There’s a big difference between training design and preparation. They are done at different times, require different skills, lead to different outcomes.
Everyone involved in learning and development needs to understand the difference.
Many people think that good training can be designed in a few hours. It can’t. To PROPERLY write a full-day workshop expect it to take at least 3 days. There’s a LOT involved in design. My advice to anyone designing training is to set aside dedicated time for it. If you try to design in…
I post weekly Top Tips for Training Design and share them in the VIP Facebook group – usually on a Monday. Check here to view the archive! Top Tip 1 – Content, Understanding and Application Top Tip 2 – Repetition Top Tip 3 – Audience Top Tip 4 – Attention Span Top Tip 5 –…
You’ve decided to create a training workshop to develop people in your organisation, or maybe (as a subject matter expert) you’ve been asked to share your expertise with others. You know exactly what you want to cover, but know that a long PowerPoint Presentation with a few questions thrown in isn’t going to cut it….
If your training workshop has a structure and planned content, it’s a good idea to create supporting delegate materials that people can take away. Many people encourage delegates to make their own notes, and of course this is good practice, BUT if these hand-written notes are all delegates have, there’s a danger that they will…
Case studies are a very versatile training exercise and can be used in a wide range of courses: Whether you design them simply to generate discussion, to test problem solving, or to build a whole day around, the more realistic they are, the better the learning will be. A simple case study can be used…
Creating a great workshop outline is an essential skill of any training professional – internal or independent. The outline is what allows you to sell your concept to key stakeholders. It’s what you use to start generating interest in an event. It’s what potential delegates will want to see before they decide whether or not…
Not all training session require visual aids. Whilst a few carefully selected slides can add value to a training session, too many will damage it, and turn it into a meeting/presentation, rather than an interactive learning workshop. Training should never EVER be driven by slides – slides should only ever play a supporting role.
It may be tempting to think that designing bite-size training (sessions lasting 2 hours or less) is easier than designing a full day workshop, but it isn’t. Many sessions that are described as bite-size training are simply a meeting: a presentation with a discussion or short group exercise thrown in and questions at the end….
The main challenge in technical training is that by nature, it’s fairly prescriptive. It will often be a precursor to gaining an accreditation; typically Microsoft, Cisco and VMWare training. The same applies if designing training for specific manufacturing, data-entry or engineering processes. So, it’s necessary to follow the instructor manual, use the set material and…
