Deliver Great Training Courses In A Week

Lead An Outstanding Training Course In Seven Simple Steps

Martin Manser

• Publisher: Teach Yourself
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9781473607811
• eBook ISBN: 9781444795080
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Human Resource Management
• Index: Business

Training just got easier
You have probably been on both good and bad training courses. Unfortunately, it may be the bad ones that you remember - perhaps the content was badly ordered, the arrangements were poor, the speaker was boring. How can you prepare for and lead an outstanding training course? In this book we will show you how.Sunday: What is training? What are you aiming to achieve? What are the basic different styles in which colleagues learn - and in which trainers train? What overall points should you consider and what practical arrangements do you need to think about, for example on timing and venue?Monday: Identify the training needs clearly How to analyse participants' training needs, using various sources; use the needs to define clear learning outcomes that are both SMART and also relevant to participants' real work and jobs.Tuesday: Design the course carefully How to continue to prepare well: think about the points you want to communicate and order them clearly; find a fresh angle; be motivational, inspirational and practical; write a strong beginning and round off your training well at the end.Wednesday: Plan variety creatively Why the need to change the style of training regularly throughout the session is important to maintain participants' interest and involvement; plan variety; consider different ways to encourage group participation; use visual aids and PowerPoints effectively.Thursday: Implement your plan successfully Go for it! Put all your preparation into practice on the day itself. How will you make a good first impression and make the most of informal times? Body language is important; how will you overcome nerves? Learn how to deal with difficult people.Friday: Evaluate the training thoroughly Why identifying what went well and what didn't go so well is important; checking on 'learning' after the course is essential to determine changed attitudes, behaviour patterns, and so on. Review your training to see if it had its desired effects: if not, reassess and begin the process again.Saturday: Refine your skills constantly You have completed your training course and evaluated it; now learn how to cultivate the qualities of a professional trainer, for example by keeping up to date with your subject, learning from your mistakes and mentoring a colleague to lead training courses.

At the end of last week, your boss suggested that you should think about organizing some training courses for colleagues. Since then you have spent the weekend becoming enthusiastic about everything you can do. You are now ready to put all your plans energetically into action.

But where do you start? Arranging speakers? Booking venues? This chapter is designed to help you channel your energy and enthusiasm effectively and begin to lay a firm foundation for your training.

Today we will look at some basic questions:

• What are you aiming to achieve?

• How do people learn?

• What are the best ways of enabling colleagues to learn? What about online courses?

• How do people train?

• Should you use an internal or external trainer?

• What areas, broadly speaking, do you want the training to cover?

• What practical points do you need to consider?

Some basic questions

In your preparation as you consider training, you should ask yourself the following questions:

• Who?

– Who needs training? For example, certain individuals with particular needs or all colleagues with a certain role?

– Who needs to be involved? Do you have all the necessary resources?

– Who will lead the training, for example experts in the area, or yourself?

– If you are an outside trainer or are using a particular venue, who is the contact person you will deal with? Ensure that you have their contact details.

– Who will authorize the cost?

• Why?

– Why is the training needed? What is its context in your company or organization?

– Why are you leading, organizing or arranging the training? Consider your role: are you the best person to lead the actual training or would someone else be more suitable?

• Where?

– Where will the training be held?

– Where will you find suitable trainers, if you are not leading the actual training yourself?

• When?

– When will you hold the training? Soon? In three months’ time? Next year? How much notice do you need to give the venue where you are holding the training? How much notice do you need to give the participants and the speaker? (Throughout this book, I use the word ‘participants’, not ‘delegates’, because I want to emphasize ‘participants’ actively taking part in a training course rather than their merely attending.)

– When will you put in place a timetable for all the arrangements that need to be made?

• How?

– How did the requirement for training arise: what is its context?

– How did this particular need fit into the overall aims of the learning and development programme of your company or organization?

– How are you going to train the colleagues concerned? What method(s) will you use? Will you hold a face-to-face training course or develop an online course or use a combination of both styles?

– How long will the training course be? Is there to be more than one course? Will the training take place over a number of days? If so, how many?

– How is the need for training to be presented? Will colleagues be told they have to go on the course or will they be persuaded over a period of time that this course would be very helpful to them?

– How will the training be presented? What visual aids, for example PowerPoint, will you need?

– How will any special needs of the participants be accommodated?

– How will the impact of the training on individuals or organizations be measured and evaluated?

– How will you know whether the training has been effective?

– How much will the training cost (and who is going to pay for it)?

• What?

– What is the purpose of the training?

– What, in broad terms, do you expect to be covered in the training?

– What is expected from the training? What do you want participants to be ab...

Table of contents

• Cover 
• Title
• About the Author
• Dedication
• Contents 
• Introduction
• Sunday: What is training?
• Monday: Identify the training needs clearly
• Tuesday: Design the course carefully
• Wednesday: Plan variety creatively
• Thursday: Implement your plan successfully
• Friday: Evaluate the training thoroughly
• Saturday: Refine your skills constantly
• 7 × 7
• Answers
• Copyright