2012 National Order of the Arrow Conference Fundamentals of Training
SESSION LENGTH: 55 Minutes
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
§ Implement methods on how to prepare for training sessions and compile materials
§ Discuss and describe effective presentation methods
§ Demonstrate effective delivery and explore assessment strategies to prepare for future training
REQUIRED MATERIALS:
§ Flipcharts
§ Computer/laptop
§ Power Point presentation file
§ Projector
§ Note cards
§ Markers/Dry Erase
§ Pens
Trainer preparation
The trainers for this session must be the best of the best in your Lodge or Section. Great care must be taken in their selection. Trainers must be prepared to deliver an extraordinary program designed to enhance the abilities of participants. This session is designed for advanced Arrowmen who may have trained before. Great care must be taken to assess the abilities of the participants and adapt the
experience to challenge each participant.
Trainers must be prepared to participate in all parts of this session. Discussion is imperative and each
trainer brings special experiences to offer which can stimulate discussion among the participants. The
“trainer in charge” at any given moment must use “best practices” to moderate the discussion effectively and provide opportunity for the participants and the staff to develop ideas.
Movie clips are appropriate at many points in this training. This syllabus will only suggest possible clips and the training staff must select clips that are appropriate for the topic and their audience. A movie clip directory will ultimately be available on the Lodge Leadership Development Course Website. Please be sure to select relevant and time sensitive clips to support the topics.
Trainers must be prepared to use a variety of media during this presentation. The trainers we prepare
must be able to use almost any available media for training since circumstances may limit available
media (e.g. role playing vs. multimedia, depending on training location resources). The trainers participating in this session must be prepared to present topics in any foreseeable
training venue, from rustic camp setting to high tech college classroom.
Make sure all the technical equipment is ready to go and tested, always test technical equipment as you don’t want to be messing with it trying to get it to work at the last minute.
TRAINER TIP: The opening and trainer introductions have to be as high energy as possible because that few minutes are what will set the stage for the entire session. First impressions are the most lasting.
SESSION NARRATIVE
INTRODUCTION: 5 MINUTES
The lead trainer should introduce the session. Part of the introduction should include an icebreaker. Any top quality training session will begin with an icebreaker so that the group can begin to come together. Select an icebreaker, which is appropriate for the group.
The lead trainer should then assess the development level and training experiences of the participants. This can be done through discussion and is another way of helping the group get to know one another.
Ask the group, “Why do we train?”
Some answers may include: To equip leaders to do their jobs. Motivate existing lodge leaders. Motivate young Arrowmen to become leaders. To build a team at various levels. To develop a proficiency.
Training is one of the keys to a successful lodge. No lodge can grow and prosper if its leaders feel as ill-equipped for their mission. Although we can all agree that training is essential at all levels of the lodge, each lodge should evaluate its training program on a regular basis to make sure that the needs of its members are being met.
Ask the group, “What are some of your best/worst training experiences?” “What made those fall into that dichotomy?
Training Prep: 10 Minutes
Know your audience - What does the team need? Will one type of training work for all jobs? Training must meet the needs of the lodge, chapter and individual Arrowman. If your lodge did not achieve quality lodge status last year, training is an effective method to concentrate on shortfalls. Brainstorm with the group by surveying the audience about training needs and list ideas on a flip chart. Post the list.
When preparing be sure that you start with the end in mind – so, what are your objectives? Once the objectives are established then you can plan backward. Backward lesson planning.
o Stage 1 - What is worthy and requiring of understanding?
o Stage 2 - What is evidence of understanding?
o Stage 3 - What learning experiences and teaching promote understanding, interest and excellence?
Remember here that the outcomes of the training dictate the content!
Relevance. Have you ever read a syllabus, looked at the group you are expected to train, scratched your head and wondered how in the world you were going to make a connection? Any syllabus must have relevance for the audience or the trainer is wasting everyone’s time. If you have the opportunity to design a syllabus for a particular audience you have the creative edge and can take this into account. If you are working from a canned syllabus more effort may be required. Relevance is a multi-faceted inquiry. Relevance as to age, experience, culture and other factors must be considered.
Where do I find relevant/qualified instructors? Know your resources! Assess the resources in your own lodge among youth and adults. The emphasis should be on youth trainers, but adults can be a tremendous resource. Train the trainer sessions should be held in advance of your training weekends to polish the skills of your trainers. Once again, reach out to other lodges in your section for help. It also helps keep the program interesting to bring in some trainers from outside your own lodge.
Ask the following: What are some important points to remember when recruiting?
Some possible answers include:
o Have a complete job description available.
o Provide options of the jobs that need to be done in order of importance.
o Be excited about the job.
o Know the reliability and skills of the resource that you are recruiting.
§ Content, Personal, Pedagogical, Contextual Knowledge. Passion/Compassion
Ensure you have the appropriate space and the appropriate materials for the training. Sometimes the space can make all of the difference! A training session on Arrowmen development by the dumpsters is not the place to be (story of personal experience). Have adequate room, check the acoustics, ensure you have the materials you need – projectors, tables, chairs, trainees, trainers.
There are other fundamentals that need attention in addition to the personal preparation of the trainer. Are clips set up for viewing? Special attention may be needed for DVD clips which are more difficult to use. Do you have the equipment you need? Does it work? Have you practiced with the specific equipment you will be using? Will it work in your training venue? If you need sound to accompany your presentation, will everyone be able to hear? The key is to eliminate as many unknowns as possible.
Don’t forget the 5 P’s! = Prior planning prevents poor performance!
Effective Presentation Skills: 15 Minutes
A mentality of professionalism and about taking the steps to needed to give a great presentation. Talk about how rare it is to find a skilled public speaker, much less skilled youth speaker. Focus on how a Presenter has to be more flexible with his material and more adaptive to changes. (at this time focus on how a really important skill is being flexible and able to smoothly go with the flow and make changes on the spot, think and run.)
· Dress for success!
o The trainer leading this session should be setting the example, as should all of the trainers in this course. Appearance can impact the message in a positive or negative way.
· Talk with your eyes
o Make sincere eye contact with different members of the audience. Use the three-second rule. It will allow you to connect with individuals and can build rapport with the audience. Effective eye contact can make everyone in the audience feel involved.
· Present with enthusiasm
o When making a presentation, speak clearly and loudly enough that a person in the back of the room can hear you. Project a positive, enthusiastic voice so the participants will hear your passion for the topic.
o Consider training a conversation, a personal conversation. Don’t talk down to, but talk with the participants.
· Rule of “Tell Them” - Repetition
o Tell them three times – TELL THEM what you are going to tell them, TELL THEM, and TELL THEM what you told them. In other words, start with an introduction including the goals for the presentation, provide the content information, and summarize the presentation. This process will reinforce the message for the audience.
· Be flexible
o If you move through your prepared material and realize that you are losing part of your audience, be prepared to shift gears. Take a quick check of your audience by a show of hands or a thumbs up or thumps down on how things are going – “Do we need to flesh this topic out a little more?” is a better question than “Are we all on board?”
· Don’t talk to the projector
o Power Point presentations are a wonderful audio and visual aid, but can be overused and misused. Caution must be taken for presentations not to seem the group in any meaningful way. Clip art must be topical, not distracting and must not be overdone. [Show examples of each of these cautions, and utilize discussion to share other experiences the group has had.] Animation is a real issue with power point usage. Many people go overboard with animation in a way that it serves no useful purpose and becomes a distraction. [Demonstrate options with animation. Show how it can be useful and distracting. Invite discussion from the group about experiences with animation as a trainer or as a participant.]
· Use your body
o Standing, walking, or moving about with appropriate hand gestures and facial expressions is preferred to sitting down or just reading from a prepared speech.
· Listen / Know when to stop talking
o Remove the “Sage on the Stage” = Facilitate
o Do not fall prey to content overload. If the group is comfortable with one topic, move on to another that needs more attention. It is ok to shave down your content while presenting, as long as you are cutting/shaving the right bits.
· Use humor
o The right amount of humor can go a long way to build rapport with your audience and keep your audience interested and attentive. Do not push your luck. Rehearsing your presentation in front of a live audience is the best way to test the acceptability of your humor.
o A spoonful of humor is usually a great dosage, but sometimes you might need to skip the spoon and go for a bucket! Be careful with a bucketful as you could lose control.
· Feedback
o Cultivate it, solicit it, help to put it in context. Use it to adapt your presentation on the fly if needs be.
Be sure your presentation caters to different learning styles:
· Visual: prefer using pictures, images, and spatial understanding
· Auditory: prefer using sound and music.
· Kinesthetic: prefer using your body, hands and sense of touch.
· Linguistic: prefer using words, both in speech and writing.
How can we cater to these different groups? The easiest answer is… well it isn’t easy. Blend your presentation like a braided narrative. Provide the context, engage the audience by soliciting brief comments, provide more context, incorporate some visual examples, break out into groups and use Collaborative learning – a group process.
The average adult in the United States can speak at a rate of 125-150 words per minute and most people can comprehend four to six times that amount of information. To close the listening gap, engage your audience with discussion, activities, or written assignments to keep their attention.
When using video clips make sure to adequately set the stage for the clip. Some clips require no introduction but most need some introduction as to the movie and what is happening at the beginning of the clip so that the participant is ready to make a connection with what you are doing.
Once the clip is shown, make sure you follow up to clearly make the connection for the participant. Unless you apply the lesson it is a lesson lost.
Make sure that you build in opportunities for the participant. Use self-disclosure, discussion, sharing of views and ideas, and problem solving. Let them play an active role in their own learning.
Implementation: 10 Minutes
The Big Day has arrived – “You have planned the work, now it’s time to work the plan!”
Make it personal. There may be no more important message in this entire training session than to make it personal.
Discuss ways to make it personal for participants and to make heart connections with the group. Heart connections must be made as leaders with followers and as teachers with students. Discuss with the group why this personal connection is so important. Make sure to find out what experiences they have had with trainers before now.