Introductions
There are several things you can do to make the introductions interesting.
There are several things you can do to make introductions interesting.
Here are a few ideas:
- Thank the audience for coming: This a "must do" idea. You know, "you get what you give." What does that mean? In the context of training, if you welcome your audience and come across as being thankful for their attendance, they will be more likely to return those same thoughts and feelings back to you.
- Establish your credibility: Give your experience, share your interest in the materials being presented. Don't go overboard talking about your accomplishments. The students won't appreciate that.
- Break the ice: You might also ask your students to introduce themselves at this time. An introductory "icebreaker" exercise that works great is to ask each student to tell everyone something about themselves, like their favorite sports team, vacation spot, or animal. That little exercise can be quite fun!
- Present the agenda: "Tell them what your going to tell them!" Let your students know why the topic is important and how it can impact their job and life.
- Determine expectations from the audience: During introductions you can ask students to tell you what they expect to get out of the training. Be ready for some surprise responses though.
- OK... "Break time!": Shorter 5-minute breaks every hour work well. You will know when you've gone too long without a break when students start leaving the training room. Remember, if you tell them a 5-minute break, they take 10 minutes, so keep the reigns tight on breaks.Try not to present more than 1.5 hours without a break.
- Give a time frame for your presentation: Let everyone know when the training will be over, and NEVER run over. Your students have a life too, and a schedule they have to keep.
- Tell students what they will learn: Summarize what they'll know and be able to do by the end of the presentation.
- Don't be a "know-it-all": Do not come across as arrogant and having all the answers. Confess that you probably don't know all the answers. You really don't need to be the "fountain of all knowledge" to be an effective trainer. Trainers who believe they have to be perfect are never at ease, and usually come across with less confidence. Admitting that you don't have all the answers takes pressure off yourself and places some of the responsibility on the audience.
- Encourage everyone to participate with their own ideas, opinions, beliefs, and feelings: Students are only going to get out of the training, what they put into it. There's no need to keep tight control over student participation. Divide students into groups by setting up the classroom tables with 4-6 chairs in a grand "horseshoe" formation.
- Once you have gained attention, transition into the body of your presentation: "What are your questions before we start?" After you have answered questions, get going!
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
3-2. What is a way to improve introductions when presenting safety training?
You forgot to answer the question!