Essential tips for speakers and trainers. Vol.2: How to boost effectiveness

Effective training is not only about good impressions, opinions. Effective training isn’t about short-term satisfaction (‘Glad to know so many things!’, “Wow it’s so interesting!’). Motto of this part (Vol.2) is: “Effective training is about effect. Action not only reaction.”

---> If you haven't seen last part of Essential tips for speakers and trainers series- take a look at: Vol 1: Get to know your audience <---

When my attendees have good impression after seeing social media tools, case studies, strategies and all of numbers and KPI’s I’m determined to make them strive to implement this knowledge and skills achieved. If training is effective you will see it through long-term activities, not only as and effect in open-minded attitude. Let’s concentrate on some tricks which will help you with boosting effectiveness during training! We’re following part #4 from Vol.1: Your audience is your case study, so we will start from #5.

#5. Keep it stupid simple

We all know this rule. It always works. When you want your audience to understand, you have to be clear. Straight. Precise.  

Problem: One of my training groups - from Jones Lang LaSalle needed to know how to distrubute specific content in social media — pdf presentation showing Perspectives of Retail in 2020. Key was to make it visible in the most effective way on channels: Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Slideshare, Google+. I hope you know that each of them has it’s own rules and community.

Solution: Take one article, piece of content from you audience subject/domain — show them exactly — live how to put it in exact words/images/hashtags. Try to put yourself in their shoes, not to show it in other cases.

#6. Work on your audience’s case

Try to explain all (or most) of the ideas by reffering to their environment — subject/domain/branch.

i.e. When you show specification/usage of each social media tools for people from Real Estate, show how other brands and people from Real Estate are using it and tell how to do it better. Simple, right? But believe me, very often trainers and speakers try to show some ideas and possibilities, but they concentrate on tools and their views, not on the environment of their audience. Not on their perception!

#7. Practice live!

You think that when you show possibilities on powerpoint slides, gaps to fill and places to check, after 2 days of training they will introduce all these things? You’re a dreamer. Let’s make your message effective, let’s have it introduced during training.

i.e. When you show how your attendees can fill their LinkedIn profile, have a short break and let them do it. When you show that their Google+ profile is not optimized for search, let them do it by following your tips. It is far more important than trying to show them all of tips and tricks and sharing your whole knowledge at once.

#8. Let brain be hungry

During Christmas Eve we eat a lot, but there are so many delicious meals we want to try, that after some short breaks and ‘coach-potating’ we have a space for more. When it comes to sharing-knowledge situation is very similar — when you’re overwhelmed you won’t be hungry for more.

TIP: Don’t plan breaks in advance. Observe your audience, but remember to organise short break after the most important parts of the training. When they haven’t use Facebook Ads so far, make a break after workshop.

#9. Be like chameleon

Be flexible. Make your training vivid and dynamic.

TIP: Don’t wait for a moment you will see your audience is not paying attention to what you’re saying, is sleepy, finally frustrated. If your program is full of tools, workshops and theory, plan to use different stuff: try to draw a mindmap of social media strategy on flipchart, visualise a process of creating community on Facebook (EEIA) on piece of paper, use stick notes to point out creative ideas in content strategy, stand up and indicate the results of successfull viral campaign on Twitter.

All for today! This tips are prepared after my trainings in logistics and supply chain trade and real estate in social media: trends and strategy (for one of the main global companies Transporeon Group and  from real estate - Jones Lang LaSalle and many other social media trainings. You can introduce it in all kinds of coaching activities.

This observations are about making your training more effective. Effects are activities, results, not reactions. Take your training to the next level.

---> If you haven't seen last part of Essential tips for speakers and trainers series- take a look at: Vol 1: Get to know your audience <---

If you want to talk about trainings or social media, feel free to contact me: katarzyna@socjomania.pl

Please leave your views in comments below!