May 28, 2014

In part 1 of this blog post series, I discussed the importance of structuring your training session, no matter the duration of it. A well planned introduction that engages your students, followed by a structured yet creative body that leads to a powerful conclusion will ensure your training sessions are logical, interactive and memorable. Today, I'll focus on the element of vision. Most recently, I took up the challenge of becoming a ‘cycling centurion.’ The challenge involved completing a 100 mile cycle ride in the same day. With my eldest son, Matt leading from the front, we set off at 8 AM on a chilly Saturday morning and 10 hours later, we returned cycling centurions. Before the ride, I visualised myself completing each leg of the ride; and I visualised myself finishing the ride. During our ride, when things got tough on the hill climbs, my vision kept me riding. We were determined to become cycling centurions. So this aspect of vision is an ‘I-must-master’ practice. Purely because the ‘vision’ formulates our thinking and our thinking determines our actions and our actions deliver the results. Great workplace trainers are visionaries. Before their training session they ‘take a moment’ to visualise things like the training room, the trainees, and how they intend to run the session. They also visualise the feedback they would like to receive and would not like to receive from their trainees. Where this ‘visionary moment’ takes place will vary. For me, it is often in the shower, in our garden or when I am out riding. These places work for me. What’s more important is that you find your place or places to have your visionary moments so that your training session will be remembered for all the right reasons. Let’s go a bit deeper with the elements mentioned above. Visualise the ideal room set up; which room layout will deliver the best most engaging environment? Perhaps a horseshoe layout, a bistro set-up or maybe a boardroom set-up? Next up, always visualise your trainees in a positive way. They are attending your training session because they want to become better at what they do for living. They want to increase their working capacity, their knowledge, their skill level, and perhaps improve their attitude. Visualise their enthusiasm, their thirst for new knowledge and their willingness to do better, to get better, to be better. Visualise yourself delivering a strong, impactful introduction; an introduction that puts your trainees at ease and depicts the program timings, objectives and structure. Visualise yourself weaving your way through the body of your training session, introducing each section with enthusiasm and verve, and closing each section with brevity and impact. Visualise yourself delivering a powerful, memorable conclusion; one that leaves your trainees reflecting on what they have just learnt and practiced, one that leaves your trainees thinking what they must do differently in order to embed the program objectives into their thinking into their practice. Finally, visualise the feedback comments, both written and verbal, that you would like to receive at the end of your session. Here are some of the positive comments that I visualise receiving:

• “Great session, highly interactive, thought provoking and well-paced.”
• “Learnt plenty, challenging activities, cannot wait to apply the techniques back at work.”
• “Well structured, a nice blend of theory and practice, the trainer should be commended.”

Here are some of the comments I visualise that I never want to receive:

• “Too quick, all over the place, no time to reflect, no time to practice, a waste of time.”
• “Trainer had poor presentation skills, I didn't feel engaged, I could not see the screen, poor room layout.”
• “Awful session, too high level, no detail, too many slides, class got out of control, trainer seemed not to care.”

So from now on, ensure you take a ‘visionary moment’ before you commence your training session. Your vision will drive your thoughts, and your thoughts will drive your behaviour and ultimately your performance. The third and final part of this blog series will look at the importance of ‘commitment.’ A great workplace trainer knows and understands that commitment to their role, to their practice and to their students is paramount. Stay tuned for more.