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From NetSpeed Leader Volume 28, September 2006
This month’s Trainer Tips are from Tonya Perpich,
a veteran Master Trainer and Certified NetSpeed
Leadership Consultant based in Phoenix Arizona and
Seattle, Washington.
Facilitating Learning Experiences
After 20+ years in the training and development field,
my role in any training/learning engagement has
evolved to that of a facilitator of learning
experiences. My primary focus is to create
opportunities for individuals and groups to talk, learn,
grow and interact rather than spend their precious
training time listening to me lecture, trying to teach
them something.
To successfully meet learning objectives, of course,
great trainers do have to guide participants on the
topic and toward appropriate skill development. I tell
participants up front that this is their training session
and that my role is to act as a facilitator to guide
them on the particular topic and keep them focused
on moving forward. The participants’ role is to
recognize that this is their training and that the
value comes from their willingness to be open and
share their experiences and teach each other. The
success of the session comes from what we all put
into the session as I guide them to the learning
objectives.
As a facilitator of these kinds of learning experiences,
I am constantly aware of how much time I spend
talking or lecturing versus the capitalizing on
opportunities to get participants talking, interacting
and engaged in relevant exercises. Since I enjoy
talking and being in front of an audience, being a
facilitator of learning does require me to remember
that the training is not about me, but is rather about
what the participants can get out of it. My job is to
shut up and encourage their sharing and interactions.
Participants always gain more from hands on doing
and saying it themselves versus hearing what
the “trainer/expert” has to lecture on.
Just leaving a session knowing more isn’t enough. A
training is successful when participants leave the
segment excited, and with new skills and attitudes
and an action plan for implementing them. |
A blended learning program for customer service providers |
