Donna's Blog
Great trainers… balance passion, energy and performance.
- Details
- 14 July 2015
This is an excerpt from my book, "Get Engaged". You can buy your very own copy here.
Great trainers know that there is no such thing as a boring topic – just a boring trainer.
You may not believe this, but I have actually heard a trainer stand at the front of the room at the beginning of a session, and say, "I’m sorry – this is likely to be very boring but I’ll get through it as quickly as I can." You can guess how that training session went.
When a trainer brings passion and energy to the front of the room, it’s contagious. So is lethargy, boredom or fear. If you can’t get excited about your topic, then why would the participants?
Here is how the ‘passion, energy and performance’ model works:
1. When you know and love your topic, you are passionate.
Your passion is your knowledge of the topic and your personal attachment or engagement with it.
2. Bring a resourceful energy to the front of the room.
Energy is about your state, demeanour, and mood. What you are demonstrating non-verbally?
3. What is your relationship with the group?
Performance is about what the group is experiencing of you. What is your relationship with them? Do they like you?
Are you paying attention to the feedback you are getting and responding accordingly?
Passion plus Energy = Competence
Knowledge of your topic and the appropriate energy will have the participants view you as competent.
The dark side of this is arrogance. If you are so interested in your topic that you won’t pay attention to feedback, you may be so full of your own knowledge you lose your participants.
I once worked in an environment with a lot of trainers, presenters and experts. One woman was so enamoured with her own topic she constantly bored people to death with her material. Her radar for whether an individual or group was ‘into’ her topic was way off, so people began to avoid her.
Passion plus Performance = Credibility
Knowledge of your topic, plus a great response from and relationship with the group, ensures you are seen as a credible presenter.
The dark side of this is sticking to your agenda to the detriment of what the group needs. You are so certain of your outcomes that you aren’t paying attention to what is happening in the moment.
Performance plus Energy =Confidence
Bringing great energy and building a great relationship with the group will help you appear, and actually be, confident.
The dark side of this is being the "entertainer" – a lot of fluff and no substance. Your group loves you, they think you are a great presenter, but they don’t walk away with anything concrete.
This happened to me once when I accepted a gig to teach relationship-building to a group of dentists. I’m pretty good at relationship building, but I didn’t have enough content and reference experiences for their industry. I was young and inexperienced and not teaching to principles the way I do now.
Three things to keep in mind:
1. Know your stuff. Be passionate!
2. Bring your best game to the front of the room.
3. Start with building a great relationship with your participants.
This is an excerpt from my book, "Get Engaged". You can buy your very own copy here.
