How To Make Your Training Session “Sticky”
So, you’re in charge of a training session for a new teammate. It’s likely that you’re an absolute pro at the process or task you’re about to teach — which is why you were chosen to pass it along to someone else. Rock on!
Now, for the tricky part: how do you share your knowledge in a way that someone else can easily grasp and retain? Effective training requires more than simply demonstrating a process or verbally recapping information. Psych research shows that learners need specific cues in order to truly internalize new information and put it to work.
Here are 5 “training non-negotiables” to incorporate while you put together your training agenda.
1. Prep your learner by setting expectations.
Tell them the objective of your time together at the very top of your session — before you cover any material. People retain information better when they’ve been told what they will learn before they dive into the actual information.
E.g. “by the time we’re done with this call, you’ll know how to [book a meeting room], [fill out a member move-out sheet], or [know the 5 steps to offboard a member].”
As an added bonus, this step forces you to get very specific on your training points, and will act as a crucial content filter for when you feel the urge to cram in 2 extra training points right at the end. (←don’t do this.)
2. Give context.
When will they encounter this task or process in their day-to-day work? Share the setting in which they’ll put this information to use. Without context, learners have a hard time conceptualizing how the training topic fits into the rest of their role, and are more likely to forget it when the time to use the information comes.
E.g. “you’ll do this series of tasks a couple times a month — any time a new member comes in for their first day,” “you’ll do this process on the 15th of every month during the billing cycle,” or ”this is a great sales technique for when someone pops in for a tour and you don’t have any private offices left.”
3. Adapt your training modality for the specific topic.
You may have heard people talk about adapting training to an individual’s “learning style” (e.g. kinesthetic, visual, auditory, reading/writing), but recent research presentations have shown that it’s actually more important to adapt the training based on the specific TASK. For example, you wouldn’t teach a clay modeling class by having people read about it , right? You’d let your learners jump right in and get their hands dirty. Likewise, think through what learning format your specific training topic will be best understood through.
E.g. for a high-level concept like “how to build relationality in the sales process”, a simple face-to-face conversation might be ideal (auditory). However, a step-by-step tutorial on how to fill out a form would be best demonstrated by showing them as well as commenting on the process as you go along (combination of visual and auditory). Something like “how to give a sales tour” would be best done by walking through the space (kinesthetic).
4. Let them practice right away, and don’t be a helicopter-trainer.
After you walk through the task together, let them practice it on their own. Giving an opportunity for someone to immediately implement what you’ve just talked about will help them internalize and solidify the information. Here, you’ll also want to resist the urge to give them a “step-by-step” as they try it out for themselves for the first time. See if they can figure it out using what information you just gave them, and only give a cue if they’re fully stumped.
5. Leave time for questions as you go along, not all at the end.
Many trainers make the mistake of plowing through 30+ minutes of dense content before they take questions. This can lead to information overload (obviously) but it can also inhibit your learner from advocating for the clarity they truly need. They’re not likely to ask about that one thing they didn’t quite track with at minute 11:43.
To overcome this, be intentional about planning “breathing room” into your session so your learner can ask questions as they arise. Being able to address questions and get clarity in the moment helps learners cognitively relax, and move on to the next step with confidence.
I.e. pause for brief “check-ins” every 10 minutes or so to ensure your learner is tracking with the content and the pace. Try: “do you need any clarity on this before we move into the next step?” or ”what did you hear highlighted as the most important part of [the process you just walked through]?”