When my son was born it required me to do everything for him. EVERYTHING. Of course, over time that changed, and he became more able to do things himself. I remember the first time he looked at me and said, “mom, I can do it.”
As trainers I think it’s in us to do things for other people. We are helpers by nature.
Our help can sometimes go too far though.
When we work to make things “easy” in training we are robbing our learners of the effortful work that learning requires. You are also making it harder on yourself.
Think about it for a moment. Which of these do you do?
- Over explain concepts
- Tell learners what they’ve covered in prior modules of class
- Explain what learners should take away from activities or exercises
- Hijack debrief discussions with your own insights
- Pass out materials during class
With a little thought and focus you can overcome each of these. They require you to shift your focus from YOU to the LEARNER. The next time you start to pass things out, ask them to come get them.
If you are an over explainer, consider putting your explanations into activities that learners explore. Let them wrestle with ideas and then share them with each other. You listen to make sure they’ve got them right.
If you start to state what has happened during class, turn it into a question. Ask powerful, insightful questions. And then wait.
“What do you recall from yesterday’s class?”
“What are the key take aways from this exercise?”
Talk less. Listen more.
I was told years ago that whoever is doing the most talking is doing the most learning.
So, who is doing the most talking in your classes?
You may feel like you are doing less, but you are doing so much more for your learners.
