The Reflect & Revise Process

Monica Keaveney discusses how trainers could become even better trainers by regularly reviewing and updating their content and delivery in what she has christened a ‘Reflect & Revise Process’

Benjamin Franklin once said that nothing in this world is certain except death and taxes. I would add something else to that: Change. It’s true in all jobs, and training is no exception. I had the experience of sitting through a course recently which unashamedly sported less than accurate and somewhat antiquated information. The trainer, when questioned about more up to date facts and figures, put on a pretty good show of pretending to know and moved through the area quite smoothly. Alas to the trained eye (pardon the pun) it was unquestionable that he was feigning it.

As a fellow trainer, I felt a sense of camaraderie towards him for coming out of it relatively unscathed, as well as feeling guilty that I recognised his tactic so clearly. In a previous life, I worked as a technical trainer and I would often travel internationally to various customers and clients to deliver training. The above mentioned trainer’s reaction was one that I would have emulated one time, if questioned on a subject that I wasn’t strong on.

One of the roles of a trainer is being a transferor of knowledge that participants seek but simply do not have time to research or learn about themselves. My current role, as an in-house trainer, partially involves taking what is industry specific about a particular area and relaying it in a much more exciting and involved way to participants.

The Importance of Reviewing Your Material

However I have learned that there is a part of the training process that is largely hidden from view and can sometimes be forgotten about altogether. I have nicknamed it R&R: ‘reflect and revise’. As I recall from the learning experience I mentioned above, the trainer’s 9th life slid out of view with a handout which showed a lovely logo and well-know company name at the bottom of each page. The only trouble being that it wasn’t our company name and logo. This is where a travelling trainer loses serious credibility with customers.  While it may not be true, it suggests a complete lack of preparation and planning, as well as giving the customer the impression that they are just another bunch of knowledge seekers. Which, of course they may be, but no group is ever the same and rehashing the same information from the same slides as if reciting a nursery rhyme will not get you repeat business.

To be fair, I am aware that the trouble with being a full time trainer, delivering various courses on a regular basis, is that you are generally so busy delivering and administering training, that it becomes difficult to do anything else. The sardonic brow-lifts, that meet you when a non-training office colleague meets you anytime between nine and five and Monday to Friday, hint at their inference that if you are not in a training environment dispatching knowledge then you must be idling.

Yet, to my mind, the difference between a good trainer and an excellent one is the way they manage that precious time when they are not delivering training. Let me ask you: when was the last time you sifted through all your course material and discarded information that is no longer relevant to that area? When did you last really cast a critical eye over your material and dispose of what you know in your heart is not contributing to the course? I suggest that to ensure you are an excellent trainer, consultant or expert, you absolutely need to schedule time to revise your own material. This too, was highlighted to me recently when one such consultant was questioned on the basis of research that he had cited: his response was dreadfully weak. He didn’t know the source of the research or on what population it was carried out. The simple lesson here is that if you cannot fully source research then you shouldn’t be using it in the first place. Read around your topic or topics, even if you are ‘an expert’.

Admitting Your Ignorance

It’s also good practice to revise your course material to reflect emerging trends or ideas that you might or might not support. If your job is to impart knowledge, then it is also your job not to omit the bits you don’t agree with or those that you don’t fully understand yourself. That is not to say that you must be an expert on all things but you must do the participants the justice of admitting your ignorance.  As per Francis Bacon in The Advancement of Learning: ‘If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.’ Put simply, if you represent yourself to be an expert on all areas, you will be doubted, but if you admit to not knowing something, what you do know will be credited as certain by your listeners.

Pushing Your Comfort Zone

Along with revising your knowledge, you should also revisit the aesthetics of your training style. Even if it’s super, think about how it might be made better with alternative visual aids, role-plays, engaging the participants so much that they actually enjoy themselves. Try to push the boundaries of your comfort zone which can also become known as a regimented rut. Always be open to new ideas and techniques. Think about the way you handled certain situations and try to recall what you think you did well and what you know you didn’t do so well. Then be brave enough to ask and answer yourself why and why not. At the very least, you can learn something from this process of reflective practice, and at best, you could continuously revive both yourself, your material and in turn, your audience. 

Going That Extra Mile

Part of the R&R process, for trainers or consultants who deliver similar material to many different customers, should include doing some background research into the industry and institution you will be delivering to. This means more than knowing the name of the company and having a contact name for your arrival. If possible, get a list of participants and their job titles. Then investigate the job titles and try to familiarise yourself with their daily challenges. Try to come up with specific examples to which they can relate. Another learning experience frustrated me recently, when a consultant kept referring to possible communication breakdown between our sales and marketing departments. The audience did not relate to any such examples because ours is a construction company, and unlike some other industries, the everyday language of it doesn’t include any references to sales or marketing. These people are site-based most of the time. A better consultant would have had the foresight to use a construction-based example such as possible communication breakdown between the architect and the design team.

So while it is not expected that you know everything about your customers business, it is not difficult to find out the basics, if you are willing to invest some time in it. What is their main business? What departments is it made up of? Who are its competitors? What job titles exist within it? If it isn’t feasible, for one reason or another, to get this information in advance, then get it from the participants on the day. Ask them for examples relevant to their jobs which, for the most part, they will be happy to reveal. This has the added advantage of involving them in the course at an early stage, as well as you getting the facts that you need. 

In summary, as with most things, being a better trainer or consultant is about balancing all aspects of the job as equally as you can. This should include revising and reflecting on your methods and materials. My humble advice is to give it a try and watch your ratings shoot up.

Monica Murphy