10 Ways 'Experience' Will Take Your Training To New Heights!

Written by Heidi Mawer for Front and Centre

I recently had the exhilarating opportunity to experience a hot air balloon flight.

It was an amazing experience– from start to finish. Being so high up in the sky, miles above trees, buildings and the life on the ground below, slowly waking up to the day ahead.??To witness the sunrise from this angle and altitude, really was quite surreal and breathtaking!

What made it even better was that I shared this experience with my lovely sister, thank you sis for the wonderful birthday present, it made it all the more special and memorable that I shared it with you???.

This got me thinking about the importance of experience, both in our personal and professional lives that has significant impact on our ability to learn, grow and develop as human beings and also in the workplace.??I believe to achieve optimal learning and knowledge retention for our participants, we need to allow them to draw on their experiences, to embed new content:

“I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I DO and I understand” –?Confucius

For every training interaction that I develop and deliver, my ultimate goal is to ensure that it is relevant, practical and applicable to my participants.??To do this, it means applying the usual adult learning principles and application activities, however, I always focus on developing the right “experience” for my participants to maximise retention and outcomes.?

Experience …. a 10-letter word that has the power to shape every learning and training interaction,?when applied effectively.??Here are some of my go to tips to do just that, to keep “experience” Front and Centre, to achieve training outcomes and give participants the ultimate learning experience:

1.?????Encourage – your participants to share their feedback

2.?????Xcite your participants in every interaction

3.?????Peer to peer - collaboration and discussion (this is vital!)

4.?????Enhance - your content with stories and visuals

5.?????Relevancy – for participants to apply back on the job

6.?????Imagination! Every training interaction thrives on this!

7.?????Empower - your participants to demonstrate their learning?

8.?????Navigate! – challenges or questions

9.?????Choice – participants that have choices, feel empowered (see point 7)

10.??Emotional intelligence – read your audience well and I guarantee you will create the ultimate Learning EXPERIENCE!

When you next develop and run your training workshop, remember to focus on EXPERIENCE and the tips outlined above, I guarantee you will take your participants to “hot air balloon” great heights!?