Telling is NOT Training

Perhaps the greatest myth about training, other than the statement that "anyone can train," is the lie that all you have to do is tell your participants what to do and then conclude your training session.  This falsehood is frequently recognized by the horrible words, "data dump."  This phrase implies that students should just open up their notebooks, listen to the "master" expound on his or her knowledge, shut up and try to learn from the magnificent words coming down to you from above.  Sound like a workshop you have attended recently? Telling is NOT training, never has, never will be. So then, what makes for an excellent training course?  Here is what I look for:

1. An experienced and well-trained facilitator. Outstanding trainers may be born, but they most certainly have been trained and have ample experience in their profession. Run for the hills if your instructor has little or no experience or worse, is someone who declares that their PowerPoint presentation has over 200 slides for that one hour workshop.
2. A working knowledge of Adult Learning Methodology. You want a facilitator who understands that adults want to be involved in their training, recognizes that participants have experience to share and someone who has taken the time to design activities where participants can actually practice their newly learned skills. Run screaming from your workshop if your instructor begins the session by stating that there will be no questions allowed and that the operations manual is open in front of you for you to "absorb."
3. There is an agenda and learning objectives are present. A well-trained adult educator understands that people learn best when they know where they are going and that their trainer has a plan to get them there. No one can ever claim to be a trainer if they do not explain what they want to accomplish in the training session BEFORE you ever start any training session. Abandon your workshop room as rapidly as possible if your instructor starts the session by stating that "We will be here for a long time, there will be no breaks and lunch is something you can forget for today."  (Believe me, that is a statement I have heard several times in my career.)
4. Your training session will have both a level one and level two evaluation. Great trainers fully understand that they are in the business of producing results from their training. They design tests and evaluations that measure how well their learning objectives have been accomplished. Feedback on their own performance and evaluations that measure learning success for their students are mandatory elements of great training courses. Leave any workshop immediately that does not evaluate. All you will learn is that your instructor is a fraud. Worse, you will most certainly have wasted your day.

These are just four of the most important signs that can help you separate the true training professionals from the frauds. Telling has never been and never will be training. Too many people call themselves trainers when they are, in fact, merely trying to play one at your expense. Never put up with poor training and never sit still when someone states that the next "data dump" is scheduled for all day next Tuesday. Until we weed out the training imposters "Death by PowerPoint" will occur more frequently than we can ever imagine..