Training Triumphs 8/31 - Revolutionize Your Soft Skills Training Through Design Thinking

Dear Trainers,

Greetings!

As a soft skills trainer or coach, your focus is always on Unlocking Human Potential. You guide people towards their personal growth, helping them communicate better, build confidence, or develop emotional intelligence. But have you ever wondered if there is a structured, innovative way to improve the way you design your training programs and cater to your clients' needs? Enter Design Thinking, a powerful framework that can help you elevate your coaching practice.

Let us break down Design Thinking with a simple analogy, A special kind of a handbook that you create to help your clients become the best versions of themselves. Just like crafting the perfect training program, creating this handbook involves understanding your "Delegates" (client), solving their specific challenges, and refining your approach to make the greatest impact.

1. Empathize: Understanding Your Client’s Journey

Imagine you are writing a handbook for a specific client. Before you can create anything valuable, you need to deeply understand your delegates, their challenges, goals, and what makes them tick. In the training/coaching world, this is about empathizing with your client. You listen to their stories, observe their behavior, and understand the barriers that are preventing them from achieving their full potential.

Example:

Suppose you are coaching a group of young professionals who struggle with Public Speaking Anxiety. To empathize, you might:

• Conduct one-on-one sessions to uncover specific fears or past experiences related to public speaking.
• Ask them to shoot a short selfie video and send it to you
• Observe their body language and how they behave in front of an audience.
• Ask open-ended questions to explore their emotions, such as, “How do you feel before presenting?” or “What makes you most nervous when speaking?”

Template for Empathizing:

• Observation: Observe clients in action (e.g., during role plays or presentations) to understand their behavior in real situations.
• Interviews: Conduct deep conversations where clients express their fears, challenges, and goals.
• Active Listening: Use techniques such as reflective listening and paraphrasing to ensure you fully grasp their perspective.

2. Define: Crafting the Problem Statement

Once you have empathized with your client and understood their world, it is time to Define the Problem. This is like narrowing down the theme of your handbook: What specific challenge is your client facing? What is preventing them from reaching their full potential?

In the training/coaching context, Defining the Problem means clearly articulating what stands between the client and their goal. It could be a limiting belief, a lack of practice, or poor emotional regulation.

Example:

For the client struggling with public speaking, you might define the problem as: “Clients experience overwhelming anxiety when speaking in front of groups, leading to a lack of confidence and reduced effectiveness in presentations.”

Template for Defining:

• Write a concise problem statement that identifies the core challenge: “How might we help clients manage their public speaking anxiety and build confidence in presentations?”
• Keep it actionable: Focus on what you, as the trainer/coach, can address with your strategies and interventions.
• Ensure it reflects the client’s perspective and emotional experience.

3. Ideate: Generating Creative Solutions

Once the problem is clear, it is time to Brainstorm Solutions—this is where your training/coaching creativity comes in. Think of this step like brainstorming all the possible stories you could write for your client. In this phase, you generate multiple approaches, techniques, and strategies that could help them overcome their challenges.

In the world of soft skills training, Ideation means thinking about different tools, exercises, and frameworks that could make a real difference for your client.

Example:

For the public speaking example, you might ideate several approaches, such as:

• Visualization exercises to help clients mentally rehearse successful presentations.
• Gradual exposure techniques where clients start by speaking to small groups and progressively build confidence in larger settings.
• Role-playing sessions that allow clients to simulate real-world speaking environments.

Template for Ideating:

• Encourage free-flow brainstorming sessions: “What techniques could we try to reduce anxiety and build confidence?”
• Use tools like Mind Mapping or Brainstorming Prompts to generate a wide variety of solutions.
• Involve the client in the ideation process: Let them suggest ideas based on what feels comfortable or motivating for them.

4. Prototype: Creating a Working Solution

Now, it is time to Prototype your solution. Think of this as creating a first draft of your handbook. You do not have to get it perfect on the first try. Instead, you create an actionable plan or exercise that your client can engage with right away.

In training/coaching, Prototyping might involve designing a specific exercise or program for your client to try. You take one or two of the ideas from the ideation phase and put them into practice, understanding that you will continue to refine them based on client feedback.

Example:

For your public speaking client, you might prototype:

• A week-long confidence-building exercise where they deliver short presentations to a trusted peer group and receive feedback.
• A breathing technique exercise to be used before presentations, aimed at calming their nerves.

Template for Prototyping:

• Design simple, actionable exercises or sessions that directly address the problem defined earlier.
• Focus on small wins: Choose activities that can show immediate results, boosting your client’s confidence.
• Make the prototype flexible and adaptable, knowing you may need to adjust it based on client feedback.

5. Test: Gathering Feedback and Refining

Once your client has tried the prototype, it is time to Test it. In the handbook analogy, this would be like giving the draft to your client and seeing how they react. Do they enjoy it? Does it solve the challenge? What could be improved? Is there anything that they want us to drop?

In training/coaching, Testing involves getting feedback from your client on the exercises and interventions you have implemented. This is a crucial step because it allows you to refine your approach based on what is working and what is not.

Example:

After the client tries the public speaking exercises, you gather feedback by asking:

• “How did you feel before and after the exercise?”
• “Did the breathing techniques help calm your nerves?”
• “What felt easy, and what was still challenging?”

Based on their responses, you might adjust the exercise, making it more gradual or adding new elements that they found helpful.

Template for Testing:

• Conduct a debriefing session after each exercise or activity to gather qualitative feedback.
• Observe your client’s progress and emotional response—are they more confident? Are their anxiety levels decreasing?
• Refine the prototype as needed, continuing to iterate until you have a fully effective solution.

Start Using Design Thinking in Your Training/Coaching Practice

As a trainer/coach, you are already in the business of unlocking human potential. Design Thinking is a structured, human-centered approach that can help you go deeper and innovate your training methods. You will be better equipped to serve your clients and drive meaningful change through your training/coaching, which is what we all thrive for.

Next Steps for You:

• Begin with one client or challenge where you can apply the Design Thinking process. Maybe it is a group workshop or a one-on-one coaching program.
• Start small: Empathize with your clients, clearly Define their problems, and Brainstorm new exercises or approaches.
• Experiment by creating Prototypes of your ideas and Test them in your sessions. Gather Feedback and Refine your process for maximum impact.

By integrating Design Thinking into your training/coaching practice, you will unlock new pathways to growth and success for your clients, while continuously evolving your approach to meet their needs. Take the leap today, and watch as innovation transforms your training/coaching journey.

If you need any help, feel free to connect with me. I will be more than happy to help you integrate Design Thinking into your Training/Coaching practice.

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Until next time, think design, use design thinking to enhance your training/coaching practice.

Kind regards

Dr Shanker Viswanath

Your Success Partner in Your Training Journey

+919892099900; [email protected]

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