A Carlson-Holohan Industry Award of Excellence honoree, Bob “Hot Rod” Rohr travels across the country as a trainer for Caleffi North America, sharing his 40+ years’ of experience as a plumbing, radiant heat and renewable energy contractor, all while bringing his rubber-to-the-road experiences to life.
Be honest, do what you say you will do. It’s that simple, really.
If you bill your training as a technical event or class, make it that. Certainly, everyone of your attendees has an opinion, and that is a good thing. So at class end they get to decide if it checked the boxes they brought along to have filled. For example, a boiler piping presentation needs to have schematics of piping. I’d take it further and make the drawings as generic as possible.
Fortunately I work for a manufacturer that publishes a very generic, non-biased trade journal. This makes for some excellent content for the classes.
But also be realistic in your expectations; not everyone in the room will be at the same level, and have the exact same expectations. Promote the event as basic, intermediate or advanced to help clear up the content. A trainer should, poll the room right off to get a feel of the experience level of the class. Ask occasionally if the info is meeting the needs or expectations. A trainer needs to be prepared to shift gears
Keep additional PPTs ready to go on your desktop if you need to raise or lower the content level, or bounce around to assure everyone gets something from their time commitment.
Know also that generous giveaways and CEU offerings will get some attendees that are there for the “goods” more so then the content. It’s easy to spot folks like that. They spend a lot of time looking at their phone.
Someone is paying the trainer to get to the event and spend a few nights on the road. Expect the sponsor to have a product table, or some handouts that are brand specific. A few questions on a form or link to QR code to get feedback is helpful for trainers.
Timely topics help fill a room. Clever course names help people click on the training promos.
Like any trade, time on the job helps a trainer learn what works and what flops, so be prepared to change up your presentations or presentation style occasionally. A Toastmasters class can sharpen your presentation skills. Speak loud and clearly. Move around the room.
Watch big name, professionally-trained presenters. See how they move and observe the techniques they use to keep the room’s attention. Who is your favorite actor and why?
Got any tips or suggestions? Pass them along.
