Who should attend?

Trainers who have less than one year's experience in course delivery and who have no formal training in instructional techniques.

Purpose of the Workshop

• Provides "survival" skills that you will need as a new instructor.
• Helps you to get rave reviews from participants.
• Assists you in projecting confidence and enthusiasm.
• Provides techniques for making dull material come to life.
• Helps you avoid problems and errors often made by new instructors.
• Focuses on tangible, practical skills.
• Provides techniques for making your courses popular, interesting, and lively.
• Provides plenty of practice so you'll leave with proven skills.
• Helps you overcome the nervousness and anxiety that new instructors feel.
• Assists you in achieving credibility.
• Imparts basic skill in instructional design so your course plans will work.

Workshop Objectives

• Apply principles of adult learning.
• Write instructional objectives.
• Start a course with high impact.
• Determine course content.
• Select instructional methods.
• Deliver lectures properly.
• Develop exercises and tests.
• Administer exercises and tests.
• Give demonstrations.
• Establish an effective relationship with learners.
• Hold participants' attention and interest.
• Obtain and give feedback on learner progress.
• Employ effective speaking skills.
• Handle problem participants and situations.
• Ask and answer questions properly.
• "Read" the group and adjust to their needs.
• Manage time effectively during instruction.
• Deal with your own nervousness and anxiety.
• Promote learner participation.
• Establish a good climate for learning.
• Apply techniques to increase learner motivation.
• Build fun into your courses (without going too far).
• Use small group activities effectively.
• Set up a classroom properly.
• Use audio-visual aids professionally.

Although this course is for instructors rather than designers, note that four objectives listed focus on design. We consider it essential for instructors to know these things so their course modifications and updates will follow correct design principles.

What You Will Learn

A. Delivery Skills

• How to start a session.
• Making a strong first impression.
• When to be dynamic and energetic.
• When to be relaxed and easy-going.
• How to project confidence.
• 14 tips for a dynamic speaking style.
• Pacing a session.
• What to do about personal mannerisms.
• The conversational speaking style.
• Developing your own natural style.
• Avoiding the common pitfalls in lecturing.
• Capturing learners' attention.
• Eliminating distractions.
• How to decrease the amount of instructor talk.
• How to use notes and lesson plans.
• Using humor properly.
• How to ask questions.
• 4 types of questions.
• The best type of question.
• The one type of question to avoid.
• 7 tips for answering questions professionally.
• What to do if you don't know an answer.
• How to handle incorrect answers.
• The power of demonstrations.
• How to give polished demonstrations.
• Dozens of audio-visual tips to polish your presentation.
• Using overhead projectors properly.
• 17 tips for using overhead projectors.
• Flipchart techniques.
• Guidelines for using slides, audiotape, videotape and handouts.
• Easy-to-use techniques of positive reinforcement.
• How to build rapport in a classroom.
• Promoting participation.

• Simple techniques to get everyone to participate.
• One way to guarantee participation.
• Tips (and practice) in leading a discussion.
• Simple ways to read a group.
• Specific signs to watch for in a group.
• Conducting small group exercises.
• How to measure your nervousness.
• 7 ways to reduce your nervousness.
• A questionnaire to assess your "philosophy" of instruction.
• A questionnaire to assess how clearly you instruct.
• Assessing your overall strengths and weaknesses as an instructor.
• How to assess your own performance on every course.
• A quick method for getting learner feedback on your performance.
• Checklists for evaluating your instruction.
• Direct advice on your personal style.
• How to improve your verbal and non-verbal delivery.
• 7 practice tips for developing a dynamic speaking style.
• 13 common problems of new instructors (and how to overcome them).
  

B. Course Management

C. Principles of Learning

• Creating a readiness to learn.
• Favorite icebreakers.
• How to check learners' backgrounds.
• What you need to know about attention span.
• How to prevent boredom.
• How to increase learners' enthusiasm.
• Tips for keeping learners alert and energized.
• When to give feedback.
• How to give feedback properly.
• When to use reviews.
• The best method of reviewing.
• How to evaluate learner performance.
• How to assure retention of material.
• Key principles of adult learning.
• 7 vital facts about how adults learn.
• What to do when learners don't get it.
• How to make sure learners succeed.
• Creating a good learning climate.
• Practical approaches to motivation.
• 8 laws of classroom motivation.
• How to help slower learners.
• Techniques for increasing participant satisfaction.
• Action Learning Teams and how to use them.
• How to build fun into your courses.
• One invaluable key to creating and maintaining a fun learning environment.
• Making humor work, even if you are not personally funny.
• How to make dull material interesting.
• Tips for getting rave reviews from participants.