Session 1C
Dare to be different: the path to exceptional training
Tony Bray, Aquarius International
What differentiates an 'ordinary' trainer from an 'exceptional' one? It's a unique combination of style, flair, talent, content and delivery. Tony Bray has been designing and delivering training for many years and in this session Tony shares some of the secrets he believes can transform a competent trainer into an exceptional one.
The interactive session will cover two main elements - your approach to design and preparation, and the way engage with your delegates once an event starts.
Approach
Nowadays clients expect their trainers to understand the business issues and be able to develop solutions that make a significant business and strategic input.
- To develop the confidence and credibility to do this the trainer should widen their experience, so bringing in ideas and techniques from different disciplines.
- Become the 'short session supremo' - promoting focussed and productive 2-3 hour sessions, which are ideal for CPD, or for dragging 'busy' people away from their jobs to gain new skills.
- Develop more innovative designs for course materials, relying less on text and harnessing the design flexibility of presentation software.
Engaging people
Personal projection is all important, and developing a more flexible style, so you can easily switch between many roles - trainer, coach, mentor or facilitator.
- Create a relaxing atmosphere which encourages discussion, using music and different seating.
- Make the material real and relevant by using delegates' 'live' topics in the event.
- Ask people what they want to achieve, and then devote time to mutual coaching sessions.
- Don't talk at people, but help them to discover things for themselves using games, quizzes etc.
Tony Bray has established an international reputation for designing and running a wide range of training courses and workshops for a variety of industries. With a background in management with British Telecom, Tony had a variety of management roles, including call centre management, statistics, personnel, estates and international relations. His final five years in BT was as a manager in the Management Training College, delivering and managing the implementation of core management training programmes.