How to Encourage Interaction and Participation in Training

“Assigning prework gets learners involved in the training process before the course even begins,” says Jason Lindstrom, CEO of Rapport Leadership International (www.rapportleadership.com).

Prework gets them thinking in advance about the training topic and how it affects their job. It also gives trainees a chance to think about their experiences with particular safety issues and about any questions they may have about the topic.

This makes it more likely that trainees will participate when they attend the training session. Trainees are more likely to retain information if training is interactive and encourages lots of participation, says Lindstrom.

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Right from Start

Once at the training session, Lindstrom recommends encouraging trainees to participate fully and then providing opportunities for them to get involved right from the start.

For example, you could begin a session by having a few trainees get up and demonstrate a procedure or safety-related task. Or you could have the training group participate in a brief discussion about why the training topic is important to their safety or health.

Another approach to encourage interaction, says Lindstrom, is to divide large training groups into smaller units of three or four to complete a training exercise or solve a problem. Some trainees, who may be apprehensive about speaking up in front of a large group, may feel more comfortable participating in a small group of co-workers.

You might even put reluctant participants in charge of small groups to encourage them to interact more with other trainees.

Lindstrom also points out that sometimes trainers discourage participation and interaction unintentionally by “wronging” trainees publicly. For example, if a trainee gives a different response from what the trainer was thinking, some trainers might respond by saying that this is not the correct answer. Chances are good that this trainee could keep his head down or clam up for the rest session.

A better approach, says Lindstrom, is to thank the trainee for the input, summarize what the trainee said, and then say, “Here’s another way to look at it.”

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