Ask any pastry chef about precision and they’ll tell you that little things mean a lot in the world of baking. For example, have you ever rushed to make a homemade bread or blueberry muffin recipe and forgot to add the baking powder? If you did then chances are your bread did not rise and your muffins came out looking like hockey pucks! You see, baking powder is called a leavening agent; it contains ingredients that make your bread or muffins rise during the baking process.
Little things mean a lot in the world of training as well. We trainers work hard to develop our broad skill sets – interpersonal skills, instructional design skills , and instructional skills – so it’s easy to sometimes forget the little things.
I would like to share with you of some of the little things we can do during our day-to-day training activities that make a difference. I have broken down these tips into three categories: interpersonal tips, instructional tips, and design tips.
So, here are my thoughts!
Interpersonal Tips
- Send thank you notes to people who make a difference to you; SMEs, managers, IT staff, and administrative staff.
- Send hand-written thank you notes instead of emails. There is more power in the written word and it really shows you care!
- Praise learners when they get things right! All too often it’s easier to focus on the things they do incorrectly.
Instructional Tips
- Try to talk to all of your learners at least once a day, every day. It helps keep them involved and makes them feel important to you.
- When using audio visual aids like flipcharts, PowerPoint slides, and whiteboards, use only dark colors for text and large enough font sizes so that everyone can see, otherwise, learners can become disengaged.
- Make eye contact with everyone during instructor-led sessions so no learner ever feels excluded.
Design Tips
- Design the course to include a short icebreaker or introductory activity during the first 30 minutes of class on the first day; it gives learners a chance to get comfortable with each other and with you.
- Design the course to include a variety of teaching methods so everyone can learn regardless of learning style. Mix some lecture with small group activities and demonstrations to keep people engaged and interested.
- Design end-of-training summaries with impact so learners walk away with key take-a-ways and positive feelings about what they have just learned.
Individually these things may not seem like much but when you combine them they add up to training success for you, your learners, and your department.
What little things do you do that add up to learning success?
Lynne
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