“Don’t only practice your art, but force your way into its secrets; art deserves that, for it and knowledge can raise man to the Divine.”
Ludwig van Beethoven
Teaching, training, coaching, educating – this is your art.
While practice is important, it is not enough just to practice. As Beethoven said, you need to, “force your way into its secrets”.
How do you do that?
Study. Read about how we learn. Read about great speakers and presenters and what they do to best serve their audiences. Read blog posts written by and for presenters. Listen to podcasts on training, teaching and selling.
Observe. When you are at seminars, workshops or training sessions taught by great instructors pay attention to how they are teaching, training, engaging the audience, asking questions, and using music, PowerPoint / Keynote and video. Watch the great TED talks and observe how different speakers get an important message across in 18 minutes or less. Watch videos of great speeches and presentations. Pay attention to how the great speakers engage their audiences, their timing, how they use their voice, the use of vulnerability to connect with an audience and the use of audio visual aides. Observe the participants at seminars and workshops as well. Watch for what engages them and what causes them to become disengaged and frustrated. Listen to the positive and negative comments in the hallway on the breaks.
Ask Questions. Reach out to an instructor following a seminar or workshop you found especially engaging and ask for a few minutes of their time, when it is convenient for them, to talk about how they prepare for their presentations and their keys to effective delivery of their material. Ask them what they are doing differently now than they were 6, 12 or 18 months ago. Ask them what they are reading and studying. Ask them about their failures as a trainer and how they grew as a result of those failures. You can offer to buy them coffee or lunch or connect by phone. Be respectful of their time and be prepared to ask good questions.
Attend. Attend the ILEETA conference at least once (ideally every year). The ILEETA conference is a gathering of many of the best and brightest in the business. It is a gathering of law enforcement trainers and educators who are willing to set their egos aside in order to learn, grow, make new connections and share. You will experience a broad range of topics delivered in a variety of ways. If you go with the right mindset you will discover new ideas and learn from every session and every trainer. Make sure to take advantage of the vast knowledge and experience of the other attendees, all of whom are fellow trainers. As questions about their greatest takeaways from sessions they attended. Ask about their experiences as a trainer, their greatest learning moment as a trainer and the best piece of advice they ever received as a trainer or educator.
Join. Join The Excellence in Training Academy (www.excellenceintrainingacademy.com) and get immediate access to 12 webinars and over 100 interviews with thought leaders, trainers authors and even an Olympic athlete. New content is added to the Member’s Area ever week. As a member you also get access to a number of Member Bonuses. Use the code eitblog to get the first month’s membership (Individual or Training Unit) at no charge.
Make it your mission in 2018 to force your way into the secrets of the art of teaching, training and educating.
Take care.
Brian Willis
Winning Mind Training – Dedicated to helping good trainers become great trainers and great trainers to deliver awesome training.
Helping you on your journey to become a great trainer. – The Excellence in Training Academy – Where trainers come to grow. Join the Community of trainers committed to the pursuit of excellence in and through training. Use the code eitblog to get the first month free.
Interested in hosting an Excellence in Training Presentation, Seminar or Course? Contact to me at winningmind@mac.com and we can work together to determine what will best suit your needs.
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