Course Outcomes

This train-the-trainer course for non-trainers will:

  • Help participants understand their natural facilitation strengths.
  • Provide a system for identifying high-value activities that make a difference back on the job.
  • Introduce tactics for increasing the trainer’s comfort and engaging participants in group discussions and activities.
  • Explain the EDGE teaching model.
  • Discuss body language as a tool for managing participants.
  • Offer suggestions for building confidence.
  • Give suggestions for managing unexpected surprises.

Course Overview

You’re a subject matter expert, you know your stuff, and you find yourself leading a class to share your expertise.  Then the panic sets in.  You’re not a trained facilitator, and you’re not quite sure what to do.  If this sounds familiar, Teaching Essentials: Practical Training Skills for Non-Trainers can help.  This onsite workshop is designed specifically for people who do not regularly teach others and find themselves in a training role. The course helps participants discover their natural facilitation strengths. It offers tactics for isolating important learning points and ordering an agenda based on the value various skills taught will provide to the organization.  It also suggests a model for ensuring engagement, provides tips for controlling the classroom, and gives ideas for appearing confident and composed no matter the circumstances.

Program Objectives

At this program’s conclusion, participants should be able to:

  • Explain the value they bring to the classroom and recognize their facilitation strengths.
  • Identify what’s most important and develop an agenda that focuses on activities that will have the greatest return for learners and their organizations.
  • Design exercises that take the focus off themselves and put it on their students.
  • Apply the EDGE learning model to their training material.
  • Use body language to encourage interaction and control the classroom.
  • Facilitate training in a confident and relatable manner.
  • Effectively introduce and conclude their programs.
  • Handle a range of training challenges.

The following outline highlights some of the course’s key learning points. As part of your training program, we will modify content as needed to meet your business objectives. Upon request, we will provide you with a copy of participant materials prior to the session(s).

Workshop Outline

Why You?: Identify Your Strengths

Non-trainers who find themselves in a teaching role usually get there because they’re subject matter experts in an area the organization believes is important enough for others to learn about.  In this opening discussion, participants will spend time thinking about what they know and the value they can bring to a classroom.  Next, they will complete an assessment to ascertain their comfort level with training.  Armed with the results of that assessment, we will set goals for the session and review the plan for the day.

What’s Important: Identifying Needs

Back on the job, some skills matter more than others.  In this part of the program, we will discuss the importance of identifying high-value activities when planning training.  We will consider a particular topic and brainstorm a comprehensive list of skills a course might include.  Next, we will plot those items on a matrix, while evaluating an activity’s value in conjunction with its ease of teaching.  Through this activity, participants will discover that this simple process is a quick way for subject matter experts to design the bones of a training plan and begin to order their content in a way that makes sense.

Managing Eyeballs: Designing for Comfort

For inexperienced trainers, being front and center can be uncomfortable to the point of becoming difficult to manage.  In this part of the course, we will talk about techniques for shifting the focus of attention (and the eyeballs) away from the trainer. Many of the tactics we will discuss seamlessly align with best practices in adult learning.  During this portion of the course, we will look at methods for encouraging discussion, promoting group collaboration, and getting away from a PowerPoint-driven lecture.

The EDGE Model: Making Sure They Get It

EDGE (Explain, Demonstrate, Guide, and Enable) is a solid model for teaching people to perform new skills, and it’s a method inexperienced trainers can use to encourage interaction.  In this course unit, we will walk through an application of this model using a juggling activity.  First, the facilitator will explain the value of the activity and how juggling works.  Next, the facilitator will demonstrate the task. Following the demonstration, participants will receive guided step-by-step instructions in order to replicate the process.  Once they’ve successfully demonstrated their juggling abilities, they will be left on their own to perfect their skills and practice variations.

When they’ve exhausted the juggling activity, the participants will then apply the EDGE process to a subject they will facilitate in an upcoming workshop.

Body Basics: Leveraging Unspoken Language

Good teachers know how to use their bodies to set the tone for a class and manage interactions throughout a session.  In this part of the program, we will explore body language and its role in helping a facilitator manage a classroom.  During this segment, participants will learn without saying a word how to encourage responses, stop side conversations, raise the energy level in a room, and manage over participation.

No Apologies Needed: Confidence in the Classroom

“I’m sorry the room is cold.” “I haven’t taught this before. It might not be good.” “I’m sorry that activity took so long. I thought it would be better.” Good grief!  Why don’t you rent a billboard to tell them you’re a bad teacher and they’re wasting their time? Inexperienced trainers can sabotage themselves with unneeded apologies. Most people hope an instructor will be good.  In fact, they’re rooting for you, unless you advertise you’re not qualified. Even if that’s the case, your students will come to that conclusion eventually.  They don’t need your help. This portion of the course reviews specific dos and don’ts for appearing confident.  Through a series of exercises, participants will identify confidence killers, confidence builders, and actions to avoid at all costs. 

Beginnings and Endings: Starting and Concluding on a High Note

People usually remember the beginning and end of a session, and for that reason, those two components are of particular importance in training. During this part of the program, participants will choose an upcoming session and develop an introduction and conclusion for it.  Next, they will practice delivering those elements and receive feedback from the facilitator and classmates.

Rescue 911: Preparing for the Unexpected

The final part of this course addresses challenges in the classroom.  Participants will learn how to set ground rules to establish expectations.  Next, they will tackle a variety of cases and propose solutions to a range of challenges.

By the conclusion of this course, those who attend should feel comfortable leading a training session on a subject about which they are familiar. Furthermore, they should understand the basics of adult learning, techniques for engaging participants, and tactics for confidently managing a classroom.