Teaching a seminar

Making the reps web savvy

[GarryBoyd]

A business directory I have done a lot of back room work for has asked me to do a seminar for their sales reps to get them up to speed in a couple of areas. This business is an old school print directory that has been dragged kicking and screaming onto the 'net. It is likely to be only about 6 people and a day or 2 training.
There are 2 main areas I want to cover:
1. The technical side, writing a keyword rich description to give the search engines some content.
2. The marketing side, being able to walk up to a customers computer and type in a good search that will likely bring their directory listing up on the first page of results.
However, I have never done training before. I wonder how I should structure it so it works. How do I figure out where they are now, and make sure they all get to the right place at the end of the course? Do I write up a course book for them to take away, or make them take notes?
Do I need a highly structured plan, or fly by ear, hoping it doesnt all fall apart on me?
What sort of props do I need? White board, ohp or just my brilliant personality?

[Mike12345]

IMO you need to give them something to which they can refer to after the course.

So even if they dont learn anything while they are with you they will have something to fall back on later, a course book would be ideal.

As for structure, i wouldnt make a plan and stick to as if it were the be all and end all, but a plan is always good for use as a guide.

A white board is only good if you havce clear hadnwriting and something to write on it. An ohp is only good if you dont want to modify what you display, and if everyone in the group can see it.

I find that simple informative points often make learning easier.

Just my thoughts, hope it all goes well. :)

[richardb]

Use you brilliant personality and include humour -- for most of them they may not even want to be there.

Split them into teams make a couple of aspects competitive Team A v B...

Buy beers at the end for the overall winner(s)... I'm sure that you get the drift.

Rich

PS great surname :)

[stickledene]

The key to good training is Repition.

Humour is good, but you can fall on your face, so I find the best start to training someone is to talk about nightmare stories which are often humorous. Whenever Im training someone to work behind a bar for example, I always talk about a little anecdote where I had a bad experience with an amusing outcome.

People learn better if they can visualise a situation better! Use pictures, draw on past experiences, and use similies to non-web based stuff!

Repition is the key to good training.

Icebreakers are really important. They lighten the mood for everyone in the room (including you if you're nervous) and set the tone for the rest of the day.

Props are useful, but don't fiddle with them. Don't spin a pen in your hands, or play with coins in your pocket! People willl have their attention drawn to your actions and not your words!

Repition really is the most effective method of getting points across.

Regular intervals of 5 minutes every hour, for a cigerette break or a toilet break are great. Make sure you stick to 5mins tho! And make sure they know you are going to stick to 5mins too.

If you hear or say something 13 times, you'll remember it.

OK you get the idea with the repition ;)

People wil remember the first item, and the last item, the most. So make them 2 of your most important points.

Getting people to take notes can be good and bad. If people try and write down everything you say, they may miss something. But people who do write down key points often learn the most. A way I personally do this (Im not saying this is the best method by any means, but it's a method that works for me) is to prepare handouts for the people in the seminar. On these handouts are the key points/phrases that I'm going to make. However, a key word is missed out from a sentance, with a gap for them to write it in...

E.g.

When a customer comes to the bar, the first thing you should do is to ___ _____ and place a ________ ______ in front of them.

Here, if they're listening, they'll write down "say hello" and "beverage napkin" in the spaces provided. It's really easy to tie this into a PowerPoint presentation or an OHP slide too.

This way, they're listening to you, and immediately repeating the key points by writing them down. And as we know, repetition is the key to good training.

If you ever have to say something which is negative, i.e. you're telling a group off for something they have done wrong, then always, ALWAYS finish on a lighter note. Say something positive about something entirely different before they leave.

I think they are the main points that I've certainly picked up over the years. I hope these help.

Sticky

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