Training

Lately, in my blogs, I’ve been concentrating a lot on the skills and techniques around training such as motivation and engagement.  This is because I’d been doing a lot of Ski training in the Austrian Alps where I’d had to try and work through some real inner ‘demons’ to meet the standard of an intensive course.  On reflection, I’ve had a hugely...

In my life, I’ve had many moments both personal and professional where I’ve perhaps lacked a bit of self-motivation; you know those thoughts that manifest themselves as a limiting self-beliefs. - We tell ourselves, “I can’t do this” and what happens next? Precisely what we manifested; we more often than not fail in our task!  What though can happen if we add...

Every time I travel and especially when visiting the larger metropolitan cities, it always staggers me how much people exist in their own little micro ‘bubble’ letting the world go by in ignorance.  Smart devices and social media haven’t exactly helped of late, but it’s not just in recent times that this has been the case: I remember as a child...

I’m going to share something with you now that not many people know; I really feel uncomfortable meeting new people and making conversation.  Well actually, this statement is how I used to feel because now I make use of a professional trainer skill that is easily turned it into a great way to make easy conversation: As a personality type, I...

We all have them; ‘you know’ those pesky words that can come out when we deliver our training sessions. ‘OK’ so what are they, why do they appear, what effect can they have and importantly what can we do about them? You’ve probably noticed already that I’ve used a couple of the more common words that can become ‘verbal ticks’ in...

One of the biggest mistakes I see bad trainers make is that they write and deliver the training on what they perceive the audience will need rather than what they actually need; this then makes the training all about them and not the audience.  Fantastic trainers do it completely differently... One of the key attributes every fantastic trainer uses is that they...

It’s a natural reaction to get tied in emotionally with something you’ve put a lot of time and effort into like when you’ve designed and delivered training to the best of your ability.  If you’re pro-active, you may have asked for feedback in good faith but how do you feel when someone tells you something you don’t like or don’t want...

Well, that's what some people do right?  Picture the scene, the Manager says, “we need Training in this, can you get some organised?” and all of a sudden, the pressure’s on.  If we know no better, then the easiest thing to do is create lots of slides with tons of information and words and talk through them.  Looks good right?  Might even impress the...

Many attributes make a trainer great, but if someone asked me what were the key things that make a great trainer, what would they be? I’ve been fortunate to have seen many great trainers that have acted as an inspiration to me as I was learning my trade.  I got thinking about them all, the way they taught and the things...

When watching many trainers, quite often I see people getting so caught up in the moment they lose track of their audience and the level of engagement.  Many factors make up a great training session but too often, one of the essential human needs is forgotten about in the quest to get everything covered in the time frame: I’ve often talked...