Train the trainer: Demystified
By TM Mazin Hussain
With the dawn of a new Toastmasters year a new set of leaders have taken up the mantle of leading our clubs to new and greater heights. To equip these leaders with the tools and skills that they will need is the task of the trainers at the Officer Training Program.
But who gives the trainers the skills they need to train the incoming leaders? That is the task of the Toastmasters Leadership Institute (TLI) and its facilitators at the Train the Trainers program. So what exactly happens at these Train the Trainers programs? Here’s what we found when we attended the first such program that marked the first event by TLI for the 2017/2018 Toastmasters year.
But what is training?
Kicking off the program with its first session was DTM Trishma Pinto who gave us an introduction to conducting effective training programs. She opened her session by asking us, “What is training?” Training is learning that’s provided in order to improve performance on the present job. As trainers, we aim to help trainees practically implement that knowledge immediately.
She then asks, "What makes a training program ineffective?" To answer the question, the audience was divided into groups and asked to prepare 12 points. The groups were formed and they frantically began formulating answers.
Once the groups had prepared their answers, the leaders dashed on stage to share their answers. Some of the answers we heard are: not incorporating feedback, not identifying the needs of the trainees, not starting on time, the trainer not being knowledgeable on the role, poor presentation skills, and lack of engagement.
Once these points were presented, DTM Trishma addressed how to overcome these points. Adding onto this was the next group activity where the audience was once again asked to return to their groups and share four stories from the team about effective trainers.
After the teams shared their stories, DTM Trishma shared some common points the trainers had that made them effective in all of the stories:
- Audience participation
- Humor
- Not depending on PowerPoint
- Having a positive attitude
- Sharing stories rather than statistics
- Creating a team spirit
- Utilizing unique techniques that use all the senses
- Effective results that actually help them
Having shared these points, DTM Trishma asked the audience to shout out their answers as to what makes a good trainer. The answers that came from the audience ranged from high energy to empathy. Having received these brief answers, DTM Trishma shared her own answers, which were: communication skills, enthusiasm for learning, people skills, organizational skills, research & problem-solving abilities.
Afterward, DTM Trishma asked, “What is the difference between children & adult learning?” One answer from the audience was that adults always ask what’s in it for them and as such, they can argue with your thoughts. Another answer was that adults believe that they know everything whereas children accept that they know nothing.
DTM Trishma then shared a few points that are her answers to the question:
- Children let others tell them what here supposed to do whereas adults decide for themselves what they will learn
- Children believe they’ll utilize in the future whereas adults expect to utilize the knowledge immediately
- Children are open to learning but adults are more closed as they believe they are experts
Understanding these differences is crucial for a trainer because in Toastmasters, our programs will be aimed at adults and not children. But the most important aspect of an effective training program is that it follows a learner-centric approach.
Following such an approach means creating an environment dedicated to learning, focusing on outcomes & relevance that shows how trainees will benefit, make training active and interactive, provide positive feedback, and ensure that trainees can apply what they learn to their lives immediately.
DTM Trishma concluded her session by sharing a few tips to conduct a successful training program:
- Address what’s in it for the audience,
- Have interesting slides,
- Keep the knowledge simple,
- Share ideas,
- Have hands on experience,
- Have group discussions,
- Encourage problem-solving by throwing problems and asking for their solutions,
- Work one-on-one with trainees
Meeting procedures
Following DTM Trishma’s session, we saw TM Asgi Noordeen take the stage to share with everyone on how to conduct an effective meeting. He opened by sharing that all of us seek success because it raises our confidence and helps us have the right skills to seize whatever opportunity comes at us. The recipe for success is made of communication skills and leadership skills.
Toastmasters helps build these skills and the most important part of this experience is the educational meetings. But an ineffective meeting can kill these skills.A good meeting is one that helps members grow and will attract new members. So how can we ensure that our clubs have good meetings? The answer TM Asgi shared, is by adhering to five basic principles.
Firstly, an effective meeting is one that has a clear purpose. With any type of meeting, we must ask what should be achieved at this meeting. This is because an effective meeting is one that has a clear purpose. But once we have identified this purpose, we must ask ourselves if it is even necessary to attend the meeting.
But you cultivate communication and leadership skills without being at a venue? TM Asgi argues the answer to that is no. You need an audience to experiment with to cultivate your leadership and communication skills. This is the purpose of a Toastmasters educational meeting sand why it’s necessary to attend them.
The second aspect of an effective meeting is preparing a detailed agenda. This begins by setting an appropriate time for meetings that all members can meet. When preparing the agenda, members of all skill levels should have roles. Afterwards, the agenda should be shared well in advance to inform members what roles they play.
Additionally, the agenda should clearly list the names of the role players and the specific location of the venue. Finally, the agenda should remind members to bring manuals, paper to write notes and pens.
The third aspect of an effective meeting is that assignments are clearly defined and known well in advance. This can vary depending on the culture of the club. Nonetheless, these assignments should be followed with dignity. Thus, each role players should be informed of their roles in advance. Once informed, they must practice and prepare for their roles.
The fourth aspect of an effective meeting is that it leaves a great first impression. You only have 11 seconds to give the first impression. As such, we only have 11 seconds to gain a new member. TM Asgi shared that to do so, experienced members shouldn’t be in their groups and ignore new members. If we invite guests, they should be made to feel welcome.
Additionally, the basics such as seating arrangements, air conditioning, and lighting equipment should be perfect. Furthermore, there should be no internal or external noise. Most importantly, every piece of equipment should be working. These basics will either make or break your chances at leaving a good first impression.
The fifth aspect of an effective meeting is to acknowledge that the facilitators have a key role to play. The facilitators are the many roleplayers that run the meeting. They must come early, look at their best, and have everything in place. They must also ensure that transitions between segments are smooth. Ultimately, it is the facilitators that play a key role of appreciating the audience.
TM Asgi concluded his session by saying, “Always behave like a duck. A duck moves smoothly across the water but if you look underneath it’s paddling furiously. This is how our meetings should be.”
How to add dazzle to your meetings
Following a refreshing tea break, we saw DTM Chrishanthi Emmanuel take the stage. Her session was focused on adding something extra to club meetings on top of the basics TM Asgi shared during the previous session.
She opened by sharing something she’s uncomfortable with at SpeechCraft programs: the coordinators correcting people while they’re carrying out roles. DTM Chrishanthi argued that it’s best to train people to do their best without them expecting that they will be corrected while carrying out roles.
However, if misunderstandings occur during a SpeechCraft program, then these become the norm if a club is born afterward if not corrected. Thus, it’s important to correct mistakes early. But when correcting mistakes we should explain why things are done the way they are. You shouldn’t simply say, “No! You can’t do it like that! That’s absolutely wrong!”
She then went on to share that its important that we pay attention to the little details of our meetings. For example: during an awards ceremony there is glamorous decor but no one thought about who would be handing out the award to the winners. This is how missing a tiny detail can derail a great event, including a meeting.
So which details must one look into to setup a great Toastmasters club meeting? To set the environment for a great meeting, you need to pay attention to the following:
- Role players must be well prepared
- Meetings must be conducted and proceed with dignity and decorum
- Put in place an environment in which high standards are expected
DTM Chrishanthi then went on to say that when we invite people to become members of Toastmasters, we must ensure that they grow both as a speaker and as a leader. And this growth should transition to growth as a person, which would be visible as the person takes up a role. These are the values that are at the heart of a good Toastmasters meeting.
But how do you make a meeting enjoyable? For starters, you should know the rules and then break a few. But only break the rules once you know the rules perfectly.
Secondly, you shouldn’t sacrifice quality for entertainment or as DTM Chrishanthi says, “You might find you’re running a carnival rather than a club meeting.” But most importantly, you shouldn’t be afraid to try new things and of failure.
So how can you add variety to your meetings? A few ideas DTM Chrishanthi shared with us were:
- Try different seating arrangements like a semicircle.
- Try a different style of Round Robin. An example being tossing the ball at random to the next speaker.
- Mix up the order by having prepared speeches first and then round robin.
Of course, these are but a few suggestions to add variety to your meetings.
DTM Chrishanthi then moved onto talk about evaluations. She shared that the general evaluators should evaluate the role players and other evaluators. This is so that all members know what they should do when they take up the role later on. Of course, no evaluation should be a whitewash because in the long run it brings everyone down as people will lose faith in evaluators.
However, we all know that things can easily go wrong at meetings. Thus, it’s important to expect the unexpected. DTM Chrishanthi explained this statement by saying that clubs can and should plan for last minute issues. This can be done by following simple actions such as: having hot seat volunteers ready to take up roles, backup speakers, and extra topics for an extended table topics session.
Of course, sometimes you might not find the expected number of members attending a meeting.
“If that happens then have a meeting, ensure its great and then followup with a message saying that you had a great meeting. Hopefully, you’ll see the missing members return to the next meeting,” said DTM Chrishanthi.
DTM Chrishanthi concluded her session by reminding everyone of an age old saying, “If it isn’t broken then don’t try fixing it.” It’s important to be open to change to ensure that your club hosts enjoyable meetings. But don’t change your club meetings for the sake of change. Always ask, “Will these changes add value to our meetings and help our members?”
The breakaway sessions
Following DTM Chrishanthi’s session, it was time for the breakaway sessions. These sessions focused on sharing specific insight on how trainers could conduct their training sessions for the different roles of the Executive Committee.
Once the breakout sessions ended, so too did the Train the Trainer program itself. With the conclusion of this Train the Trainer program, the trainers in the audience were empowered with the skills they needed to empower the new leaders of the clubs that make up District 82.
With that being said, expect an insightful learning experience at the Officer Training Program this year.
The Officer Training Program organized by Division J & Division C will be held on the 22nd of July 2017 at Informatics Institute of Technology.
