Training & Development
Training - The Five Nos
In the first of two articles on the training we give and get at work - Trainer and Motivational Speaker Frank Newberry considers what we might need to do to pass exams at the end of some training seminars. In Part 2, Frank will look at ways of making the training we give and get more meaningful
IT was an absolute joy recently to receive rave reviews for doing nothing at all, well almost nothing at all. I had won a contract to run a number of workshops that would help my client’s team of approved trainers to increase the levels of student participation in their seminars.
Some of the many seminars they had been running were already quite participative with trainees doing tasks and discussing issues. Unfortunately, many other seminars they ran lasted a day or more and were almost entirely based around a series of PowerPoint presentations by the trainer.
People have to fight to keep their trainees listening
People that run these mainly ‘visual’ seminars have to fight to keep their trainees listening to them all day. It was interesting for me to observe the cunning combination of entertaining mannerisms, trick questions and clear warnings about failure that the instructors were using to hold the trainees attention.
The trainees themselves feared having to go home without the all-important certificate at the end of a long day. A day of listening and trying to remember everything the trainer had said.
They all had a great day showing off to each other
By contrast, on my one day ‘Participation Masterclass’ I was able to get all my delegates - who were experienced trainers - to do almost everything. I just led the discussions and feedback at the end of each session. Result? Happy trainer and happy delegates. They all had a great day showing off to each other and, on top of that, they all got plenty of peer and expert feedback. As a consequence, my learning design got rave reviews.
Things were not always so sweet. Some years ago, I was hired to run a two day leadership seminar for senior turfcare professionals. My two days followed an
130 PC APRIL/MAY 2013
intense four days of vocational instruction for the delegates. My sessions started on the Thursday after the mid- morning break. Before the break, the delegates had all been required to sit a two hour examination testing them on what they had learned in the previous four days.
Reduced to the level of giggling children
My two days of sessions, which were not being assessed, went down really well. The first session was so successful that I could not help wondering if I had discovered what it felt like to be one of the great stand-up comedians. People laughed at almost everything I said and they were enthusiastic about my ideas right until the very end.
During the lunch break I complimented them on being such a good group, and asked how well the week had gone for them. The reaction was universal. They were so worried about the Thursday exam that most of them had not slept all week. Some of them had not done exams for over thirty years. By the time they had got to my part of the programme - with the exam out of the way - they were almost hysterical.
The build up of pressure throughout the week, the fear of failure, the sleep deprivation and then the sudden release of tension had reduced them all to the level of giggling children.
Only one of the delegates had passed the exam
I was notified, a little while later, that only one of the twelve delegates had passed the exam. The other eleven were obliged to do the whole week-long course again. On hearing this, I approached the organisers and asked if I could move my sessions to the beginning of the week and end them with a short session on recall and study skills.
The organisers agreed to my ideas. They felt that I might be able to calm the delegates down before they embarked on
the assessable elements of the six day programme.
The next time they ran the programme eleven people passed and only one failed. Same course, same exam. The programme ran successfully each year until all the eligible delegates around the country had taken it.
So, what was in the short session on recall and study skills? ‘The Five Nos’, as follows:
The Five Nos of Reliable Recall 1 No note taking, no reliable recall
2 No reviewing of notes taken, no reliable recall
3 No tidy organisation of notes and study materials, no reliable recall
4 No context or understanding of how the learning is applied, no reliable recall
5 No effort and no energy, no reliable recall
So, if you have to attend a pass/fail type of vocational course and the trainer is majoring on presentation and not participation, then follow ‘The Five Nos of Reliable Recall’.
It is always worth remembering that the trainer usually wants you to pass the exam at the end. Make sure the trainer gives you examples from real life of what is being taught, so that you can relate to it more quickly and remember it better.
Good luck with your learning and good luck with your recall.
In the next edition, Frank will look at ways of making the training we give and get at work more meaningful.
Frank Newberry has been designing and running training events for trainers and supervisors - who need to train their people - for over twenty-five years. If you need a trainer training course, or some tips on how to get your training right, then contact
Chris@Pitchcare.com or speak to Frank direct on 01908 520202.
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