8 ways to engage a training audience

As an employer, you fully understand the importance of training, and of delivering key information to employees to improve their knowledge and understanding.

Sometimes it might seem that your staff aren’t engaging with your learning and development exercises, but there are some steps you can take to encourage engagement and interest.

Here are some top tips for securing employee buy-in during training, and ensuring your organisation gains maximum value from these sessions:

1. Prepare activities

The inclusion of a group exercise or activity, related to the topic in question, can get employees more motivated and more involved whilst ensuring they remain on task. If workers can have a little fun at the start of the training session, they may be more receptive to the serious points which follow.

2. Create visuals

Rather than simply lecturing the audience, it's worth using visuals - such as a video, slideshow, or presentation - to illustrate your points. These can be made available following the session if employees want to refer to the training for a refresher.

3. Use analogies and metaphors

Particularly when you're talking about complex subjects, it's important to use analogies and metaphors. These analogies and metaphors will help bring your content to life and ensure you deliver the training material in a way people can understand. Remember, the aim is to make things simple and interesting.

4. Ask questions

By asking questions to the training participants, you can get them directly involved. Not only does this help them stay on-task, rather than lose their concentration, but it makes the subject matter more memorable following the session.

5. Discuss personal experience

If you're delivering training sessions, you need to give the impression you know more about the subject matter than other people in the room. Discussing your own personal experience gives you greater credibility, meaning everyone will be more interested in what you have to say. Employees need to feel they can actually learn from the trainer.

6. Follow the 'rule of three'

The 'rule of three' is that concepts or ideas presented in threes are more interesting, more enjoyable, and crucially, more memorable. Examples include 'blood, sweat and tears', 'faith, hope and love' and 'stop, look and listen'. The same can apply to business ideas - key points may stick in people's minds for longer if they are written in threes.

7. Prepare handouts

It's always worth providing a handout during training sessions, to summarise key information and provide a reference point. Employees may wish to make notes on the paper during the session. If you've used a visual display, ensure this is posted online.

8. Keep things concise

If your training session lasts beyond 30 minutes, there's a good chance you'll start to lose people - in mind if not in body. Employees may get distracted and start thinking about other things, or even agitated if they have important work waiting for them back at their desks.

Feeling inspired? Contact us at info@cranmorepark.co.uk to speak to one of our dedicated Event Managers.