What Makes a World Class Trainer?

An unexpected and interesting conversation this morning took place where I was asked, "So what do you look for in a Trainer?" Someone who has never been, by title, a Trainer but is considering it wanted to get an idea to judge the fit of a potential career choice. And while I knew the answer inherently, it did make me pause to consider this person's potential professional crossroad. They needed solid insight and actionable info.

So here's my answer.

First, a passion for the customer. An even greater passion for the customer than the technology you are training. This is patently fundamental to solid training, because delivering world class training - which is the only standard - takes tremendous amounts of energy. It requires an energy that Red Bull and Monster can't conjure up. In my world, that most often is a dismounted warfighter potentially in harm's way. I don't see myself in their shoes, I see my daughters or nephew. It keeps it personal and crucial. Because I need those we train to figure their way out of a wet paper bag in 30 seconds, not 3 minutes. When fecal matter is hitting fanblades, a whole lot of bad can happen in 2 and a half unecessary minutes. A passion for the customer is the key to walking a mile in their shoes and keeping you on your toes while doing it.

Second, and decidedly second, is an inherent techinical curiosity. No matter who you love, you won't train them for long on Widget X if it's just not interesting. If you're not filling downtime digging a little deeper into it, your training will lose its edge, efficiency and depth. And if you've chosen wisely, it will generate an inherent faith in your own organization that produces Widget X because you'll see with your own eyes that there's no smoke & mirrors. And you'll be energized even more to impart your understanding to the customers that you already care so much about.

Third is the ability to own a room. All eyes will be on you and all ears will be taking in your words, often with a healthy dose of skepticism. If you believe in your technology and your organization but can't tell a story and own the room, you'll devolve into a droning slide reader and the folks you care about will politely (usually) and quietly check out. You're wasting their time and burning through trust like a match held to gasoline. A world class trainer can blend the dry and dull technical details into gripping experiences and enlightening analogies with a good dose of casual humor.

Fourth is the ability to read the room you think you own, because if you can't read the room, you don't really own it. You're on a short term lease that's about to expire for many in it. Can you read eyes and body language to grasp comprehension? Can you tell when the language you used missed the mark for one or more? Can you adjust your language and reel them in without anyone realizing you've done it and without calling anyone out? If so, congratulations, you own the room. It's now your responsibility to take solid care of the customers in the room so they leave with actionable skills, not just knowledge - the fundamental difference between training and teaching.

There are a lot of good and relevant articles and lists about trainers and training out there. Most of what they list or describe is either explicitly (if subtly) above or implied between the lines. I've established a solid career in Technical Training, and the above is what works for me. I've yet to make a bad hire.

But it's incredibly difficult to find a world class trainer - whether they already are or you know they will become one. Being a trainer is harder than anyone believes until they test the waters themselves. And either they devolve into a poor provider of poor training, which often is the expected standard (let's be honest) and - in military circles - irresponsibly dangerous. Or, if their customers are lucky, they will quickly jump ship to something else to find the easy path that they were actually seeking when they unwisely chose training.

I know one thing: I trust each of the Technical Triners on my team with any customer, anytime, anywhere. Because they embody the above. This is not a manufactured state for them and it's not an accident they are on this team.

If you are thinking about becoming a trainer, consider these things. If you're going to do something that matters and be a world class trainer, it's prerequisite. I can teach anyone how our technology works, but I can't teach a passion for the customer. And without that, world class is out the window.