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Have you ever applied for a home loan or refinanced your existing home loan? If you have, you know it can be a long, tedious, and frustrating process. Often there’s too much time spent on the process, an abundance of paperwork to sign, too many fees, and too many people involved. By the end of the process, you may even wonder why you bothered in the first place. The process is much too cumbersome. This makes me wonder if anyone in the banking or mortgage business has asked, “How can we make this process easier for the customer?” If they did, maybe the entire process would be simplified.
Those in the training industry can and should be doing the same thing. We should always ask, “How can I make learning easier and more fun for my trainees?” If you do, then every decision you make moving forward will lead to improvements in your training!
Here are 15 ways to make learning easier and fun for your learners:
- 1. Set clear goals
Outline the purpose of the learning and what learners will achieve in the training.
Pro Tip: Start each lesson with an introduction by sharing the objective, the benefits for the learners, and a quick overview so that learners know how the lesson will unfold.
- 2. Facilitate hands-on activities
Engage learners in practical exercises to reinforce learning.
Pro Tip: Set learners up for success back on the job by spending 2/3 of training time on practice.
- 3. Provide opportunities for reflection
Encourage learners to pause and reflect on what they have learned, how it relates to their own experiences, and how they will apply it back on the job.
Pro Tip: Incorporate action plans into your training course so learners walk away with a customized to-do list of what they will implement when they return to work.
- 4. Break content into smaller chunks
Divide content into smaller sections to make it easier to digest and retain.
Pro Tip: Based on our memories, chunking content into 5-9 steps makes it easier for learners to retain.
- 5. Use a variety of visual aids
Tap into multiple learner preferences by using slides, videos, pictures, charts, and infographics. Visual aids help illustrate concepts and make the content more easily understood.
Pro Tip: Use visual aids to enhance accessibility for learners with diverse needs. Provide alternative formats, including tactile diagrams or audio descriptions, to ensure learners can access the information.
- 6. Incorporate short breaks frequently
Adult learners need physical and mental breaks to help them stay focused and engaged in your training courses. Shorter, more frequent breaks also aid in better retention of new information.
Pro Tip: Strive for short breaks (7-10 minutes) every hour or hour and a half. This allows learners to address their needs without getting invested in something outside the training content.
- 7. Use small group exercises
These activities help break up the lectures and give your learners a chance to work with others and practice their new skills.
Pro Tip: Keep group size between four and six learners. Ensure the instructions are clear and their product is well defined. Give tight time limits to encourage teams to get started and stay on task.
- 8. Include brainteasers
Adding an element of entertainment and friendly competition to a training session is a great way to get participants engaged and working together. Use them at strategic times like first thing in the morning, right after lunch, and right after breaks.
Pro Tip: At the end of each break, facilitate a short brainteaser, energizer, cartoon, or video clip. These bursts of fun will encourage learners to return on time!
- 9. Create a supportive learning environment
Foster a positive and inclusive atmosphere where learners feel comfortable asking questions, sharing ideas, and making mistakes.
Pro Tip: Use short, interactive icebreakers, small group activities, and positive feedback to help build rapport between learners and set learners up for success.
- 10. Use analogies and stories often
People learn better when you can make the content memorable. Link something the learners know with something new through analogies to shorten your delivery time. People retain information better when it’s learned through a story. When you link stories to key learning moments, your training becomes more memorable.
Pro Tip: Keep your stories brief and compelling. The story can be made up, from your personal life, or from your professional experience.
- 11. Use multi-media in the classroom
Incorporate multi-media and technology into your training room including videos, audio clips, games, and apps. Polling apps can enhance your presentations and keep learners interacting and connecting with the content.
Pro Tip: Allow learners to use their smartphones to play games or to look up information to answer questions in a scavenger hunt.
- 12. Get people moving
Have learners change groups, write on whiteboards and charts, exchange work with classmates, and move around the room for various activities.
Pro Tip: Incorporate opportunities for movement within the training time, as well as quick energizers to keep learners’ bodies and minds engaged.
- 13. Provide constructive feedback
Give updates on progress and performance to help learners improve and prepare to apply their new skills back at work. Training is where employees come to practice their jobs, feel supported, and get the feedback they need to increase their confidence.
Pro Tip: Recognize and celebrate milestones and accomplishments to motivate learners and showcase their progress.
- 14. Use a variety of training methods
Incorporate a variety of teaching techniques including presentation methods such as lectures, group discussions, and demonstrations. And application methods such as practice exercises, simulations, role plays, and case studies.
Pro Tip: Analyze the content to help determine the best delivery method and the best way for learners to practice the content.
- 15. Encourage self-directed learning
Empower learners to take control of their learning by providing resources and tools for them to explore on their own. Allow for flexibility in the learning process such as self-paced modules, virtual learning options, and alternative assignments.
Pro Tip: Give learners opportunities to practice their new skills in scenarios that resemble reality.
So, trainers, if you put these fifteen tips to use, you will answer the question, “How can I make learning easier and more fun for my trainees?”
To learn more about these instructional techniques, and tons of others, our Instructional Techniques for New Instructors workshop is the perfect place to start!
This article was first published March 18, 2019.