Learning means getting out of your comfort zone
There is the idea of different strokes for different folks. One style of training will certainly not suit all and one way of learning may not be the most efficient way. Honey and Mumford learning styles are described as the following; activists, who are described as: have-a-go learners; reflectors, who are tell-me learners; theorists, who are convince-me learners; and pragmatists, who are show-me learners.
For a successful training programme both the trainer and participant must be prepared and willing to get out of their comfort zone. A buoyant trainer faced with an introverted reflective group will need to curb somewhat his or her level of energy to avoid overpowering and losing the audience. While a go-hung group who want to launch straight in may switch off to too much theory.
The nature of what is being taught needs to be taken into consideration. No matter how many times you read a recipe or watch Jamie Oliver cook a dish, only once you go through the experience of handling the ingredients, adjusting the temperature and adding the seasoning and spices – can the real learning of how to cook a dish take place. Some learning needs to be hands on rather than reading, watching and reflecting in your own time – fact.
An area of training which always gives rise to heated debate is soft skills training. Personally it is a too simple term for describing what these courses offer. The aim is to enlighten, educate, empower and facilitate changes in behaviour through self-awareness. Typically those who need it the most are the ones who refuse to come along or HR will not pay for them. Until its too late and they keep finding themselves missing out on promotions or getting stuck in their career leading to cynicism and unhappiness. Industries such as IT and Engineering are beginning to understand the benefits of personal development courses alongside upgrading technical skills. The performance levels of a self-aware, communicative, emotionally intelligent and positive team are far greater than a group of technically brilliant yet socially challenged individuals.
Most of us at some point in our career will be sent on a presentation course where learning how to present includes the torturous experience of being videotaped and standing up in front of a room of people and stumbling through the learning process. As painful as this may be this is the best way to learn how to present – in front of an audience, self-awareness and doing it.
Alternatively, a class room situation doesn’t have to apply for all types of learning. Take learning a graphic design package. Some people are more than happy to plough through manuals or e-learning solutions. Others will prefer to launch right in and learn through trial and error. The final group are happy to sit in front of a trainer and be taught step by step through classroom exercises in a timed environment.
A training programme must take into account different learning styles and the best trainers are naturally tuned into recognising the most learning style appropriate to the group. This may mean ensuring that in an hour of training, participants listen to 20 minutes of talking, have 20 minutes of visual materials and 20 minutes of doing an activity linked to this information using as many senses as possible. Also important to recognise that learning can take place outside the formal learning environment as a group discussion, tea break or even a learning journal.
This content was supplied by trainer and coach Salma Shah. Visit her website at: www.beyondonline.org
