Outsourced your training materials? Here is what you need to know
Do you ever wish that there were more than 24 hours in a day? That if you just had a little bit more time, you could get everything done?
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like anyone has discovered a type of time-warping technology that would accommodate our busy schedules (yet).
So, in the meantime, we are left to our own devices.
And one of the best ways for you to feel like those 24 hours a day is enough is to work smarter, not harder.
Many of us have heard this expression, but what does it even mean to do that?
In just a few words, working smarter, not harder describes the ways you do your work just as effectively, but with more ease. You know, those tips and tricks that you can rely on to help you get the job done and on time.
There are many different ways to achieve this, and as a trainer, it is important to find opportunities to work smarter, not harder so you have enough time to get it all done.
One of these is to outsource your training materials. By getting pre-written content, you can save hours of time by simply just editing, customizing, and preparing your delivery, to let you focus on all the other logistical components that go into putting on a training workshop, such as promotions, booking a venue, collecting feedback, etc.
Our courseware packages offer you top-quality training materials that are customizable, user-friendly, educational, and fun. We provide instructor guides, training manuals, PowerPoint slides, activities, exercises, quick reference sheets, and more. All you need to do is add your final preparations and deliver your training workshop.
When you get our training materials, you may be wondering where to start in regards to preparing them for your workshop. Below is what you need to know when getting started using our training materials.
How Do I Customize My Course?
Our courseware packages are created in Microsoft Office and can be opened using any version of Word and PowerPoint (most word processing and presentation programs support these formats too). This means that you can customize the content, re-brand with your logo, change the color scheme and fonts and then easily print/e-mail your training materials as needed.
Customizing your course is easy. To edit text, just click and type as you would with any document. This is particularly convenient if you want to add customized statistics for your region, special examples for your participants’ industry, or additional information. You can also use all of your word processor’s other features, including text formatting and editing tools (such as cutting and pasting).
To remove modules, simply select the text and press Delete on your keyboard. Then, navigate to the Table of Contents, right-click, and click Update Field. You may see a dialog box; if so, click Update entire table and press OK. You will also want to perform this step if you add modules or move them around.
You can format any piece of text any way you want. However, to make it easy, you can use styles to update all the text at once.
In Word under the Home tab, right-click on your chosen style and click Modify. That will then produce the Modify Style options window where you can set your preferred style options.
For example, if you wanted to change our Heading 1 style, used for Module Titles, this is what you would do:
Now, you can change the formatting and it will apply to all the headings in the document.
For more information on making Word work for you, please refer to our Word Essentials course.
Materials Required
The materials for your training workshop can be as minimal or involved as you’d like, but a flip chart or whiteboard/chalkboard is something you will want to make sure you have for activities, brainstorming sessions, or highlighting key points.
We recommend that each participant have a copy of the training manual and that you review each module before training to ensure you have any special materials required. Worksheets are included within the Appendix and can be reproduced and used where indicated. If you would like to save paper, these worksheets are easily transferrable to a flip chart paper format, instead of having individual worksheets.
As for additional materials, we also recommend for all workshops:
- Laptop with projector, for PowerPoint slides
- Printed copies of Quick Reference Sheets for trainees to take with them
- Timer or watch (separate from your laptop)
- Masking tape
- Blank paper
Maximizing Your Training Power
Our company is built for trainers, by trainers. Here are some of our tips to help you create an engaging and unforgettable experience for your participants.
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Make it customized. By tailoring each course to your participants, you will find that your results will increase a thousand-fold.
- Use examples, case studies, and stories that are relevant to the group.
- Identify whether your participants are strangers or whether they work together. Tailor your approach appropriately.
- Different people learn in different ways, so use different types of activities to balance it all out. (For example, some people learn by reading, while others learn through group discussions, and others need a hands-on approach. For more information, we suggest Experiential Learning by David Kolb.)
- Make it fun and interactive. Most people do not enjoy sitting and listening to someone else talk for hours at a time. Make use of these tips and your own experience to keep your participants engaged. Mix up the activities to include individual work, small group work, large group discussions, and mini-lectures.
- Make it relevant. Participants are much more receptive to learning if they understand why they are learning it and how they can apply it to their work. Most importantly, they want to know how it will benefit them and make their lives easier. Take every opportunity to tie what you are teaching back to the context of your participants’ jobs or daily lives.
- Keep an open mind. Many trainers find that they learn something each time they teach, so encourage two-way communication. Enjoy it, learn from it, and make the most of it in your workshops.
Conclusion
And now, it is time for the training! We hope that this blog post gives you some insight into getting the most out of your outsourced training materials.
Posted by Katelyn Roy on