A checklist for training success

Rick Arthur did a couple important things the other day: He remembered some valuable lessons and he thanked the people who had taught them.

Rick is a copy desk chief at the Tacoma News-Tribune and a coach and trainer with the consulting firm Storyteller Communications. He is a 2003 graduate of API's Train the Trainer program. He recently presented a half-day seminar for editors at MSNBC.com. His Train the Trainer lessons served him well, so he wrote the seminar moderator, Carol Ann Riordan, and the lead faculty member, Alan Weiss, to thank them. In the message, Rick ticked off the lessons from Train the Trainer that guided him in presenting the seminar.

His checklist would be a good guideline for anyone planning to lead a training program. The program was successful, he said, "Because I:

• Got a good night's sleep.
• Had a light but satisfying meal beforehand.
• Prepared my flip charts in advance.
• Stated the intention.
• Repeated, responded and reviewed.
• Used humor, not jokes.
• Used emphatic hand gestures.
• Modulated my voice.
• Used power speaking phrases.
• Presented points in triads.
• Walked around the front of the room.
• Smiled regularly.
• Kept my hands out of my pockets.
• Made eye contact of three to five seconds with each of the participants.
• Easily handled a disruption (a custodian entering the room to see if the chairs for the next session had been delivered).
• Appealed to their rational self-interest.
• Summarized the most important points.
• Issued a call to action.
• And, today, e-mailed an initial questionnaire for feedback."

In his message thanking Alan and Carol Ann for what he learned in Train the Trainer, Rick also summarized the satisfaction that training brings to the trainer: "It's such a reward for me at this stage of my career to give back. The techniques I learned at API allow me to do that as effectively as possible."

Thanks to Rick for such a succinct summary of effective training techniques. And for letting me spread the lesson a little further.