PCM Courseware » Training Tips

4 Steps to Effective Delivery

rhyttinen — Mon, 11 May 2009 07:00:42 +0000

Training is a lot more than standing in front of the room, rambling on about your topic then excusing the students when you are finished. As a presenter, you have a responsibility to ensure that your students understand the concept and to ensure that learning has taken place.

The following 4 steps can help you to accomplish this goal.

1. Overview of the concept or procedure

This is where you introduce your topic and explain any new, unfamiliar vocabulary. Only when the concept or “big picture” is clearly understood should you move on to the next step.

2. Assisted Exercise

Once everyone is clear on the basics, go through the procedures and steps with the learners and have them follow along. Here, you are helping them make the first steps and supporting them if they should stumble. It is also important here to check for understanding.

3. Unassisted Exercise

This is the most important step of a training class. This is the part of training that best indicates what participants have really learned. Any problems, confusion or lack of clarity will become apparent here. While the students are working, you should walk around the room and make yourself available for questions. Often, a student may be embarrassed at their lack of understanding and will not ask a question in front of the entire class.

4. Review/clarification/questions

As a wrap-up to the training session, here you review the concept and the procedural steps. Any problems that the students encountered during the unassisted exercise may be discussed here, especially if there appeared to be a general lack of understanding in regards to a particular step or procedure. End the class by answering any questions and ensuring that everyone’s understanding is clear.Similar Posts:

Training Tip: Vary Your Technique

rhyttinen — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 14:00:21 +0000

Photo courtesy of emdot

When teaching a course, it is important to avoid relying on only one instructional technique as you may be alienating a good majority of your students. Most people like to receive information in one of three basic ways: sight (visual), sound (auditory) and touch (kinesthetic). Unless they make a conscious point to do otherwise, most instructors tend to pick the technique that matches their own information intake style.

So when you introduce a new concept, try to include a good verbal explanation, a visual demonstration or drawing and hands-on practice.

Types of visual aids you can use:

White Board
Flip Chart
Overhead Projector
Slides
Props

If they don’t understand it, draw it!

Many people consider handouts a visual aid; personally, I avoid handouts until after the class is over as they tend to be a distraction to the student. Past experience has shown that instead of paying attention to you, students will direct their attention to reading the handouts.Similar Posts:

Training Tip: 10 Presentation Tips

rhyttinen — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:13:01 +0000

Image courtesy of D’Arcy Norman

Presenting is more than speaking – it is how you say, how you look, how you feel, how you build excitement and how you support what you say with facts, analogies and visual aids.

10 important presenter tips to keep in mind when presenting to others:

1. Eye contact
If you do not make eye contact with your students, the will stop watching – and thus stop paying attention to you. Making eye contact makes students feel that they are part of your presentation.

2. Develop vocal variety
Have you ever had to listen to a presentation made by someone who spoke in a monotone? Pure agony! Make a conscious effort vary your voice.

3. Avoid distractions
Keep outrageous clothing, gaudy jewelry, and anything else that could be a distraction to a minimum. Otherwise, your students will be paying attention to/thinking about the distraction rather than listening to you.

4. Develop your trainer voice
Students should not have to strain to hear you – they are already working enough. Your voice should be loud enough to reach the back of the room.

5. Pay attention to pacing
Keep a discreet eye to make sure your are adhering to your schedule. Be conscious of break times and lunch times.

6. Use Analogies
Analogies are a wonderful way to help people remember your material. Make sure that analogies relate to people’s experiences and are something that most people can relate to. And please, please, please – do NOT use sports analogies.

7. Using the bizarre
Make your analogies and examples a little bizarre and unusual. The more visual and ridiculous, the better. People tend to remember strange and visual images – they have more impact.

8. Props
Whenever appropriate, you should use props to further get your message across. Maybe people are visual learners and learn best when props are present. Use the real thing whenever possible (once while lecturing on Versailles, I dressed up like Louis the 14th 0 big fun!).

9. Ask Questions
Students themselves bring a wealth of experience to the classroom. Asking questions allows students themselves to generate the answers, relying on their own bank of knowledge. I like to challenge my students intellectually and one way to do this is to have them make up their own review questions. This is an awesome was to solidify learning.

10. Be Friendly
If you appear aloof, unapproachable, cold or unfriendly, students will shut themselves off from your. They are much eager to please (and thus learn from) someone who smiles and appears friendly.Similar Posts:

Training Tip: Setting the Learning Environment

rhyttinen — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 23:57:54 +0000

Photo courtesy of hoyasmeg

The first five to ten minutes of your class is the most important time period of the entire day. Is is during this time interval that you welcome the students, create a safe environment for learning, establish your credibility, manage any potential problems (like the class being above or below a student’s ability), draw the road map for class and set any rules or expectations (like returning back from break on time). Some trainers like to treat the beginning of their training class like a party by sending out invitations ahead of time and/or beginning the class with chit-chat, greetings and introductions. This is a nice way to put students at ease and help them to get to know each other.

In the past, I have begun to build rapport students even before the class started by sending a welcoming e-mail a few days in advance. This message can prepare the learning environment, layout any ground rules and avoid certain class management issues.

I always plaster a large sheet of paper with the agenda for the class on the wall and check off the items on the agenda as they are covered (a whiteboard can also be used if you will not be using it during the class). Seeing the agenda right off the bat helps students to determine if the class is in synch with their ability level or if the class will cover the topics that the student expects will be covered. In this way, displaying a class agenda is another way of diffusing any potential problems. One thing to keep in mind regarding agendas – never put times on your agenda – there will no doubt be students who are clock-watchers and will be constantly focused on whether you are on track or not with your agenda. Falling behind on your own time schedule can also make you appear unorganized.

Once you have established rapport, set the students’ expectations and diffused any potential problems that could occur, your students are now receptive to what you have to teach them.Similar Posts: