Even if you are a full-time trainer, you are going to spend time in a class taught by someone else. When that happens, be a good student:
- Be on time at the start of the day, after lunch and coming back from breaks.
- Bring an open mind.
- Show up with the intention of taking notes. That means showing up with a pen and paper, or a tablet or laptop if you prefer to take notes digitally.
- Sit somewhere other than the back row.
- Stay off your phone, e-mail, and text messaging apps during class time.
- Participate, but don’t dominate.
- Engage in the small group activities. I know that not everyone likes small group activities. If that is you, engage in the activities anyway and be an active and engaged participant.
- Do not engage in side conversations during class.
- After the class find opportunities to share what you learned.
- Take action and put what you learned into practice.
Be a good student away from the training room by staying curious and continuing to learn and grow. As a trainer you need to commit part of every day to reading books, blog posts, research papers, articles, etc., and / or listening to audio books, podcasts, interviews, or other sources of information. This learning should be targeted at improving your knowledge and understanding of topics related to what you teach and to improving how you teach and engage the learners in your training. If you teach physical skills, then train those skills daily.
Be a good student when you are teaching a class. This requires you to leave your ego at the door and be willing to learn from the participants in your training. If you are open to it, you can learn from every class you teach. There may be people in your class who are more skilled, or more knowledgeable than you, and that is ok. Learn from them. Even novices and new learners have something to teach you. They can help you learn better ways to communicate your ideas or new ways to look at existing skills, tactics, and material.
As a trainer you need to first and foremost be a learner and a good student. Stay curious, stay open to new ideas. Keep learning and growing.
Take care.
Brian Willis
Winning Mind Training – Providing practical training to law enforcement professionals in the areas of instructor development, Performance Enhancement Imagery, leadership and mindset.
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