Further background information on the topic "Train the Trainer"

It's not that easy to teach people who themselves do an advisory or training job every day. Nevertheless, it is important that trainers are confronted with new structures. A trainer has a variety of working methods and techniques available to them. In a dynamic working environment it is important to educate yourself and keep up to date with new methods and techniques.

Professional competence, humanity, openness and tolerance are basic skills that trainers should bring with them. A teacher should also have pedagogical skills, because adults also need methods for learning. In addition, the participants should be constantly motivated to reflect on what they have learned in a conversation and to exchange ideas about the new content.

TIP: Try to find out what your participants' expectations are. This information helps you to steer the course of the seminar, to deepen some contents, to omit others. In addition to the technical competence, you need the adaptability to make quick decisions and to be able to organize yourself well.

To lead a training or seminar, you should be patient and able to improvise. The participants want to learn on an equal footing and at the same time be offered a safe space for questions and discussions, which must be provided by the trainer.

Authenticity and honesty are part of management. On the one hand, these qualities come across as likeable, on the other hand they give the trainer the opportunity to involve participants as experts in the communication of content. Thus, a seminar becomes a conversation between the knowledgeable and the inquisitive, in which the trainer only has the function of facilitating the conversation, giving input or providing a methodical framework.

Friendliness and communicative skills are qualities that everyone who wants to convey content should have. It should not matter whether the participants are sympathetic or cooperative. Even a non-cooperative participant or a very talkative participant must be treated with equal respect and friendliness. The seminar should be steered in such a way that knowledge acquisition - both theoretical and experiential - is possible for all.

To find out within a very short time how participants feel about the seminar and how cooperative they are likely to be is also one of the basic requirements for leading trainings or workshops. It is essential to have methods to create a space where all participants feel comfortable, where a lively exchange and trial and error are possible. This also means dealing with participants who may represent a personal challenge. Only those who receive positive feedback are asked back again and invited to deliver content.

The seminar "Train the Trainer" of the Management Institute Dr. A. Kitzmann is aimed at all who are preparing for their role as a trainer or who would like to further develop themselves in this function.

Author: Management Institute Dr. A. Kitzmann