Training the Trainer

Presented by Ashlyn Elliott

Making a First Impression

There are 5 ways that a trainer can make a better first impression (Swoman, 2011). As humans we tend to judge individuals within the first few seconds of meeting someone and our opinion doesn’t typically change about a person.

1. It is important to set your intention.

2. Be wise when choosing your “ornaments”.

3. Stay conscious of your body language.

4. Avoid bad days.

5. Be interested and interesting.

Grabbing their Attention

As a trainer it is important to catch the attention of the audience. There are 10 ways that great speakers capture people’s attention (Wyeth, 2014).

1. Surprise the audience by starting with the unexpected.

2. Make the message about the audience.

3. Keep it concreate at the start.4. Keep it moving.5. Get to the point.6. Stimulate emotion.7. Keep it collaborative.8. Write clear headlines.9. Keep it short.10.Let there be you.

The presentation

• Make sure that the proper amount of time and preparation was put into to the presentation.

• Find passion in what we are presenting.

• Do not overload the presentation with information.

• Do not hand out copies of the slideshow presentation.

Communicating with the audience

Sometimes just by answering a few simple questions, you will know things that you valued in a presentation and will be able to provide them to your audience when giving a presentation.

• What motivates you and keeps you involved in participation?

• What things do you like about presentations you have attended previously?

• What things did you not like about presentations you previously attended?

• Is there certain things that spark your interest in when giving your time to listen to a presentation?

Line Graphs, Bar Graphs, or Pie Charts?

• Using numbers and percentages in text will often be overlooked unless shown in a chart or graph.

• It is important to know which works best for the information being presented.

Creating a conclusion

• Summarize what you went over in the presentation.

• End with further comments that may be a personal view or something further that you think could support the information in the presentation.

• Suggest changes that could continue to improve the topic.

Questions?Have a set period of time at the end of the presentation for questions, comments or concerns to be addressed it important to the trainer and audience. This time is what provides reassurance to the trainer that the audience has a solid understanding of the material presented in the presentation given.

The trainer is trained

By following these steps, it will help ensure you that you have delivered the important message to your audience in the most effective way. It is always a challenge when delivering a message to an audience in that audiences are diverse. This requires the trainer to be aware of different communication channels. Positive energy sets the mood. Positive energy can fill a room. It only takes one individual and will flow through many others.

References

Swoman, F. (2011). 5 Ways To Make a Killer First Impression. Forbes. Retrieved

from www.forbes.com/sites/yec/2011/11/02/5-ways-to-make-a-killer-

first-impression/

Wyeth, S. (2014) 10 Ways Great Speakers Capture People’s Attention. MenuInc.

Retrieved from www.inc.com/sims-wyeth/how-to-capture-and-hold-

audience-attention.html