How To Be An Effective Trainer

Companies spend thousands or millions of pesos on training their employees. However, to make this investment pay off, it is important to know what would make the training effective. It is obvious that being the implementer of the program, the trainers themselves must be knowledgeable.

There are two things one must remember in becoming a trainer:

The trainer must have credibility. It is not enough that the trainer have experience in what he/she is teaching. There must be a level of expertise that would command respect. It would be dangerous for the speaker to be propagating wrong or suboptimal ideas. Trainees, too, would quickly detect the lack of knowledge once they begin asking questions that are not in the module.

The trainer must have good presentation skills. To be good at the topic is just half of the required skill. The trainer must also have excellent communication skills. It takes talent, practice and preparation to be able to hold the attention of your listeners. Lecture-type presentations are no longer enough to engage adult learners.

At the same time, here are a few basic tips for the prospective trainer in conducting an effective training:

Determine first what is needed. Before conducting the training, you should know the needs and intelligence level of your trainees. Determine the position, age and other characteristics of your trainees as these will affect how you develop the module and your presentation.

Explain the objectives of the training. In making your purpose clear, the participants will have an easier time in comprehending the material and its relevance. Having clear objectives helps both the trainer and the trainee as there would be less digressions and wrong expectations.

Make training enjoyable but practical. There is a thin line between having a fun and learning experience, and wasting time. Keep them entertained, but make sure you are not digressing from the real topic or spending too much time on an enjoyable part. We must not forget our objectives even as we strive to keep our participants from being bored.

Keep your presentation short. Do not be wordy in your slides. Have only a few bullet points with the least number of words possible. Nothing bores people more than watching a trainer read his presentation. Keep your eye on your audience so that you can catch their attention better.

Follow up. Too frequently, the training ends in a seminar or workshop but with the participants forgetting what they have learned. The trainer should develop feedback mechanisms to know if participants are in fact applying correctly what they have learned. Further guidance may be needed. The trainer must also seek to know possible improvements to the training material and techniques.

Trainers must know how to make their training more effective. To know more about this topic, BusinessCoach, Inc., a leading business seminar provider, conducts an excellent seminar on this entitled “Training the Trainers”. Call (02)727-5628, (02) 727-8860, (0915)205-0133, or visit www.businesscoachphil.com for details.

Click here to view details of the seminar: Training the Trainers»

*Originally published by the Manila Bulletin. C-6, Sunday, November 24, 2013. Written by Ruben Anlacan, Jr. (President, BusinessCoach, Inc.) All rights reserved. May not be reproduced or copied without express written permission of the copyright holders.