Assess and confirm the need for training
Introducing the Training Session
Congratulations! You are now standing in front of your group ready to train.
What? Sweaty palms and hearts racing! I don’t think so.
These things may occur at varying degrees depending on the amount of time that you spent preparing for your training session.
Now introduce the session to your participants. By way of an introduction you have the opportunity to capture and focus the attention of your participants, so make it good.
A great introduction will:
- Provide a description of the topic and the main points to be covered
- Provide relevance to what the participants are doing in the workplace
- Provide a session outline and what they will be learning
- Provide any assessment details
- Allow you to establish what the participants already know
Presenting Information
Throughout your training session you will be presenting new information to your participants. How you present that information will determine how well the participants retain the new skills, knowledge and the ability to carry out the tasks.
It is time to get away from the lecturing style of teaching and find new ways to deliver the information that involve the participants as much as possible.
Here are some points that will assist in presenting your training session:
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Too much information will overload your participants. |
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Group the information into a logical sequence |
As a trainer you should explore ways that will best help the adult learner gain new skills and knowledge. Therefore it would be advantageous to:
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Create an interest or a reason for learning the new information |
Linking the new information with what they already know will provide a better understanding of the topic/subject.
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Create new ways to present new information |
As an example, if you are instructing in ‘How to deal with difficult customers’, establish role-plays so participants have opportunities to act as both customer and sales person. This is more effective than looking at overheads, or being lectured to.
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Provides time to stretch and reflect on what they have just learnt. |
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Ask questions, to establish if the participants understand the information received. |
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Use activities that get the participants to practise and apply the new skills. |
Questioning Skills
An essential skill for anyone to develop is the ability to ask effective questions. This can be more difficult than it seems, as sometimes trainees feel threatened if the questions they (or you) ask are not phrased appropriately.
Types of Questions
There are two major types of questions people use:
Closed Questions
Closed questions only require a Yes/No answer or a short statement.
For example:
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Q “How are you finding the session?” A “Fine” Q “Are you enjoying the lunch?” A “Yes”” Q “Did you understand that 3rd step?” A “No” |
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Use these questions carefully as they can intimidate the trainee and not really provide the trainer with a useful answer.
Open Questions
Open questions require a more detailed answer and are often used to encourage a response. For example;
- 'Would you tell me about a difficult customer you have had?'
- 'What do you think are the advantages of having a scanner?'
- 'How would you go about completing this credit voucher?'
Each type has their uses and should be chosen according to the type of information required and the purpose of the inquiry.
Using the example of ‘How to deal with difficult customers’ at the end of a role-play session you could ask the group:
"Can anyone see the difference in the reaction of the customer being served in this manner?"
Taking this a step further, ask the group:
"Can you provide other examples that would assist in dealing with this customer?"
Asking open questions such as these:
- Provides a guage for the trainer to establish the participants level of understanding in terms of the information being provided
- Creates interaction between trainer and peers, as everyone becomes involved in the learning process
