We all know what it’s like to participate in a training session that is interesting and engaging versus painfully boring. Facilitators are often assigned this responsibility in addition to their “day job” duties, so no wonder many of them aren’t exactly sure what to do to make the session interesting. Developing and delivering training programs for our clients is a core service we provide at the Marlyn Group, and we maintain high standards that what we produce is relevant and actionable for companies and individuals alike. If classroom based facilitation is or soon will be part of your job, use these three tips to be more effective.

1. Know your content. There is no worse feeling than standing in front of a room full of people, preparing to move to the next slide in your power point deck and having no idea what’s waiting for you on the other side of that click. The more prep you do before your training session, the easier it will be. Thoroughly review your content, and think of what you will say. It’s okay to use notes to plan out your delivery, but on the day of the actual event, leave your notes behind to avoid reading from them instead of truly facilitating. As you get closer to your session, practice in front of a mirror or another person, and if you aren’t able to do this without notes, you definitely won’t be able to do it during your session either.
2. Start and end on time. This seems like a simple tip, but so often sessions start late or run long. It’s extremely frustrating for adults when session start and end times aren’t honored. You can come across as disorganized or not being respectful of their time when this rule is broken. Keep a time keeping device such as a watch or phone near you and monitor it as the session progresses.
3. If something is important, explain why. Facilitators like to use the word important to emphasize critical points within a training session, which is perfectly fine, but be prepared to follow up by explaining why this is true. Adults like to decide for themselves if something is important or not, and you can help them do this by providing the logic behind any given statement. If something is truly important, it will be easy to answer this question and connect back to a business driver or process.

If you’d like to explore ways we can help you with your training and employee development needs or just want to have a chat about options, feel free to reach out to The Marlyn Group at letsconnect@marlyngroupllc.com.