3. During training day(s): what to expect, do's and don'ts#

Warning

This chapter is a work in progress

This chapter will touch on subjects like:

  • How to structure your training day

  • Getting your trainees 'in sync'

  • Correcting students when they stray or get noisy

  • Using material, beamers, etc

  • breaks and attention span

  • What if you run out of time

  • Student and trainer fatigue

  • Trainers high

Structure of your training day#

How the agenda of a training day should be structured has already been discussed in the theory and 'before' the training chapters. This section will discuss more 'hands on' tips for during the day and summarize the theory.

  • Be early. It takes at least half an hour to an hour to install yourself. If you're a bit late and students are already arriving it will be even more difficult to finish the set up in time. Also: if you're early and you don't like the chairs/desk set up you can still shift/change some stuff.

Introduction/Agenda#

Sometimes a trainer shows a short agenda of the day and then continues to the training. The start of a training day is THE moment to manage expectations for both your students and you. Things you can do during the introduction:

  • Introduce yourself shortly. What have you done before, why are you giving the training, what do you like about giving a training. But don't overdo it :-)

  • If the group is small enough (and they're not all colleagues) ask them for a short introduction. You might have talked to them before the training, but if they don't know each other it is good to create a good vibe.

  • Re-iterate the training subject and most important the training goals. If some students applied late or got sneaked in by a manager the previous day, you can 'synchronise' everybody on what the goals are.

    Real life story: I've had a student stand up during the introduction and complain that he expected to learn to theme the Plone site in an end user content management training. Better to get that out of the way before you you're in the middle of a subject and people start to nag or complain.

  • As discussed, plan your breaks beforehand and show some flexibility, when people want to break earlier, ask for them to tell you at that time. It's a group effort.