Lessons from Grandpa Trainer

One of the joys of teaching is that I am able to meet and learn from the more senior Instructors. I have a good fortune to meet Bjaerne Wulf, who has been with KM Training for more than 15 years. I called him "Grandpa Trainer" as he is sooo... senior and have a great sense of humour.

He imparted me the following lessons:-

1) Always start with the class with a cheery loud "Good morning!". This sets the tone for the day. The students will be affected by the mood of the excited instructor, who drives them with boundless energy.

2) Always ask the students what lessons have been covered the previous days..there is no need to go thru in details. They will think, "aha..yes I remember something like that". This is also give them a sense of ownership, as they feel proud that they remember bits and pieces.  Another reason is to jog their memories so they have a sense of continuity for the later lessons. 

3) Always end with the class with a happy and sincere wish, "have a good evening!". This sets them in a good and relaxed mood. They will always appreciate this and eager to come to class the next day.  ^_&

4) Use humour suitably depending on the audience and never cross the racial lines. According to Bjaerne, not all instructors can tell good jokes according to the audience. But humour can be trained, after years of practice. In event of the jokes fall flat or worse, the audience is unresponsive, try to go for interesting stories. People always appreciate good and memorable stories.

Thanks to these tips, I found my students are now more attentive and more responsive in the class. They come pretty handy especially when I need to deal with a big rowdy class!

Takk, Bjaerne!