5 Skills Effective Trainers Keep In Their 'Back Pocket'

Ajay M. Pangarkar CTDP, CPA, CMA

This article was originally published for ElearningIndustry.com July 2017.

This article is based upon the successful Train-the-Trainer course published by LinkedIn Learning.

It's no surprise to many that I do a lot of training in one form or another. Whether it's classroom, elearning, webinars, or coaching, I use the generic and all encompassing term 'training' to describe any moment that I'm in front of a group of people that want to hear me or when I'm developing the content people want to learn.

My 'training' activities are as varied as the topics I deliver. Naturally, my business is to design, develop, and deploy some form of training activity. I even recently completed a Train-The-Trainer course for Lynda.com (LinkedIn Learning). So, I get to be in front of people quite often.

Whether my team and me conduct workshops, teach university courses, instruct for Canada's professional accounting program, deliver a keynote address, deploy elearning courses, or simply direct a project team it's always a privilege to be in a position to share my knowledge with others, especially when it's something they want to know.

I've been conducting training in some form for more than 25-years and I never take my role for granted. It's a huge responsibility when you're asked to develop the knowledge of others. Think about it, people are giving you permission to get into their heads.

It's a huge responsibility to develop the knowledge of others...people are giving you permission to get into their heads.

So why is it that when people that just get into training only 'just get into training' thinking they can simply 'spray and pray' knowledge? Or those with years of experience get complacent or worse, lazy, and coast on past successes? This is a critical and essential responsibility so it impresses me that 'trainers', new and experienced, do this when tasked with such a large and sensitive responsibility.

In the current business environment and for many organizational leaders knowledge is more valuable than money. But while there is an exponentially increasing need and demand for knowledge, especially from employees, why does the perception of training by business leaders remain precarious? While some may find it easy to blame external factors or others, much of the responsibility and dare I say, accountability, must be on us, the trainer, or learning, practitioner.

For many business leaders knowledge is more valuable than money.

Whether you're recent to the 'training' business or consider yourself a seasoned veteran it's incumbent upon you to hone your training skills not just for your professional capacity but to also exceed your audience's expectations. I always want to become a better trainer and will share the top 5 things I always strive to improve:

1) Know and Refresh Yourself With the Fundamentals

One lesson effective trainers discover early is to keep things simple. Doing so allows them to revisit essential fundamental training skills. They will address items such as:

• Being aware of participant’s learning expectations. What does the participant want to learn?
• Aligning those learning expectations with the learning objectives of the course. Are you able to adapt the learning to the needs of the participant?
• And preparing themselves to focus on core content that address learning objectives.

 2) Be Aware Of and Manage Barriers to Learning

Effective trainers must be attentive to anything that may interfere with the learning process. For example, you should be ready to deal with participants with deep experience, resistance to change, hidden agendas, and of course, the fear of failure. It's your responsibility to reduce and hopefully eliminate the barriers.

 3) Always Plan the Training and Follow the Training Plan

Think back to a time when you attended a training session and it seemed to flow effortlessly. Chances are you also recall some key takeaways from the session. This didn't occur by happenstance rather, it's how the trainer planned the session would unfold, how they executed their training plan, and how they were able to adapt the plan to the needs of learners like you.

Furthermore, a training session plan is a road map to make sure that you, the trainer, possess the required resources and allocate your time appropriately.

4) Get Participants to 'Do' Rather Than to 'Hear'

Effective trainers recognize that lasting learning gets people to apply the skill rather than simply listening or observing it. Yes, you will need to set up the learning context appropriately so participants understand what they are doing. You should, however, maximize the time to get them to apply their newly found skill by implementing interactive training activities.

For example, let’s say you’re facilitating a session on conflict resolution. Set up the context for them to recognize why this would happen but then quickly transition to having participants role play handling a real-life conflict. 

5) Continually Evaluate and Revise the Training.

You're the trainer and it’s your responsibility to ensure participants have the desired skills when they complete the course. And it’s also your responsibility to continuously adapt and improve the course to the needs of your participants.

Effective trainers continuously seek to improve upon their training session, even if their last session was exceptional. During the session these trainers quickly adapt to the changing dynamics within the group focusing on what's relevant to the group while maintaining direction and the primary training message. Post session, they reflect on the session and identify what went well and more importantly, where they can improve.

While there are many innovative and unique training techniques available, successful trainers always return to the training basics before adopting any new methodologies.

If you're like me, conducting a training session is overwhelming process. So if you want participants to walk away with a positive experience, then remember to keep it simple and to always revisit these five concepts when designing and facilitating your next course.

Don't be complacent and refresh your training skills now. You can do it in 1-hour registering for this Lynda.com Train-the-Trainer elearning course designed for both recent trainers or seasoned veterans. Learning is not only for your participants...as a trainer your must lead by example and be a learner yourself. So, please #alwaysbelearning

Ajay M. Pangarkar CTDP, CPA, CMA is co-founder of CentralKnowledge.com and LearningSourceonline.com. He's a renowned employee performance management expert and 3-time author most recently publishing the leading performance book, “The Trainer’s Balanced Scorecard: A Complete Resource for Linking Learning to Organizational Strategy” (Wiley), award-wining assessment specialist with Training Magazine, and award-winning writer winning the 2014/2015 prestigious TrainingIndustry.com Readership and Editors’ Awards for the Top 10 most read articles. Help them start a, “Workplace Revolution” at blog.centralknowledge.com or contact: ajayp@centralknowledge.com