Put ‘Heart’ into your Short Training Sessions

Heart

 It is said that the words that we use can account for as little as 7% of the meaning that we convey to our audience.

People attending your session will be making conscious and unconscious decisions about what you are saying by interpreting your ‘non-verbal behaviour’.

 Body Language

 The impression that you make on your audience begins as soon as they see you – this could be well before the formal part of your session begins.  Make sure, therefore, that you adopt a positive and professional posture and body language throughout your dealings with the learners.

 Voice

The way in which you use our voice can have a great impact on an audience.

Make sure that you project your voice (without shouting) so that everyone in the room can hear you.  You will find that breathing from your tummy, rather than from the chest, will help this.

Facial Expressions

When a speaker is perceived as ‘monotonous’ it is often not just their voice that is boring – their facial features never change either!

When delivering your session you need to think about:

• Always start with a smile
• Smile when you are making positive and complimentary points
• Use you face to illustrate the ‘light and shade’ of your presentation

 Eye Contact

Regular and appropriate eye contact with the audience helps to establish your rapport.

Be aware of different individual and cultural reactions to eye contact, and change your approach accordingly.

Training with Heart is part of the OOMPH method of designing and delivering Ten Minute Trainer sessions.

Find out more by following the TenMinuteTrainerTips blogs.

 

Pay Attention to the Practicalities of Short Burst Training

Here are some simple things to bear in mind about the practicality of your training session.

 

• Environment – create a learning environment that is comfortable and stimulating.  Tidy up, arrange chairs so that everyone can see and hear.  Ask yourself if you need tables etc.  Make sure that the room is warm enough and light enough.  Make sure that you will not be interrupted.
• Handouts – do you need any?  If so, make sure they are relevant and have no mistakes.  Let people know that you are giving handouts; then they can decide for themselves what notes to make.
• Materials – have everything you need to hand.  Make sure that you have pens, paper etc for your learners (or that you have told them what to bring with them).
• Logistics – make sure your learners know where they have to go and what time to be there.  A ten-minute session can double in length if people are late.
• Timing – start and finish on time.  Even if people are late, you should still begin on time.

In order for the session to be practical, participants need the chance to think about how they will apply it in the workplace.

A simple form which asks questions like “what have you learned today?”, “how will you use this?” and “How will you know it has worked?” can be very useful.

Follow the TenMinuteTrainerTips blog for loads of practical advice on creating short training sessions that deliver OOMPH!

Choose Your Method

Method

 There are many different method that you can include in a short training session.  These could include:

 

• Games, role plays, questionnaires, demonstrations, quizzes, video clips, PowerPoint presentations, lecture, simulations, examples, letting them have a go, reflective activities etc.

When you are choosing a training method, ask yourself the following:

 

• Will the method help the learners to achieve the learning objectives?
• Is the method suitable for the learners’ abilities?
• Will the method provide enough activity, challenge and interest?
• Do you have the necessary skills to use the method – if not how can you acquire these skills?
• Will the method fit the venue, equipment and resources available to you?
• Does the method fit in with other methods used during the programme?
• Will the method fit in with the time available?

 

Follow the TenMinuteTrainerTips blog for loads of practical ideas on how to create short and effective training sessions.

Always Know Your Outcome

Outcomes

 There is a saying that says, “When a man does not know what harbour he is making for, no wind is the right wind”. This saying describes the reasons for setting outcomes for any training session – if we do not know where we are going, we will never know when we have arrived.

An objective (statement of outcome) is always written with the specific focus on the learner.  It describes what the learner will be able to do or understand as a result of the session.

The rules for writing training objectives are:

1. Objectives should relate to the learner.
2. Objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART).
3. Objectives describe something that the learner will be able to do as a result of their learning.  Therefore objectives should always contain a verb of action.
4. Objectives also describe how well – to what standard – the learner will be able to perform that action.

For example:

• By the end of this session participants will be able to make an accurate and complete entry in the accident book.
• By the end of this session participants will be able to use a structured process for planning a negotiation.

Follow the TenMinuteTrainerTips blog for loads of ideas on how to creat short and effective training sessions.

Plan Your Training with NAOMIE

Planning your Training Session with Naomie

 The following mnemonic helps trainers to plan a training session.  It is actually a very useful tool in any situation that needs planning and implementing.

NAOMIE

 N – Needs – what are the needs of the group or the organisation?  How were these needs identified?

A – Aim what general aim do you have for the training session.  What is overall purpose you want to achieve?

O – Objectives – what specific objectives will you set for the session?  What do you want your learners to know or do after the session that they don’t know or do now?  How will you ensure that the objectives are measurable?

M – Methods – what learning/training methods will you use to meet your objectives?  How will you ensure that the methods are relevant for the different learning styles within the group?

I – Implementation – what do you need to think about as you run the session.  What should you expect and how will you deal with the unexpected?

E – Evaluation – how will you know that your objectives have been met?  What methods will you use to assess the learning?

Follow the TenMinuteTrainerTips blog for more in-depth ideas about these stages, or contact andrew@tenminutetrainer.co.uk

 

 

Train with Oomph!

Designing and delivering excellent bite-size training sessions is all about having OOMPH!

 O – Outcomes

Make sure that you have a clear and measurable objective, so you know what you want to achieve, and that it has worked.

O – Order                 

Follow a logical order such as 4MAT or Kolb’s cycle for maximum impact.

 M – Method

Know what to do and how/when to do it so that even the smallest training session is a big success.

P – Practicality       

Get the logistics right – its one less thing to worry about.

H – Heart

Put passion into the event – people believe you when you believe in yourself!    

Follow future blogs from the Ten Minute Trainer to find out more.

http://www.tenminutetrainertips.wordpress.com

 

 

 

Become a Ten Minute Trainer

BECOME A TEN MINUTE TRAINER

Designing Short Training Sessions that Work!

 When time and money are tight, make sure your training sessions have  “OOMPH!!” –

Outcomes, Order, Method, Practicality and Heart!!

 There are so many teams that would benefit from the capability to run short and useful training sessions – the sort of session that could take up ten minutes of a weekly meeting, for example.

Managers could and team leaders could include subjects such as:

• New/amended procedures, products or policies
• Repetitive regulatory training such as fire procedures, health & safety, equalities etc.
• Follow-up sessions to other training (e.g. the whole team has had a one-day ‘corporate’ session and the team leader designs a couple of short follow-ups to embed the learning and make it relevant to that team.)
• “Just in time” training – one-off subjects ‘as and when’  (e.g. the team leader spots a need to train, or retrain, everyone in a particular skill)
• Planned training – larger subjects can be broken into short sessions and trained over a period of time (e.g. customer care could be broken into component parts and covered weekly during team meetings)

 Benefits to the delegate and the organisation:

• Better trained staff
• Increased motivation as staff feel ‘developed’
• Gives your team a competitive edge
• All staff can be trained
• You don’t lose staff for a whole day while they go on a course
• Adds energy and extra value to a long meeting
• Staff get used to the sessions and develop a learning culture in the team
• Training become self-perpetuating as other team members learn how to design and run sessions
• Makes good use of team meetings, daily huddles etc.
• Staff can be trained without waiting for Training Department to arrange the course
• More training at less cost.

 Over the coming weeks and months, this I’ll be providing loads of free resources to help anyone to create bite-size training sessions which really work.

Follow our blog or log onto the site for more details.

 And, if you’d like to know what else the Ten Minute Trainer can do for you, the get in touch – andrew@tenminutetrainer.co.uk