There are thought to be four types of people who turn up to training workshops: • Prisoners –have been made to attend. They don’t want to be there and don’t play much of a role. They are saying to themselves ‘Get me out of here!’ • Protesters – don’t want to be there and are closed-minded. They make this known by frequently checking their Blackberries and challenging with ‘But that doesn’t make sense’. • Passengers – are going along for the journey, though are somewhat sceptical and don’t contribute much • Participants – are fully engaged Effective trainers have a strategy for all these types.
You can’t make anybody learn and it’s not easy, particularly for experienced participants, to change the way they think and behave. Trainers need participants to take a step or two outside their comfort zone to ensure they’re in the learning zone. Look for trainers who are good at encouraging and supporting participants to do that.
To achieve this learning state trainers need to establish their credibility at the outset (‘we understand your world…have been there….got the tee-shirt) and build rapport with the group (‘we know what it’s like for you, and we’re with you and on your side’) and establish trust (‘we’re not here to catch you out or make you feel foolish’). It’s a positive sign if trainers build a learning contract with the participants to create workable ground rules.
Effective trainers need to put training into a practical context. It helps if the trainers have got appropriate industry experience. They should know how quickly participants ‘switch off’ if they do not perceive the practical relevance of what is being discussed. Trainers need to also be realistic about the constraints (time, risk and client) within which the participants operate. Good trainers should start a session by getting the participants to engage with the topic, get them interested and see the relevance as quickly as possible. This can be done by posing some engaging questions and setting up buzz groups to discuss their answers. Where possible trainers should ask participants what in particular they would like to be covered on the programme and write these up on a flipchart to make sure they are not forgotten. These should be cross-checked towards the end of the programme to ensure they have been covered adequately.
Good trainers are aware of the different learning styles and design programmes with elements that would appeal to each style (reflection, trying something out etc). Typical formats to appeal to different learning styles and to provide a variety of learning stimuli are: • Discussions in pairs/breakout rooms • Reacting to stimuli (quotes, pictures, video clips etc) • Using affinity diagrams to cluster thoughts, perhaps using post-it notes (Miro) • Group role-plays (with group members observing and giving feedback) • Case studies in groups • Quizzes (Mentimenter)
The following is a list of widely held beliefs about effective training: • be clear at the outset as to what the participants should expect ( send them information prior to the training) • encourage participants to describe what challenges they face in a certain field (eg giving feedback or dealing with more demanding clients etc) • ask for reactions or perceived difficulties using the approach and discuss these • encourage the participants to give it a go – real-life situations can work better than hypothetical situations, though this is not always possible • provide ongoing support back in the workplace (either from us or from other lawyers or senior support staff)
It isn’t easy for participants to transfer the learning from the workshop back to the workplace. Here are some ways of delivering this, which good trainers will know about: • • encouraging the provision of support from internal coaches (who can be trained as coaches) • encouraging the continued support from the trainer team, perhaps through sending reminders about course content and about commitments • inviting appropriate members of your staff to be co-trainers with the external trainers • encouraging the use of ‘buddies’ to support each other and keep the participants honest in terms of implementing their action plans • emphasising the usefulness of participants having pre-meetings and post-meetings with ‘sponsors’ in their team so that the participants are ‘aligned’ with the strategy in their groups and any actions they take are coordinated
In terms of designing programmes, you may appreciate some flexibility from your trainers. There is a trade-off between depth of learning and convenience or lack of disruption. A series of short sessions can be effective for dealing with specific skills but they are often less effective for developing a deeper appreciation as to why it is important for participants to be effective leaders and how they can change their way of thinking and behaviour, especially when attendance is intermittent. On the other hand, there are indeed practical constraints if we need participants to give up longer periods of time to attend courses.
In a classroom, a teacher can involve students in the process of learning by doing some simple things like the use of proper body language, eye contact with students, good facial expression, giving students time to talk, calling them by their names.