It takes more than being an SME (subject matter expert) to be a great trainer. Having cold information is an important attribute of a good coach, but it’s just the beginning. Trainers with “the edge” are continually reading the room, engaging participants, managing time, and checking for knowledge transfer. Here are three areas to consider when selecting people who have the potential to be great coaches.
** Attributes of great trainers
Carefully describe the criteria for the type of person who will be a great trainer for your environment.
Obviously, the former needs to know the cold content. However, as we say in the training business, you only need to be a few steps ahead of the learner. At the same time, training is not about being the smartest person in the room. Training, or ‘facilitating learning’, is about engaging people and making content memorable.
Who makes the best trainers? It can be tempting to assume that people who don’t enjoy being in the spotlight won’t make great coaches. While it’s true that being comfortable in front of a group is important, great coaches come in all personality types.
What skills or attributes make a great coach? here’s a quick Check list:
- He has a good relationship with others.
- He is respected by co-workers and peers.
- Is credible/knowledgeable in his field
- has a positive attitude
- He really wants to help others shine
- You are eager to continually improve your skills as a training facilitator.
** 5 things great coaches do
1. They are student-centered. The trainer who focuses on himself “present” is more likely to train. The most effective coaches don’t try to be the smartest person in the room. Great trainers elicit ideas, questions, and conversations from the participants.
two. Manage time. It takes practice and experience to balance the content with the time allotted for training. Tangents are the biggest culprits in derailing training, and trained facilitators learn to handle various types of such derailments.
3. Manage your energy. There is a lot going on inside the head of a facilitator. At any moment, they are delivering a message, reading the room, planning the next interesting activity, and keeping track of the time. It can be exhausting for even the most experienced trainer. Maintaining high energy for a full session, whether it’s 2 hours or 2 full days, requires conscious effort. It may require new habits, like keeping high-energy snacks on hand or swapping your afternoon coffee for a glass of water.
Four. Practice. Practicing helps people who don’t like to speak in public to overcome the nerves that appear in the first 5 minutes. Practicing also helps the trainer develop examples and stories that will help make their point clearer. Great trainers practice presenting complex ideas in an easy-to-understand way.
5. knowledge test. (see next tip)
** Great trainers continually test knowledge
There are three main types of evidence that will convince the facilitator that the audience is “getting it”. They are pre, integrated and post tests. Proving knowledge transfer doesn’t have to be complicated. Work with the resources you have, whether it’s index cards or a complex LMS (learning management system).
pre-tests provide the baseline for the level of knowledge with which people enter the training. Reviewing the gaps in the pretest can shape the focus areas for the trainer.
You can choose to produce a simple 3-question self-reported survey, all the way up to a full 360° survey involving a dozen respondents.
Integrated tests It happens throughout the training. It is presented in the form of exchange of pairs, group discussions, written questions or verbal questions to the group. The key to using embedded tests is to read the room to make sure most people “get” it. Reading body language and facial expressions is an important skill for a coach.
Post-tests occur at the end of the training and answer the question, “Did they learn it?” Comparing post-test scores to pre-test scores is an excellent technique for measuring learning. Again, it doesn’t have to be complicated and doesn’t require a full LMS to be effective.