Five tips for adding zip to training presentations
If you’re in charge of a required training program and you think the topic is dull, your learners likely will find it dull, too. It doesn’t have to be that way. Even classes on proper hygiene in the company washroom can become engaging training presentations with the right approach. Here are five tips to help.
Start with the title
Which training do you think most likely to get attention: “New Hire Training” or “Everything You Need to Know to Get off on the Right Foot?” It’s such a simple thing to give a class an appealing title, and it can set the tone for the rest of training. Students will enter the class ready to learn something valuable, and you will be more attuned to delivering.
Save reading for a novel
How many training presentations or classes have you attended in which the presenter read exactly what was on the PowerPoint slide? All 50 words per screen? If it was five times, that’s five times too many, because you were probably ready to jab your ear drums with the complementary ink pen. Be a talker and not a reader. PowerPoint should be used in moderation anyway, and slides should be used as reinforcement and not as the main event. The presenter is the main event.
Add some showbiz
It’s so easy and inexpensive to produce short video clips that they can add pizzazz to otherwise mundane subjects. Videos also add another voice to training via the video narrator. Variety can help keep students engaged, and it gives you a short break from talking.
Sprinkle in Q & A liberally
Another way to get a break from talking is by getting students to do more of it. Question and Answer segments are the most casual and unrehearsed part of the presentation – and they are often the most interesting. Q & A time also best demonstrates your expertise, but it’s usually relegated to the last few minutes of the presentation/training. There is no law that says you should not stop often to take questions.
Ask
Gather intelligence on your students before class. Not just demographics, but what they hope to learn. Ask what they expect from class. Ask where they feel they can use the most improvement. This is where Learning Stream registration management software can help. Use the registration process for more than “Who are you?” and “Can you come?”
There’s no such thing as a boring training topic, when delivered well. But there are plenty of boring training presentations. Keep the needs of your audience in mind, and they’ll remember both you and your topic a lot longer.