If you ever attended a seminar or a workshop that’s not interactive, I’m sure you understand what it means to have a long day. Sitting in a classroom or a training hall for hours and the trainer is only speaking you’ll automatically get bored. Some trainers don’t understand how to make corporate training interactive and engaging. Without these two aspects, the training session will not be fun and may end up unsuccessful.
After considering the vitality of interactive corporate training, we decided to let you understand the various ways of making corporate training more engaging. Here are the main ideas you can apply:
1. Integrate Group Activities.
Spending all the time ‘teaching’ your employees will create monotony throughout the training. This makes the trainees ‘leave’ the sessions for you. For a successful workshop, you need to include standard corporate training activities within the sessions.
A great way to do this is by allowing the participants to self-discover solutions to various issues in groups. It creates more fun and a better understanding of the concepts you are teaching when they share personal ideas and understanding. During the discussions, the attendants are also able to exchange individual experiences.
You can consult the internet to get workable ideas on various corporate training activities you can apply during corporate training.
2. Give the Attendants a Chance to Have a Voice.
In any training, you’ll realize that some attendant corporates will engage minimally. Others behave differently because they love to ask questions and share their thoughts. To have successful training, it’s worth including time for discussions whenever you complete an activity. Additionally, you should allow the trainees to give their feedback. You need to be keen to ensure that even the less interactive ones get a chance to speak.
Group discussions are a great way to ensure that those who are shy of addressing the entire group will contribute to the sizable group. More involvement during the training means that the corporates will get more in all the training sessions.
3. Use Relevant Examples During the Training.
Whenever you’re giving examples in any corporate training, ensure to give examples that participants relate to. As a trainer, you are supposed to understand your audience to decide on the examples you will use while training them.
The first thing to consider is the audience’s interests and try to use examples that match their professional profiles.
Whether you are using visual or audio presentations, you need to incorporate augmented reality technology to offer your audience an experience of a real-world environment.
4. Use Well-Prepared Learning/Training Materials.
Someone will say that it’s possible to make up the lesson as you move on but this can never beat a well-designed training. You should take time and research adequately before the training day or time. Participants will enjoy a workshop that is well organized and delivered.
If you are to use a projector, prepare professionally designed PowerPoint slides that have summarized the topic you are delivering. You can also prepare some short notes and print them in pamphlets to distribute to the participants. Providing notebooks is also great because notes will serve as a reference after the training.
At the end of the training, you should award course certificates to the trainees to feel appreciated and recognized.
5. Pedagogy.
This is another way to ensure interactive or engaging corporate training sessions. Any trainer should have an understanding of how your audience learns. This is critical if you want to make the training process fun and engaging.
People have varying learning preferences and abilities. Some learn best by listening, reading, kinaesthetics, and writing. Others will grasp content best when it is repeated. Human beings learn differently with a mix of the above styles.
To bring all the members overboard, you should avoid using a single teaching technique. Diversification ensures that at least each participant will get a concept at some point. For effective diversification, training plans should include:
- Visuals such as PowerPoint slides.
- Vocal teaching time.
- Group work activities.
6. Use a Learning-Friendly Environment.
A lot of attention should be given to the conditions of the room you use for corporate training. Though some people could neglect this point, one needs to be comfortable for better concentration when learning. The room should be well lit to enable the participants to see clearly.
Proper ventilation is another aspect to ensure in a training room/hall. A well-ventilated place has good airflow and hence remains ‘fresh’. You should also look for an effective corporate training layout that allows you to see all the participants and possibly access their locations. The layout should also allow you to move freely within the room.
To avoid last-minute rushes, you should visit the training venue before the training date and confirm the necessary aspects. If you are to use projectors, computers, and laptops, confirm to have a power source within the room. You should organize the venue and avail the required items before the training date.
7. Have Clear Training Objectives.
Many corporate trainers tend to forget to make lesson objectives before they start the sessions. You should share them with the trainees to help them understand what they expect to learn. Objectives give the training participants a sense of direction to avoid getting frustrated when you take them through activities that they cannot relate to the course. You should explain all the objectives at the beginning of the training sessions. Trainers can also refer to these objectives within the training period if they consider it necessary.
Conclusion
We cannot dispute the value of interaction and engagement between the trainer and the trainees. Though it can sound tricky to some of us, it’s always advisable to apply the above ideas whenever you are doing corporate training. And because it may not be possible to cover all possible ways of ensuring a lively training session, it’s good to be creative as a trainer.
When starting the training, begin with an ice-breaker to help set the tone for the workshop and relax the participants. Ice-breaking activities also allow them to interact even when they haven’t met before and have fun.
Don’t make a training session boring by delivering less professionally. Applying the above ways of making corporate training more interactive and engaging will see you delivering an amazing lesson.
