The key to being a great facilitator does not lie solely in one’s communication skills or the ability to spout a great deal of information in the given time. This would not suffice to strengthen any skills or knowledge for the participants. In fact, trainers who suffer from diarrhoea of thought are precisely those who tend to bore the participants the most.

As behavioural trainers, your task is not to create storehouses of knowledge but powerhouses of excellence. Such excellence does not come from talent alone, but the right attitude. Only 10% of the time would you find that it is a problem of skill whereas 90% of the time it is a problem of will! As long as the mind has shut its doors to any kind of learning owing to die-hard habits, glue-like mindsets & concrete wall-like attitudes, no learning can take place, however interesting your session might be.

Incorporating scientific Psychometric Tests in your training is a comprehensive and interesting technique to open up participants’ minds to your training session. It is a sure fire method of providing participants with an insight into their powers and strengths and helping them embark on a journey of self-exploration and (win)sight.

The right psychometric tests will leave your participants amazed as they come face-to-face with their true self. This little innovation in your training pattern is proven to pay rich dividends by keeping your audience in rapt attention for the entire training as well as giving you a background of your learners’ needs, learning styles, competencies etc to help you facilitate better.

A single test reflects a certain aspect of an individual’s persona and can be compared to a magnifying glass. A battery of tests provides a kaleidoscopic view into the many colours of an individual’s persona by taking into account both heredity and environmental influences on his behaviour.

Don Clark

Perhaps the best know training methodology is Kirkpatrick’s Four Level Evaluation Model

Level 1 – Reaction As the word implies, evaluation at this level measures how those who participate in the program react to it. This level is often measured with attitude questionnaires (smile sheets) that are passed out after most training classes. This level measures one thing: the learner’s perception (reaction) of the course. …Read the entire entry

A training or development cycle is a model that can be usedto represent a systematic approach to training and development. It helps businesses identify the series of sequential steps they need to undertake when training and developing staff. The key steps are:
· Identification of training needs
· Design of the training or development programme
· Delivery of training
· Evaluation
The cycle demonstrates, that the steps should be viewed in their entirety and not be seen as a series of isolated activities. This means that the outcome of one stage provides the inputs for the next stage and the absence of any stage would undermine the validity of the whole process.

Ice Breaker Activities for Training Sessions

By K M Mahmud Hasan

“Learning from Experience”

Have participants introduce themselves and explain one thing they have learned the hard way about the topic you are covering. Post their “lessons learned” on a flip chart. Refer to them throughout the class. …Read the entire entry

Delivering Effective PowerPoint Presentations

By K M Mahmud Hasan

Presenting Clear Information

Use your slides to visually punctuate your message.

Your slides should help your audience focus on the main points. Make sure each word and image helps convey your message in the strongest possible way.

Limit how much information you provide on each slide.

Use the slides for emphasis, but don’t try to include all of the instruction on your slides.

• Include only one main idea per slide.
• Use key words to help the audience focus on your message.
• Use active, visual language.
• Cut unnecessary words: Take a look at a written copy of your presentation. Cut paragraphs down to sentences, sentences into phrases, and phrases into key words.

Give each slide a title.

Titles will help the audience quickly understand the main themes of your talk.

Organize your presentation into a logical sequence.

Make sure that your presentation is easy for the audience to follow by checking the sequence of your slides. The main point of each of the slides should flow logically from one to another.

Presenting Clear Visuals

Make your text large.

Small text is hard for audience members to read.

• Use at least 32 point font size for titles.
• Use at least 20 point font size for body text.

Keep the text slides brief.

Too much information can overwhelm your audience.

• Choose brief, simple statements instead of full sentences.
• Try to use no more than eight to ten words per line of text.
• Try to use no more than eight to ten lines of text on each slide.

Use an easy to read, color format.

• Pick a color combination that offers a strong contrast between the background and the text. Dark backgrounds with light colored text or light backgrounds with dark colored text work best. If you know you will be presenting in a poorly-lit room, use a light background. Conversely, if you know you will be presenting in a well-lit room, use a dark background.
• Limit the number of colors you use to no more than three. Color can help add interest and can be used to emphasize key points. However, too much color can be distracting.
• Text drop shadows should be black or a darker shade of the background color.

Keep images simple.

Images (such as graphs, tables, and pictures) can help strengthen your presentation by conveying your message in an interesting and often easy-to-understand format. Before using art, ask yourself whether the art enhances or clarifies your message.

• Unnecessary art and animation can create visual clutter and distract from your message.
• Some art, especially photos and other high-resolution images, can also greatly increase the amount of memory needed to run the slide show.
• Sometimes scanned images and photos are too large for a film recorder to handle easily, leading to delays in the slide presentation.

Tips for Giving a Successful Presentation

Check your equipment in advance.

Before your presentation, check the following:

• Make sure cables and cords are connected properly and all the equipment is operating.
• If you are using someone else’s computer, make sure it has adequate disk space, adequate memory, and the appropriate versions of the software you need (including PowerPoint).

Check your computer settings in advance.

It helps to check the following, especially if you are using someone else’s computer:

• Make sure the “system standby” function on the computer is turned off. If this function is turned on, your computer might temporarily turn off if you don’t use it for a designated time period. On a PC, you can check this by going to the Control Panel and look at the Power Options.
• Turn off the screen saver, since a screen saver can slow down your presentation. On a PC, turn this off by going to the Control Panel and then to Display. Click on the Screen Saver tab to turn the screen saver off.

Interact with your audience.

Don’t read off the screen.

• Use slides as prompts, outlines, or conversation points, not as a script.
• Move around the room and make eye contact with as many people as possible.

Use your finger as a pointer, rather than the mouse.

Although you can use the mouse to create a pointer on the slide, using your finger to point is generally more accurate and less distracting to the audience. When you move the mouse to point, it is often difficult to control the little pointer and it can be difficult to see.

There are various methods of training, which can be divided in to cognitive and behavioral methods. Trainers need to understand the pros and cons of each method, also its impact on trainees keeping their background and skills in mind before giving training. …Read the entire entry

Training is defined as any attempt to improve employee performance on a currently held job or one related to it. This usually means changes in specific knowledge, skills, attitudes or behaviors. Training is required to cover understanding and development of essential work-related knowledge, skills and techniques. Conceptually training contributes in different organizational and individual development through following processes: …Read the entire entry

Over the years, systematic models for instructional design and development have been worked out that, if properly applied, will achieve definite results. Many such models exist, but they all have certain features in common.

1. Each step in training or instructional design should be systematically linked to other steps.

2. As a first step, training and development professionals should always analyze human performance problems or improvement opportunities to distinguish those that lend themselves to training solutions from those that do not. …Read the entire entry

When you play a sport, you want to do the best you can.   Training improves your performance.   Selecting the appropriate training methods to incorporate in your training program is important for a number of reasons.

First, a focused, structured, individualized training program can increase your breathing rate and your efficient use of oxygen. It can also help your body work at a higher level of exercise for a longer time because it helps it get rid of lactic acid.  It also helps your body convert more fat to energy (that is lipid metabolism).   Third, it also leads to physical changes in the muscles, …Read the entire entry