you are trying to 'sell' someone the ideas you are putting across. So there's much we can learn from the art of salesmanship or marketing.

    Think along the lines of the acronym A - I - D - A which stands for Attention - Interest - Desire - Action. Get attention by making a statement that is bold or give an example of what could happen if they don't do what it is you are about to suggest. For example, if you were about to deliver a road safety talk, you could start off by saying something like, '560 people died on Queensland Roads last year ... what's going to keep you from adding to that statistic?' You may then give them some 'Interesting' statistics about how many of those people were drivers who committed traffic offences. Desire is aroused when we want something - in this case, the solution to NOT becoming a statistic. Then, the Action part might relate to a commitment from them to put into effect what you have taught them.

    The best scenario I have found is to present a problem or predicament, state how the problem can be solved or the predicament can be avoided, present a preferred option and then ask for the action (buying, adopting etc depending on circumstances).

    When planning your session, think about how you can weave AIDA into: Explain, Demonstrate, Question, Practise, Review. It won't be appropriate to every session, but if it can be used, it's a sound option. And remember, if you have a large volume of content, you may need to break it (it's called chunking) into separate chunks each of which has an E-D-Q-P-R.

    Questioning is two-way. You need to question your participants to find out if they understand what you have delivered; they need an opportunity to clear up any doubts they have by questioning you. Your review can be a summary (which also includes Q) or it can be a review at the commencement of a later presentation about a continuing topic.

    When next you are about to prepare a 'chalk and talk' session or perhaps a 'show and tell', think about how you could make it a little more interesting and interactive by using AIDA and EDQPR strategies. You'll be pleasantly surprised at what good ideas you come up with. And it will show in your session evaluation.

    Copyright Robin Henry 2005

    Robin Henry is a human resources and development specialist and Internet marketer. He operates his business, Desert Wave Enteprises, from his home in Central Australia.

    He has written numerous articles, many of which are found at Ezinearticles.com. Others are accessible from his site at http://www.dwave.com.au.

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