Welcome to this Advanced Training the Trainer Course FAQs Page
Below is a list of frequently asked questions from students considering attending our training the trainer courses in London. However, this list grows after each session as I ask you what issues/obstacles you are they facing in your training practice. Each passage is an individual response to your needs.
If you have a great attitude and look forward to making a difference in your life and career, please consider joining us on our 2-day training the trainer courses in King's Cross. Why not improve your skillset and take your achievements to the highest level?
Diversity, inclusion, and equality — Ensure everybody receives the same opportunities. Everybody must be welcomed, seen, heard, accepted and acknowledged. In class, we practice many creative exercises. Performing at your highest potential is impossible if you feel inhibited by a lack of acceptance.
Leadership in the classroom —The trainer's role is a leadership role. You set the standards for everything, from the energy with which you convey the message to making the class feel they can achieve whatever they want.
Classroom Behaviour —This is a tough one. There are many different scenarios with various resolutions. Let's assume it's a training session in your company. You're the trainer, and one of your colleagues is behaving disruptively. How would you handle it?
Firstly, there are measures you can take before the class formally starts. Set expectations and clear ground rules: we have x hours and a lot of work. Please bring your skills, professionalism, and focus into the classroom. Subtle - nobody wants to be labelled as unprofessional. Sometimes, the individual might not realise that they're being disruptive. Without judgment or irony, ask them if everything is ok. If they say yes, thank them and request their focused attention when you resume. You can also use some introductory exercises to create rapport and build trust within the group.
Secondly, if it's really bad, try to identify the root cause of their behaviour. Perhaps they don't realise why they've been invited. If they have other work priorities and deadlines, perhaps their presence in class is the underlying problem. Where there are people, there's politics. Maybe a colleague has said something unpleasant about their performance. Once you know the issue, see if it's possible to resolve. The ultimate sanction is to ask the student to leave the training, but that's the last thing you want. You'd have to contact their line manager, which could trigger a bunch of HR or disciplinary procedures. Document both sides' thoughts immediately after the conversation because there could be repercussions.
Thirdly, if there are competitive personality issues at play, separate the personalities into different working pairs or groups. Sometimes, physical separation or distancing can change the mood to a more constructive state.
Finally, you can model the type of expected behaviour in class. Even better, ask and advise the individual to observe student X. Watch how they move, collaborate, and support others' participation in class. It could be a case of inexperience, not knowing the expectation. Keep an open mind and give the student a fair opportunity to modify their behaviour.
The goal is to create a learning environment that's respectful, engaging, and conducive to skill development while maintaining professional boundaries.
I get freaked out by not knowing who is going to attend my next session — As trainers, we are not mindreaders and it's challenging to know what students' expectations are, but there are some things we can do to help that. When you send your joining instructions, give them a high-level view of the session. Create a core curriculum that covers the essential topics. Prepare other modules and activities that can meet varying levels of knowledge and skills. Use various teaching methods like group discussions and hands-on exercises to manage different learning styles. Start with some warm-up activities and create a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Observing these activities and listening to individual contributions gives you an idication about experience levels. From arrival, get to know your students. Make them feel welcome and build rapport. Create a safe space for them to contribute their thoughts and participate in the practical elements. Ask them to give 100% in class - you can't ask more of anybody. If you genuinely desire them to progress, they'll feel that and respond accordingly.
Be adaptable and responsive to the group; different people have different needs. Be open to questions and concerns and use active listening and questioning techniques to draw out participants' knowledge and experiences. Provide handouts and other resources for future use.
Your sixth sense will grow as your training practice develops and you acquire more experience. You'll be more flexible and prepared for anything. Remember to value rapport building. Everybody likes to feel welcome and accepted. When a new face walks into the room, offer a big smile and introduce yourself, shake hands, introduce them to their colleagues. I offer them a cup of tea or coffee, tell them where the bathroom is, and write the wifi password on the board. It indicates that they're welcome.
How do you structure training to make it engaging? — One big issue is your budget. What training resources do you have? If you have excellent facilities and resources, that makes a difference in overall outcomes. You'll have to be creative if you're working in the bargain basement.
Also, it depends on what you're teaching and what type of organisation you belong to. If you work in a school, college of higher education or university, you'll have access to the students over a long period. That means you can deliver theoretical material and practical material, and they can deliver essays; create pairs, and subgroups, have classroom discussions, debate contentious issues, deliver collaborative projects, produce documents and work on spoken communication through presentations. You can do quizzes and interactive activities. The key is offering diverse alternative activities to make students curious and stimulate their engagement. Where there are opportunities for students to demonstrate autonomy and creativity, these will be the favourite aspects of the exercise. Just make it relatable and support the overall learning objectives. Throughout this developmental phase, you can do formative assessments to measure how well the students progress through the curriculum. By its end, you'll need to create a few mock exams before end-of-year examinations. We call this a summative assessment. 'O' and 'A' level examinations are examples of summative assessments at secondary schools.
If, on the other hand, you work for a small training company that provides intensive 1-5 day classes, your options are limited. Avoid lectures. My presentations last up to ten minutes, and immediately following, there will be an exercise for the students to grasp the key learning points. That is followed by feedback on how well they executed the learning objectives. Once you've explained the purpose of feedback and how it works, ask your students to be objective and offer their colleagues feedback on their work. This feedback benefits the individual, concentrated participation/engagement and substantially contributes to their personal development.
There are key learning models like Kolb (Skills Development Theory) and Bloom's Taxonomy in training. Bloom works well in educational institutions, particularly in IT processes and procedures, where repetition clearly defines success. For example, if you're transferring video files via Wetransfer or Dropbox, there is a set procedure where you add the recipient's email address and select the files to be transferred. This process has little or no creativity; it's all handled for you. I use Kolb extensively in my work because of its use in psychomotor skills. A lot of repetition is involved in developing a skill like driving a car or becoming a chef, joiner, mechanic,a musician, or gymnast. My wife is an excellent seamstress; cutting and sewing are usually similar, but creativity and artistic flair drive her motivation.
Fairness — Seemingly favouring one person more than another. Avoid teacher’s pet syndrome. Who wants to go first? Make sure it’s not always the same person. A pack of cards works well. Have a card for each of the participants. Shuffle and allow them to draw a card. Nobody can accuse you of favouritism.
Health and Safety — Be careful with bags, cables, kettles, and classroom obstacles. Isolate any dangerous areas. Not all training occurs in a classroom. You might work in a garage, a gym, a lab, a kitchen, a submarine, a bus, or a building site. Be cautious and do a full risk assessment in the training space. The trainer is responsible for everybody's safety.
Punctuality — Arrive first and be the host. Welcome students. Stop what you’re doing and make plenty of eye contact when they arrive in the classroom. After class, stay behind and see if anybody has any questions.
How do I stay productive on non-training days? — When I became a trainer, I had no idea how much study was involved. I was teaching IT material that I was familiar with. I knew the what and the how, but the questions revolved around the why. That was awkward because I was lazy and wasn't curious enough to ask why. So, I returned to the drawing board — extensive research was necessary. My senior colleagues were kind and patient and gave me good advice. Break study periods into thirty minute slots, then relax and put your books down. Go for a walk, drink coffee, and clear your head for your next learning session. Note all the questions you found difficult to answer in class and focus on those initially. Some quick wins bulld your confidence. But after that, you'll notice that time and things move quickly, and you've become a lifelong learner, and your bookshelves are heavy with reference books. Be curious. Whenever you find a question that needs an answer, your brain receives a splash of dopamine. You can feel quite high and energised at the end of a productive day. When you study something you love, it's not like work; it's a pleasure. But don't become a slave to your studies. Try to live a balanced life of study and enjoyment.
What background study should I consisder a trainer? — My simple answer would be psychology. It explains so much about your motivations and behaviours. Humans are fascinating. Tune into them and be amazed. As your teaching practice grows, so will your knowledge and experience. There's only one way to develop expertise and that's by experiencing it. You might have to go through your courses a few times and experiment with different styles of engagement. In time, you'll find the sweet spot that works for you and your students. If you receive good, consistent feedback, stick with it until something better emerges. There's a lot of trial and error in training. You'll never know your true potential if you don't experiment a little.
Lunchtime refreshments — If you offer your students a buffet lunch or the session is at their workplace, allow them to eat first. Leaders eat last.
Classroom resources/materials —You might require a flipchart or whiteboard, a TV screen, and HDMI cable. A workbook for each student. Pens, scissors, paper, post-it notes, etc. Create a checklist for everything you need for a specific class. Check your list in anticipation of all pre-class, during, and post-class requirements. Map out the entire process and check your inventory and supplies. Work out in advance any difficulties that could become show-stoppers.
Time Management — As a trainer, you're responsible for setting up the classroom; the required materials must be prepared in advance. There are four key classroom variables to be aware of. How many students do you have? How much time do you have? How much content do you have? How many activities do you have? If you have nine students on a 2-day course, it's different to when you have just two or three students. You'll need more content and more activities. It's helpful to have one or two wall clocks in the classroom; it prevents you from looking distractedly at your phone.
Have a wall clock, and when you announce breaks, point to the clock. Ten minutes is ten minutes by that clock, so please return on time. Everybody then has time to synchronise. Resume at the time stated. If one or two people are late, they'll understand they must return on time next time.
I recently attended an event where the facilitator announced we'd started fifteen minutes late. Every module started with a timing update, how late they were running and how concerned they felt about it. Throughout the day we could have saved twenty minutes without those updates. If you're running behind, best get on with it.
If the end of the day is scheduled for 5 p.m., let them go at 4.30. They'll probably return to their desks to check their emails and be appreciative of the opportunity.
Induction — prepare one - we'll show you how. It provides orientation. You're responsible for H&S, so cover the fire drill and any classroom/venue issues. Wifi password and the location of the bathrooms. Start and finish times - duration of lunch and anticipated schedule. Set expectations for the day.
Imposter Syndrome — I have delivered many conference speeches, and the only thing I don't like is being introduced. Although I believe I am a successful speaker, I feel particularly uncomfortable when it's said in front of an audience. It sets an expectation - one that I can do without. As speakers, we are trained to put ourselves amongst our audience. I work on the principle that I am neither superior nor inferior - just colleagues, but today, it's my turn to speak. The 'successful' word makes me uncomfortable.
How do you overcome imposter syndrome? You only get asked to speak if somebody of influence feels you have value to share. My public speaking skills were born in the voluntary sector: hundreds of evening meetings and thousands of short speeches. Specific negative thoughts or feelings about yourself do not indicate incompetence. Look back through your work and professional experience and see how you have shaped your own and the futures of others. Look at your CV and all of your studies and qualifications. Think of all the workshops and conferences you've attended and helped facilitate. Look how you've constantly updated your skills and sought expert advice from mentors. Perhaps you were born to a humble family on a horrible estate. So what? Who cares? You deserve to be there. Enjoy it!
Engagement — prepare a ‘connection before content exercise’ for the first arrivals.
Activities — Prepare activities that are relevant to the training's subject matter.
Jargon and acronyms – make sure everybody has a glossary of terms. There are many acronyms and jargon in law, medicine, accountancy, IT and other disciplines. If your students don’t understand these terms, they are lost, your communication has failed, and that was an unfortunate waste of time.
Vocal care — Don’t strain your voice. Wear a scarf over your chest and throat in cold weather. If you suddenly can’t work and there’s no substitute, it’s a setback for everybody. Cancelling and rescheduling training is incredibly disappointing and expensive. You’re trebling everybody’s work. Cancelling trains/flights/hotels/classrooms etc. It’s a massive inconvenience for everybody.
Dress code — This is a subjective issue, dependent on many things. My work is in the classroom, and here is my response. I recently watched an interview in which Barack Obama said he had three navy blue and three black suits, ten white shirts, and a selection of plain-coloured ties. He is widely watched and quoted, and as a communicator, the true colours of his wardrobe always work for him on TV. I have my training uniform, too. Smart blue or brown trousers. Smart blue and green shirts with cufflinks. I can mix and match them, which saves a lot of thought. I always wear smart shoes, and never jeans, shorts or trainers.
Cleanliness — Tidy the room, food, drinks, cups, and papers. Clear them away and ensure a tidy environment throughout the day. You don’t want to arrive for tomorrow’s class and find a messy room. Learning in a cluttered space is suboptimal. Ask your students to use the bins provided.
Session length—If you see people leaving your session before the break, it indicates that it’s too long. Plan sessions to last around 45 minutes.
Room temperature — Learning will be inhibited if it’s too hot, cold, stuffy, or humid. Students will feel uncomfortable, so check the temperature regularly. At breaks, open the door to refresh the air circulation.
Refreshments — Teas, coffees, water, and biscuits. Keep milk out of the sun. It goes off quickly and can cause a bad tummy.
Storytelling — As the trainer, you must tell stories of success and be prepared to tell stories of when and where things go wrong. Tell the latter without judgment. Use them as cautionary tales, especially concerning health and safety.
Venue hire — Book rooms in advance if it’s your responsibility. If not, speak to those responsible and check regularly for confirmation.
Training evidence — documentation, signing-in sheets, and feedback forms. Maintain evidence of student engagement. When you hand out feedback forms, leave the room for five minutes so they can concentrate in your absence. Ask students to be objective in their answers. If students are allowed to discuss the course together, they’ll produce groupthink. If there’s a senior person present, their thoughts can influence others.
Feedback by email —The best answer is a gentle ‘No’. You want to establish their thoughts now, just as the class has ended. Otherwise, you'll be chasing them for weeks.
Vince Stevenson - Founder College of Public Speaking 2006 Ltd.
If you have a great attitude and look forward to making a difference in your life, consider joining one of our training the trainer courses or public speaking course soon. It's always possible to improve your skillset and take your work and achievements to a higher level. Three strong reasons to support training
