Training: What works, What we usually do, What can be done?!

Most EHS professionals conduct training and are hopful to engage their learners.  Most want to avoid lecturing and want to make the session interactive.  They know exactly what they want to tell, convey, and explain, but most don’t quite know what will happen in the session other than getting the information across. Usually there is a lot of “information to cover” creating a time constraint and a compliance concern. 

Agendas are often presented to ensure that learners know what is coming.  Is there anything wrong with all of that?

When I ask trainers what they do to avoid lecture and be interactive, I nearly always hear this:

1. “I ask a lot of questions”
2. “I tell stories or give specific real world examples on the issues and the topic”
3. “We talk about what the requirements are and how they should be implemented”

... creating a trainer-centric, content-based session! Oh, nooo!

Learners in the session will come to understand that:

• becoming a better trainer has little to do with either perfectly crafted powerpoint slides, charm,  or presentation skills
• the “hard work” of effective training is designing the session
• the distinct difference between declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge
• Learners' “listening”, “discussing”, "answering", and “watching”  doesn’t result in performance improvement. 
• "Learning styles" for perfomance-based training don't matter!

Learners will experience and use engagement tools during the session, representing the objective of the session itself.  They will be used as a modeling process of what training should look and feel like to the learner.