Communication When Most of Us

Communication

When most of us see someone giving a training class, it may look effortless. but, there are many elements that go into putting together a training class. We may only see a person standing in front of the class training on a subject that holds our interest or one that we are required to take perhaps because of a job requirement. Planning a training class does not have to be a laborious task. As long as trainees are aware of everything involved, it can be smooth sailing. The training must know the type of training format he will use as well as how to diffuse and difficulties along the way while training.

There are three different types of training plan formats: descriptive format, outline format and multicolumn format. Each type of format mentioned can be quite useful depending on the situation. All three training plan formats include five important elements which are the class objectives, the training content, the time needed for each module of the training, the training method, and the materials to be used. The descriptive training format is somewhat like a narrative. It includes all of the five elements, but a detailed description is written under each such that it reads as a paper instead of a training plan. This type of training format is extremely beneficial to the first time trainer or to a trainer with very little experience. If the training gets lost or forgets the path he was heading on, all he need to is look at his training format as this type outlines everything in a step-by-step format.

The outline training format is detailed, but not as much as the descriptive type format. This training format everything is organized in outline form. Not only is everything in the form of an outline, the amount of time spent of each segment is listed in order to keep the trainer on schedule. This type of outline is beneficial because it is designed to keep the trainer on track of the training session. It would also be beneficial for a mid level trainer to use. While it does not go into explicit detail on every task as the descriptive format does, it is helpful in case the trainer loses his stream of thought of if he sees that the training session is straying of course.

The multicolumn training plan format is very structured. In fact, it is the most structured of the three training formats and it lists all of the training elements in four columns. The time is listed on the left column followed by a column titled Content, one titled Methods and the last column with the title, Resources. This method appears to be a slight combination of both the descriptive and outline methods but it is in a different, more structured format. This type of training format would most likely be beneficial to the seasoned trainer. All three training formats are beneficial depending on the trainer and the class being taught. However, the type of training format isn't the only thing the trainer must deal with. There are times when a trainee can present conflict in the training class which causes unwanted disruption. The trainer must be familiar with the various methods of dealing with conflict.

In each training class, there will be different types of trainees. The quiet type does not contribute to the class at all; the talkative trainee tries to talk more than the trainer which disrupts the class; the know-it-all thinks he can do a better job of training the class than the trainee; the negative trainee criticizes everything the trainer does; and the aggressive trainee does not possess the social skills to converse appropriately or argue constructively. In each case, the trainer must know how to handle the situation.

When dealing with the quiet trainee, the trainer should not try to force the person to speak. He must realize that everyone learns differently and not place this type of trainee in a situation where he feels uncomfortable. The talkative trainee should be reigned in so that he or she does not dominate the class. Politely ask this type of trainee to give someone else a chance to answer any questions. The know-it-all trainees should be acknowledged, but they should not be encouraged to continue talking. The negative trainee should be empathized with and then steered in a positive direction. The aggressive trainee needs to know upfront that their behavior is unacceptable.

Sometimes trainees can pose a potential threat to the trainer. This is especially the case with the aggressive trainee. In situations like this, it is imperative that the trainee is familiar with conflict resolution. The trainer cannot be non-confrontational with the aggressive trainee because the person will take over the class. It is also a good idea not to be confrontational with this type of trainee as it is already known that he lacks the appropriate social skills and will only get angrier when confronted. The best approach when dealing with confrontation is to use the cooperative conflict management style.