As a trainer for the past 23 years I have learned something from every class I have taught.
I have learned:
- How to more effectively engage a variety of audiences.
- Which stories work and which ones do not.
- How to tell the stories more effectively.
- How to ask better questions to solicit engagement from the class participants.
- How to create better flow with content.
- How to most effectively introduce my bio into the training.
- How to create more engaging PowerPoint presentations.
- How to use videos more effectively.
- More effective methods for teaching physical skills.
- Better ways to provide feedback to students.
What about you? Have you become better the more you teach? Has teaching caused you to learn the material at a deeper level? Have you become a better officer, a better tactician, a better supervisor as a result of teaching?
So, if we as trainers learn by teaching, why do we not get our students to teach more often?
Eric Mazur, a physics professor at Harvard, is famous for having his students learn by teaching their peers what they had learned. He states “You can forget facts, but you can not forget understanding.” His point is that understanding comes through preparing to teach and then teaching others.
Teach backs are a component on some Train the Trainer courses,but what about at the basic level? What about during in-service training? What about shift briefing, or roll call training? Is it possible your officers could develop a deeper level of understanding if you gave them a topic, time to research and then time to teach it?
Take care.
Brian Willis,
Thought Leader, Speaker, Trainer, Author
President of Winning Mind Training – Leading the fight against mediocrity through Life’s Most Powerful Question – What’s Important Now?
To book Brian to speak at your event contact him at winningmind@mac.com.
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