Factors to be Considered in Conducting Training

Imagine going to a ball wearing a t-shirt or having fun at the beach in a tuxedo or dress. You could also try to see yourself eating steak with chopsticks and drinking hot coffee with a straw. Would these be enjoyable?

You need a particular way in dealing with different things, occasions, activities as well as people. For example, you might want to talk differently to your parents or supervisor at work than with your peers. Communicating with different audiences all at once can be a challenge, especially when you are conducting a training program.

Everywhere, workforces are becoming more diverse by the day. You have to deal with people from different generations, genders, office ranks, service years and even cultures. Problems may arise when you are communicating to a diverse audience at the same time.

For starters, people from older generations need to adjust the things and practices that they have known for a long time in order to change their behaviours, whilst younger participants like millenials normally have shorter attention-span due to massive exposure of information through the internet. That means that the older generation would need generally need a slower pace in learning, while the younger ones might get bored and lose attention if you don’t keep them on their toes.

Other than the generational gap, trainers will have to deal with people with different service years and office ranks. Employees who have worked longer and have higher posts would think that they have more authority and knowledge than others. This would make the rest too hesitant to actively participate in training sessions.

As a trainer you will also face different cultural backgrounds as well. Such as genders, nationalities and races. With different backgrounds, participants would also have different expectations, dos and don’ts, etc. For example, some cultural groups might prefer softer voice as it is associated with politeness, while the other gravitate more towards loud and clear speaking. Meanwhile, each gender would surely expect non-gender-specific language.

To address this situation, trainers must find a balance to make their communication effective across all audience groups. Like when faced with participants from different generations with varying level of attention span and learning capability, instructors should adjust their pace of teaching to keep all participants well informed and excited at the same time.

Understanding the characters of each generation also helps in conducting training programs. Each generation has its own personality and approach to employers and careers. Having information about each generation will put you in a comfort zone where you can build trust and start offering knowledge.

Similar to bridging the generation gap, you should also familiarize yourself with how different cultures best receive information to improve your cross-culture communication. Also, you must avoid using slang, jargon and metaphors when addressing people from different cultures to avoid miscommunication.

As a training, one should consider and study the background of the audiences that are going to be participating, how it affects your communication and the training design as well. Familiarize yourself with different generation, culture and personality. Find a sweet spot where you can transfer your message and knowledge effectively.

Learn more about the world of training by visiting flip.co.id and make sure to scroll over to the PLAYbyFLIP content to get fun and educational insights.

 

Source:

  1. Marston, C. (2010). Employee Training and Development Across Generation
    https://trainingindustry.com/articles/strategy-alignment-and-planning/employee-training-and-development-across-the-generations/
  2. Ribbink, K. (2003). Seven Ways to Better Communicate in Today’s Diverse Workplace https://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/seven-ways-to-better-communicate-in-today-s-diverse-workplace-seven-tips-for-communicating-in-today-s-diverse-workplace
  3. Ritu, R. (February 27, 2013). Effective Communication in a Diverse Workplace. International Journal of Enhanced Research In Management and Computer Applications Vol.2, Issue 2 (February 2013). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2225761

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