5 Tips for Training Courses for Adults

When running a training course, there are some tips and techniques that you can use to make it more effective for your adult learners, including:

1.  Make the training course formal. Formal doesn’t mean not fun; rather, it means you want to present the training as an important event. Send invitations (either paper or electronic) specifying when and where the training will take place, what topics will be covered, the benefits of the training, and what (if anything) the trainee needs to bring. You don’t necessary need to refer to it as formal training with the trainees, but you should specify that it is mandatory rather than optional. The problem with an optional training course is that it is usually the people who need it most that decide to opt out!

2.  Control the environment. You will want the trainees to show you respect and courtesy during the training sessions. To help them, request that they leave cell phones and beepers off. These distractions will help the efficiency of the training session. Prior to the course, provide the delegates with a timeline that identifies designated breaks. This way the delegates can plan bathroom, phone, and lunch breaks and avoid the distraction of people constantly walking in and out of the training course.

3.  Make the training course relevant. Delegate will be primarily interested in training that    affects their role and responsibilities. You may be tempted to cover as many different topics as possible during the training course, but it is better to prioritize the topics and focus on the relevant few. If they are presented with too much information, they will not be able to digest it all. This means, that you could have several different training courses covering different topics. Provide training materials with exercises that the delegates can practice on their own.

4.  Provide real-world application. Delegates need the skills that match exactly with the types of issues and problems they face during their workday.  No one wants to listen to a trainer lecture for hours, so training based on concept alone will not be successful.

5.  Make the training course interactive.

As you probably know, adult students can get bored easily, so encourage them to participate through action learning. This not only keeps their interest, but it can help them get to know the other trainees. Practice exercises, role plays, group discussions, and games are all excellent interactive opportunities. The real tip for success in training courses is the less you do the more they will learn49

 Call Center Best Practices are very talkative and one or two who are very quiet. It is your responsibility to make sure that everyone participates in the training session. Everyone should have an opportunity to interact, ask questions, and give feedback.

6.   Show enthusiasm! Enthusiasm is contagious! The more excitement and interest you show in the training materials, the more the CSRs will want to learn. Adults love to win prizes or even objects as simple as candy, pens, or toys so incorporate fun games and contests that will really help your messages stick!

7.  Follow-up. Every training session should have a summary outlining what was learned and any next steps that should be taken. For example, you may want your staff to participate in some workbook activities that will be turned in at a later date. Or, you may want to conduct a follow-up training session that reviews the main points that were discussed. Additionally, as their leader, it is your responsibility to follow-up with each CSR at different points after the training to ensure that they keep the  information top of mind. Add this to your calendar so you don’t forget to do this very important step.

This is part of the coaching process.