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Of course, your trainees won’t become masters of group dynamics immediately after this session, but they can learn the importance of observing, and reacting to, the dynamics in their own future sessions.Growing one’s personal toolbox is a continuous personal development activity for a trainer, and this session should pique their interest beyond the starter kit.You will also want to ensure that you select the right people to be in the room and that the group is the correct one for your train the trainer program.

Practice makes perfect – that is why you will see two occasions in this course where participants get the opportunity to design and deliver their own training sessions.

In contrast to that one, in this session, trainees will practice essential verbal skills, such as Probing, Rephrasing, Redirecting questions and comments, and so on.The truth is, many of the subjects that we touch upon this day can be their own subjects of advanced train the trainer events. Debriefing an experiential learning exercise, group facilitation and team dynamics – each are highly complex topics, and covering them in-depth during a single day is not a realistic endeavour.

This is a very practical session where trainees are presented with the variety of different training modules they might use in a training session, such as agenda review, collecting expectations, group discussions, coffee breaks, etc. Discuss each item briefly, and share best practices on how to calculate and manage timing during training design and delivery. The only exception is the main exercise which can be left as a placeholder at this point since the next session is about Exercise Design.

If you have already chosen a different one, just switch to the model you prefer in this block of the train the trainer event. What is important is that your own trainer team must be confident and knowledgeable in using the learning styles framework you choose.

The goal is fairly straightforward here: get a real delivery experience after trainees have built up their session design, and then provide detailed feedback on their performance so they know what to focus on for their Final Training at the end of the course.

Firstly, make sure that your trainees take the time to reflect upon the week’s program and share their feedback on how to improve your train the trainer course for the future.Every training course needs a proper framing, and it is no different with a train the trainer event. This is the right moment to present the agenda and discuss the expectations you have of your trainees. Make sure also to discuss the expectations the trainees themselves have of the course.Using questions is essential during a training session, especially during a debriefing session. Give an overview of good questioning techniques and how to ask questions properly.

In an increasingly competitive and distributed working environment, it’s integral that skill gaps and team development projects are approached intelligently and efficiently.

It makes sense to put an extra accent on the method that trainees will use during their Practice Delivery. In our case, flip charts are used, so by the end of the session trainees should have prepared flip chart sheets for the Practice TrainingStart with a template or follow the train the trainer examples and outline above to get a sense of what needs to be included. You will want to ensure to include a mix of training and activities that not only teach your group the skills they need to be effective trainers but keep them engaged. There is a separate session on Day 4 to introduce further facilitation techniques to expand trainees’ ‘facilitation toolboxes’. Those techniques are considered ‘hard skills’ where the focus is on understanding the process of running an activity (Brainstorming, Brain writing, Six Thinking Hats, 1-2-4 Dialogue, etc.). In either case, there are a lot of interesting questions about how to build up an effective program. We have had the opportunity to observe a wide range of train the trainer programs at several international NGOs, and from them we have drawn some best practices outlined in the next chapters.

Trainees should co-deliver in pairs, and you should make sure that each pair has a trainer from your team observing the session. Depending on the number of your trainees – in our case, 16 trainees – this probably requires two rounds of delivery.When dealing with a group, it is essential to know that most people learn and acquire knowledge in their own way. To fully involve everyone in a training session, trainers need to create an environment where every participant is able and welcomed to learn.

So, this day is dedicated for all the soft trainer’s skills that make a well-designed session run smoothly in the classroom where flesh-and-blood participants interact with each other and the trainer.There are a lot of small details to pay attention to when running a session, ranging from logistics issues (making sure that all materials needed are taken care of, the room is set up, and other common issues) to body language during the session. These are the final suggestions for trainees before they start their first Practice Training Delivery!

In general, the Learning Objectives should come out of the needs assessment. It frequently happens that you can’t address every need and expectation, but that’s perfectly okay. It is better to have fewer goals that are attainable than have too many goals and shift the topic every 15 minutes.Exercises are an integral part of any experiential learning activity. While designing effective experiential learning exercises requires a lot of practice and experience, you need to start somewhere.

The best train the trainer courses and programs may contain bespoke materials tailored to the industry, organization, and group the trainer is working with, though there are some key elements that should be present in every train the trainer course and which you should consider when designing or building your course.

Just discovered this guide due to the magic of SEO. I am an experienced trainer building a TTT plan for the first time, and I must say this is a wonderful article.

The way the room is set up will influence the interaction within the group and the participants’ learning process. For instance, having the session’s flip charts on the walls around can help remind participants of the essential theory of a session. A set of flip charts full of post-it notes created by participants themselves during exercises can provide a sense of creativity and progress.The train the trainer model provides an effective strategy to equip employees and subject matter experts with new knowledge on how to teach others and how to foster an environment where everybody feels welcome to improve their skills. If the group of trainees will be working together in the future, then you might want to put an extra accent on team building. Also, if you want them to have stronger peer support at the beginning of their ‘career’ as a trainer, it is useful to give the bonding process a boost. Lastly, you can benefit a lot from a short session that gives a shared baseline for your preferred method of giving feedback. People often have very mixed views about feedback, so it’s useful to get everyone on the same page and use one (or a few) models consistently during the event. Whether you choose ‘I-statements’ or any other method, the point is to have a short and effective practice session.There are also practical combinations of the techniques above, such as the 1-2-4 Dialogue method, idea generation techniques and decision-making techniques. You may also introduce facilitation techniques that help to manage bigger groups, for example, World Café, Rotating Flipcharts and Open Space Technology.

In addition, if your trainees are also expected to coach or mentor other people in the future during their career as a trainer, you may dedicate more time on how to use powerful questions effectively in coaching / mentoring situations.Offering individual free time is one way to go; however if your setting allows, it is best to organise a group leisure activity – something that keeps trainees both physically and mentally busy (e.g. some kind of outdoor activity).

In the case of 4MAT, the emphasis is more on ‘learning preferences’ than ‘learning styles’, which helps to avoid labelling learners with a particular learning style. Regarding training design, the underlying idea is very similar to the Kolb cycle. When designing a training session, try to incorporate the complete 4MAT cycle for each learning block you have.When people from different backgrounds and life experiences meet to go through an intense learning event, there will inevitably be various reactions. Some might sit back, others will fully engage, and there will be some who will adopt blocking roles. This is a natural response to some sessions or specific tasks, so it is important that trainees be prepared to handle such situations.

Before jumping into the detailed design of this day’s agenda, let’s have a quick look at adult learning. There are a few general principles that can help you orientate yourself while designing your training sessions for your train the trainer course.It’s not enough to be an expert – train the trainer is great for improving management and leadership teams and ensuring that important training and skillsets trickle down through an organization successfully.

Not everyone tasked with delivering training has all the skills to be a great trainer. Here are some of the most important skills you need to be a trainer and to deliver effective training, whether you are running a train the trainer course or delivering standard training to a team.I just want to say thank you for writing this best article. My request is please add more articles. I already bookmark your site and waiting for your new informative article In our ever-changing world, one of the biggest challenges organisations face is how to stay on top of their game while adapting to new markets, new requirements and environments. To stay competitive, their workforce needs to be up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies, so it is not uncommon for employees to attend trainings in the workplace. I came to this website hoping there was a ‘training’ I could take to become a trainer. Is there something like that available? Another questions is this: You want an organization to invest to train their own people to become trainers but then on what subject? There are so many things people can be trained on. When training someone to become a trainer, don’t they first need to be experts in a particular field to start training on that? e.g. suicide prevention; public speaking, media training etc.

After pairs and topics are set, trainees can start preparing for the Final Training Delivery, which will be a 2-hour training session. There is half a day dedicated for preparations. Make sure to have a mentor assigned to each pair who will keep an eye on the training design process. Mentors help whenever trainees are stuck and should make sure that everyone gets a sound training agenda designed by the end of the day.

It might be tempting for you to try squeezing in more content with another session in the morning. However, our experience is that trainees do reach the tipping point by this day, and some real mental rest helps them to process the learnings of the course so far.Before you start preparing for any training project, you need information in order to know exactly what is expected of you. You need to understand what the needs of the participants are: what are their current situations, and what do they want to improve?

Team building activities can make all the difference when it comes to job satisfaction, employee engagement and organizational success. But even with the best intentions, it’s not sufficient to simply bring a group of people together. Team building activities can prove to be the missing link that will help your group feel more connected and able to collaborate more effectively. But how do you choose the right activity, and where do you get started when trying to encourage team bonding? We’re here to help with this collection of simple and effective team building activities! Building a highly effective team takes effort, consideration, and the deployment of a thoughtful group process. Remember…Importantly, each trainee should have an opportunity to facilitate a group conversation during the session. While they facilitate, they should apply the various facilitation techniques they have learned. I hope you enjoyed this train the trainer design guide and that it gave you some inspiration. Keep in mind, there are a lot of different options for designing and running a train the trainer program. If you have a coaching / mentoring program running throughout the course, which I definitely recommend, you may close the day with optional coaching or mentoring sessions to provide individual or peer group support.

Optionally, you may also introduce the VAK (Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic) Learning Styles concept as a supplementary theory to help trainees in thinking about how to keep a session interactive for participants with varying learning styles.

You will find a detailed breakdown of a 7-day, intensive train the trainer program including essential theories and concepts, practical tips and activities. And all this with a detailed explanation of why the course is designed as it is.Your trainees should have practical working time to design the main exercise in their Practice Delivery, and your team of trainers must mentor them and give useful tips on designing exercises that achieve Learning Objectives.

Ultimately, it is your own organization’s needs that should determine what the best formats are for you to teach capable new trainers. For this reason, you should not spare running a proper needs assessment before jumping into the exciting work of designing a course agenda.Thank you so much for this great blog and for the 7 days agenda template. I had the opportunity to adapt it for a session of 9 consecutive days and everything was very useful to me.

Table and chair arrangements likewise affect the learning process, as do the kinds of settings you use for group work and individual presentations. It is essential to have enough room for people to do interactive exercises in groups without feeling chained to their seats.This is just the beginning of their journey as a trainer, and now it is time to point out the various development opportunities they will have in your organisation.

If you prefer a different method to set goals, then go ahead with that one. The essence of this session is the importance of just setting goals, even if they’re based on a different model.

That a very good outline but I need some clarity on this. Do you think that people/organizations will invest their 7 days consecutive for this extensive training program?. In my experience, nobody can afford such a long training program.

What you really want here is to give them instantly actionable knowledge and tips in order to make their deliveries properly interactive. After they graduate from this starter train the trainer course and have already delivered a few dozen training sessions of their own, then it is probably the right time to dig deeper into the subtler aspects of experiential learning and group dynamics. By then, your trainees will have their own real-life experience to reflect upon.

Here’s one tip that might come handy: if you truly want to give space for your trainees to recharge, don’t brief about tomorrow’s Final Training Delivery details yet; save it for the afternoon. Fresher minds will be more effective in tackling the job.David Kolb created his learning styles model more than 30 years ago. His experiential learning theory works on two levels: a four-stage cycle of learning and four separate learning styles. Train the trainer courses can vary in length, scope, and design, though we hope you can take some inspiration from seeing a full intensive train the trainer course and build a program suitable for your needs. Effective online tools are a necessity for smooth and engaging virtual workshops and meetings. But how do you choose the right ones? Do you sometimes feel that the good old pen and paper or MS Office toolkit and email leaves you struggling to stay on top of managing and delivering your workshop? Fortunately, there are plenty of online tools to make your life easier when you need to facilitate a meeting and lead workshops. In this post, we’ll share our favorite online tools you can use to make your job as a facilitator easier. In fact, there are plenty of free online workshop tools and meeting facilitation software you can… When we learn as adults, it is a different experience than when we were children. We are better able to make decisions, draw conclusions, and recognise patterns. We are less likely to do something just because, because we expect logical reasons and arguments to do it. Malcolm Knowles, an expert in adult learning, identified four principles that help us create an environment where adults learn best. These are situations with which most everyone has some previous personal experience, so a structured sharing session can be the right approach to leverage trainees’ existing knowledge.I think it boils down to organisational needs: If you need to do a lot of training internally at your organisation, then it can pay off to train skilled trainers within your organisation. Plus there are a few more additional benefits: people undergoing a thorough train-the-trainer program are versatile assets in organisation, especially when it comes to supporting new change initiatives and running org dev projects. Usually, over a certain size, this becomes a worthy avenue to pursee – but indeed not for everyone.

Thank you for the question, Shannon! At this point, we only can support you with a session planner software (and a wide range of training and facilitation resources) for train-the-trainer course, but we don’t deliver the train-the-trainer programme described above. But I’d be glad to recommend some trainers from our network who deliver similar course – please reach out to [email protected] for specific recommendations on it.

Sometimes a training is not going to fulfill certain needs, and this is something that must be considered by, and communicated early to, your trainees!If your participants sit in a theater-style arrangement during a whole session, sooner or later you will hear snoring sounds. Likewise, if you only switch between plenary discussion and individual work, your participants might get bored of the monotony. That is why your trainees should be aware of the most frequently-used methods to facilitate interaction within a group:

Now, consider that your trainees are on their fourth day of a really intense learning experience, and they still have their final training delivery session in front of them.

It is always useful to have some time dedicated to team building before things get serious and the intense learning begins. Team building activities enhance group cohesiveness and help participants get to know each other. It is often an integral part of training courses because it creates a safe, welcoming atmosphere and helps participants check in to the event mentally. This is an important learning point for your trainees.

The purpose of train the trainer is to not only share skills with the group being trained but enabling those people to then pass those skills on to even more people. Train the trainer teaches people the skills they need to be effective trainers and facilitators so they can pass on their training to others effectively.In our example template with 16 participants, we have split the Final Training sessions into two rounds of 2-hour deliveries, each followed by a round of feedback. You may even decide to record the session if you want to provide really thorough feedback by your whole team of trainers. Lastly, it is highly useful for your participants to experience a few practical team building activities themselves so they will already have a few familiar tricks up their sleeves when they need a team building game for one of their future sessions. A lot of training sessions call for a lot of trainers. Thus, unless you have an endless budget to hire external trainers, you might be better off training your own internal experts who can transfer skills and knowledge to other employees. A competent and skilled group of internal trainers will also help a lot in supporting any future change and transformation initiatives that your organisation might undertake. Additionally, having internal trainers allows an organisation to pass on domain or organisation-specific knowledge from experienced employees to newer ones.You may provide them with a detailed survey soliciting answers around the various aspects of the event and their learning journey. These evaluations should give you useful insights on how to adjust the agenda and scope of your train the trainer event next time.

You can have shorter events, or you can have a more extended program scattered over several weeks. You may go more in-depth on certain topics, such as learning styles or group dynamics, and you may set aside some topics as follow-up rounds in the form of an advanced train the trainer course.While there is no single best way to design a train the trainer event for each of the categories above, we have created a high-level template agenda to show the essential topics we would include in a train the trainer program over the course of a week.

There is so much that must be done for an engaging training session beyond just a trainer stepping on the stage, sharing knowledge and facilitating exercises. A lot of this is ‘soft’ stuff and comes with years of practice.In the course agenda above, you will find the most essential elements of a train the trainer program designed into a coherent flow. Let’s see below how it is structured and what purpose each session has to offer:

These are key principles that should always be kept in mind when designing training sessions, so getting these clarified early in the training program gives a useful reference point. It is best to do this exercise in small groups of 4-6 participants. This allows sufficient time for everyone to practice presenting, and you can also assign each ‘audience’ member to observe a different aspect of the presenter’s performance (e.g. body language). Similarly to the Practice Training three days before, the scheduling of these sessions depends on the time you have available and the size of your team. Trainees should again deliver in pairs to practice the experience of co-delivery, and it is essential that one trainer from your team is there to observe and give feedback on the performance.

I was of late ran over your website and have been perusing along. I thought I would leave my first remark. I don’t realize what to say aside from that I have delighted in perusing. Decent blog. I will continue going to this online journal frequently. The Kolb cycle emphasizes the cognitive process of how people go through an experience to form patterns based on that experience. Therefore, the Kolb learning style theory is presented as a learning cycle with four stages where learners should go through the full cycle. In general, this intro day may range anywhere from 1-2 hours to a full day. If you need to do thorough team building and want to take advantage of the initial presentation activity, then you may take the whole day. Otherwise, you can just do the essential Introduction and Expectations sessions to kick off the course.

You’re welcome, Kishani, great to see that you’ve found the guide useful! Feel free to use the concepts presented here and refer back to SessionLab. Wishing best with your next sessions!For the first two categories – beyond some degree of subject matter expertise – you will need to be able to present and facilitate effectively. This is why we have included one session to focus on presentation skills practice and another session to cover the most essential facilitation skills.As we often do, in this introductory train the trainer course we will focus on actionable advice, so the emphasis is on giving practical tips and suggestions for each visualisation method.Remember, the people you train to become trainers themselves will make a tremendous impact on your organisation. They will likely train hundreds of people each year. That adds up to thousands of employee hours spent on training. Makes sense to ensure they will be trained by someone competent, right?

During this intro day, participants are given the opportunity to present what they prepared. You might even brief them to facilitate a short discussion afterward so that you get an initial idea of what their facilitation skills are like. And the big benefit is that it enables you to tailor the next day’s skill development session to their specific needs.

We have also included an optional exercise for the welcome day – an opportunity for trainees to get on the stage and a chance for you to assess their skills. This exercise requires that you give trainees an assignment well before the course starts – to prepare a short presentation or knowledge transfer session on a topic of their expertise.This first one is only a short practice (a 45-60 minutes training module) but should be sufficient for your participants to apply training design principles, practice the art of delivering in front of other participants, and get candid feedback on their performance. Teams rotate the envelopes and generate guideline cards for handling other types of disruptive participants. During the evaluation round, team members review the guideline cards generated by other teams and identify the top five suggestions. If you are new to the concept, a train the trainer course can be difficult to get your head around. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions associated with the train the trainer approach.One of the beauties of a train the trainer course is the ‘meta aspect’ of each session. Whatever you do as a trainer during a particular session does not only serve the purpose of that specific session, it also models to your trainees how to do certain things as a trainer.Facilitation skills are essential for any session, but especially for in-classroom trainings filled with human interaction. The focus of this session is to practice the ‘soft skills’ aspect of facilitation, that is, the various small tools and methods that a trainer may use to interact with the group, facilitate a group conversation or lead a debriefing session. For this template agenda, we would go with either the Kolb cycle or 4MAT. We have found that they work well for teaching structured agenda design at train the trainer events where there are time constraints, as in our course agenda. Perhaps you need to design short, 2-3 day programs aimed at equipping subject matter experts with training design and facilitation skills. Or maybe you are preparing a 2-week-long intensive train the trainer course to develop competency in designing and delivering soft skill training sessions.

Trainees should also understand that it is their responsibility to communicate their own needs for the needs assessment and to establish good communication with the sponsor / requestor of the training.

In this detailed session plan about Training Design, you will find a specific example with detailed steps on how to run a learning block on Learning Styles. Your trainees should get the opportunity to start designing their own session plan, familiarise themselves with either the Kolb cycle or the 4MAT cycle, and then re-design their own session outline based on what they have just learned.Beware: trainees still primarily need to be active participants in your course and not just observe the process from the outside. This is important to emphasise whenever you want to shift attention to the ‘meta-process’ of a particular session.

Possibly the biggest misuse of learning style theories is to label learners with a particular learning style. This often encourages them to resist certain exercises that they consider not aligned with their learning style.I am happy you take pride in what you compose. This makes you stand way out from numerous different authors that push ineffectively composed substance.

You may dive deeper into individual learning styles, although it is important to note that the key takeaway here is the balanced design of a training session. Primarily, the role of the Kolb cycle is to provide a framework for you and your trainees to include activities in a training plan in a way in which participants will have the opportunity to engage with a concept in different ways.

The goal of this session is to give an introduction to the visualisation tools and techniques participants may use when delivering their training sessions. It is worthwhile to introduce the most common practices for using visuals in a training session (flipcharts, whiteboards, and PowerPoint or Keynote). To keep a group of participants engaged throughout a training session, a trainer needs to have a solid toolkit of facilitation techniques at hand. Using different group facilitation techniques is essential to having a balanced interaction during a training session. Lastly, the Final Training Deliveries will take place in two rounds where everyone will be the trainer in one of the rounds and a participant in the other.