Basic Training Skills

In Basic Training Skills article we will discuss the following main points in brief; preparation, environment, participants, the learning process, facilitation, questioning, yourself, and support material.

Preparation
The key to the success of any training program lies in the preparation.  It is suggested that seven or eight times the length of a training course is spent on preparation – i.e., for a one day program you should spend 7 or 8 days preparing.

Training Environment
You will need a room large enough to seat all the participants comfortably, consider the layout – will it encourage discussion and a good learning atmosphere?  Tables organized in a U shape should create the best arrangement: Make sure that you are familiar with all equipment and have a spare bulb to hand for the projector, Always visit a training room prior to the event if you have never used it before,

Participants 
Ensure that those being trained have sufficient notice of the training event.  Joining instructions should confirm a place on the course as well as providing further information about the venue and content of the course. It will help you if you can find out as much as possible about participants prior to their attendance on the course:-

1. How will the training relate to their job?
2. What will be the benefits of attending?
3. What is their current level of interest in this subject?
4. What is their attitude towards training?
5. Who nominated them for their course?

Pre-course briefings by line managers should take place to agree individual and departmental objectives; these can be checked during post-course debriefings.

How People Learn
Peoplelearn in different ways and at different paces. It is important to recognize and understand individual training needs when planning this program.  Some people
will respond well in a group situation and will participate willingly; others prefer to learn at their own pace on their own. Your job as a trainer is to help people to learn, you must be flexible and able to adapt your approach. Most people learn best by ‘doing’, by being involved.  The program is designed to maintain interest through variety. Some trainees will be nervous or apprehensive of attending a training program, be prepared for this and try to relax the individual or group. When learning, people are always interested in how they are doing.  Look for opportunities to give feedback, especially praise, to encourage them to continue learning. Plan breaks, people can only take in so much information without a break.  Times for coffee, lunch and tea breaks should be given at the start of the day and every effort should be made to stick to them.  You will also sense when trainees are getting tired between planned breaks, a short five minute break should help to revive the group.  By varying the activities and training methods, interest and enthusiasm should be maintained. In a workshop situation, it is important to use the flip chart (or equivalent) to write up trainees’ answers or comments – use their words or key points as much
as possible.  It is also useful to stick flip charts, prepared by the delegates, up on the wall to refer back to throughout the course. To help you train with the focus on the learner, remember these factors in how people learn:

CONTEXT
Relate any new bits of knowledge to something they already know.

STRUCTURE 
Plan the training so that people will learn in manageable chunks’, in a logical order building up knowledge and skills,

RELAXED
Put trainees at ease and encourage an informal, friendly atmosphere.

VISUAL 
Use visual aids as much as possible, both to carry and re-enforce the message.

ACTIVE 
Look for ways to involve people as much as possible.

VARIETY 
Vary the visual aids and activities to  maintain interest throughout.

MOTIVATION 
What’s in it for them? Why should they listen and take part?  Stress the benefits to
them of this training program

FEEDBACK Encourage through letting trainees know how
Encourage through letting trainees know how they are doing – watch for people improving!

Facilitation
The style of Trainer Resource Packs is geared to encourage delegate participation -The trainer’s role is mainly to provide opportunities to learn – often called facilitation.  This means avoiding a lecture / autocratic approach to leading the group. You can help the group to learn through the questions, small group work and exercises.  Your role becomes one of observer, listener, communicator, encourager, and discussion leader.

Questions
It is important to check that learning is taking place through questions.  “Are there any questions?”, “Does everyone understands so far?” are examples of questions which
are guaranteed NOT to be useful!  It is important to be specific – for example- “What are the key methods we have discussed so far?” or “Who in our Organization is responsible for ..?” To improve the effectiveness of questions, you may find it helpful to use the ‘POSE, PAUSE, and POUNCE’ approach.

Example; POSE the question “What are the main characteristics of an effective team?PAUSE … POUNCE “Chris?”
This technique ensures that everyone listens to the question and starts to formulate
an answer BEFORE they know who will have to answer it.  If you state the name first everyone else will switch off. Questions from the group are useful to give you an indication of understanding (or not) so far, to show interest and to help you respond to learners needs. If you do not know the answer – it may be appropriate to put the question to the group or make a commitment to find out the answer and get back to the questioner at a specific time.

Yourself
To bring everything else together and ensure a successful training program, you
must also prepare yourself. Familiarize yourself with all the material; make sure you will be able to answer any questions! Your attitude to the job will come across to the trainees.  If you don’t think a particular task is important – they won’t either, remember you are setting standards through this training. The trainees are your customers – you will be helping them to learn – treat them as you would like to be treated- Be patient, some people take a long time to click’. Invite comments afterwards and review your performance as a trainer.  After each program consider how you could improve next time. To help you, the following techniques for the presentation stage of training may be useful:

Your Personal Presentation  –
If you look good, you will feet good, however  the trainer should not be trying to make too much of a statement – this could be distracting. It is important to be neat, tidy and businesslike.

Voice and Words  –
Project your voice, without shouting, aim for the back of the room. Use simple words and try to avoid jargon. Speak clearly – don’t worry about accents –they add to the interest –be natural.

Stand Up or Sit Down?  –
It’s up to you – however you feel most comfortable, Some trainers like to stand up and walk around whilst talking, others prefer to sit down and be on the same eye contact level as their participants. Try both and observe any differences.

Eye Contact  –
Try to make good eye contact with everyone, regularly. it sometimes helps to look at a group in a w pattern. Do not fix your attention on just  one person – they will feel uncomfortable.

Personality  –
Be natural, use your personality to help you communicate, A humorous, light hearted approach is helpful in some sessions.

Enthusiasm  –
Smile! Enthusiasm is infectious.

Pauses –
Don’t be afraid of silence – use pauses to emphasise key points or allow people time to think.

Listen  –
Both to what people are saying, and what they are not saying!

Observe   –
Your participants all the time to help you get to know the group and individuals.

Body Language
– Be aware of the messages you are conveying, try to control nervous habits but don’t over worry.

Nerves  –
Everyone has them! Nerves are good for you; they help by producing adrenaline which keeps you alert and on your toes! To help reduce potential problems, keep your notes and visual aids well-organized, Be prepared to think on your feet, but most of all, allow yourself to ENJOY the training!

Summarizing
at the end of each day and at the end of the course are important for
re-enforcement, Involve participants in this process as much as possible
through questions.  Summarizing helps to put all the ‘bits’ of the course into context, a summary should be a brief reflection of a course or part of a course – it is not the time to introduce new information!

SUPPORT MATERIAL

Handouts

can be a useful reminder for participants to refer to after the course.  It is more effective and less distracting to
give out a handout at the end of the session rather than at the beginning, this
will stop participants from reading ahead or whilst you are talking.

Exercises

are used throughout to help re-enforce the principles learned and to help
delegates to practice their new skills. Exercise timings should be estimated in
advance for guideline purposes, do not worry if the group finishes slightly
early or takes longer.

Projectors

They are valuable visual aid aimed at supporting and re-enforcing key messages.  Use the computer pointer instead of the solid
telescopic or the laser to avoid turning your back on the group.  Bullet points should normally be revealed one
at a time to create maximum impact.

In addition to the above support material, there are a number of tools we will
discuss in next article.

Pre-Course Notes

It is important that delegates fully understand why they are attending this
training course.  These pre-course notes
will help them to identify personal learning objectives and discuss and agree
these with their line manager.

Brainstorming Guidelines

Some of the small group exercises involve brainstorming, a valuable tool for
generating ideas.  It is important that
all those involved in a brainstorm understand the process.

Trainers Notes on Giving Feedback

Exercises can involve role plays or presentations which the trainer will need to give
valuable feedback on.  Trainers Notes on
Giving Feedback illustrates the best way to give constructive feedback to
delegates without destroying their confidence.

Personal Action Plans

It is important that participants transfer the skills and knowledge gained on a
course to the work place.  The action
plans are a way of helping participants to make the link between the course and
their job.  For training to be effective,
participants should use the skills as soon as possible.  Personal Action Plans can help this process
in a number of ways.

Time should be allowed at the end of the course to review and complete action
plans.  It is also useful for
participants to discuss their actions with other participants.

Delegate Action List

The Delegate Action List may be useful to allow participants to make a note of all
those attending the course, their telephone numbers and at least one of their
actions.  In this way, actions arefurther re-enforced and networking after the course is encouraged.