By Dr. Dalia Moemen
I have received the following tips for trainers from Dr. Dalia Moemen, a certified trainer in human resources development:
Before starting the course, go through the material deciding and noting down how each part of the content will be delivered and which activity or set of activities will be used to cover it.
Prepare the material well before starting the course. During the days of the course you will not have enough time to prepare for each session.
Dress formally for the first session (wear a suit) yet wear less formally during the following sessions. During the first session trainees form a first impression about you through how you look. In the following sessions trainees will have known you through interaction and appearance would be less important.
Get adequate sleep (before and after [delivering] each training session).
Carry out physical exercise to improve endurance and ability to function effectively during the training sessions.
Eat a well balanced and nutritious diet.
Practice standing for sustained time periods in order to be able to withstand standing during the sessions.
First 1 hour personal introductions (every 2 speak, each selecting whom he/she wants to talk to, then throw the ball, that person will introduced his/her colleague). May ask trainees to sit in a circle. Each person mentions his or her field of experience.
Introduce yourself modestly at the beginning. Ex: "My name is .... I am a ... trainer at ... company. I will be delivering the ... training to you." Each session let them discover something new about you. Ex: having worked at some place or in a specific position, or having delivered training to so and so people or at a specific place ... etc.
Elicit trainee expectations about the course (what they will learn, what it will cover). [Ask one of the trainees to write the expectations on the flip chart after you rephrase it perhaps to make it closer to your course objectives. You will use this same sheet at the last session to go through what they expected and see what has been achieved/covered.]
List objectives of the whole training. [Let a trainee write them down.] Determine similarities between your training objectives and the expectations of the trainees. [You may underline the similar points in the trainee expectations using a different color marker.'
Start your first session with a strong (grabbing) thing. Ex: photos, watching a video.
Group activity, presentation, class comments. [Trainees use sheets of paper, from flip chart sheets, and colored markers to write their presentation. They then hold the paper to the class during the presentation.] Each group should have 3 main people: a speaker/presenter, a writer (to write on the paper sheets) and a time keeper to make sure the team keeps track of time. The trainer must be strict in not allowing time to slip by from any team. Group trainees each time differently, ex: assign a number to each trainee, then in a following group activity assign different group numbers to trainees (perhaps by starting the counting backwards ... etc). Thank each group heartedly for their effort after completing their presentation (this would make them feel satisfied and ready to work next time and will encourage other groups to work well too).
Role play, class comments
Questionnaire (individual), trainer comment
Quiz, individually, groups
Case method (let groups work out the answer for a single case, or provide a different case per each group).
Flip chart
Ball
Laser pen (pointer)
Lots of colored markers (for trainees to use)
Lots of flip chart paper sheet roles (for students to cut and use).
Give lots of examples (cases, stories) from your own experience in the field. Also elicit trainee experiences.
Let trainees assist you (writing points on the flip chart as you speak or as you elicit them from the class). Do not do anything that can be done by trainees.
Try to win all trainees including the silly and arrogant ones. When explaining a new point for which you believe an arrogant trainee has experience in (you would have known his/her experience during the introductions), mention that that trainee has experience in this and will be giving the class his experience about it after you introduce it. This will make you avoid his/her interference during your explanation and it will keep him/her happy. You will get favorable evaluation from those otherwise difficult trainees at the end of the train