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Consultants Training and Education

Our company brought in an outside trainer to give a dozen of us a half-day of management training. The speaker was knowledgeable and had some good points, but he lectured almost the whole time. He answered a few questions, but I don't think I learned much at all. What do you think of this type of training?



It is noteworthy that your company is willing to invest in managerial training, and yet it is unfortunate that the outside trainer used a rather unworthy approach. There are times when a lecture can be appropriate, such as a presentation in front of a huge audience, but lecturing is generally regarded as one of the least effective training strategies in smaller sessions.

The lecture approach overlooks many of the most important elements of learning. For real learning to occur, there should be opportunities for practice, feedback to the attendees, discussions and exchanges of ideas, active attendee involvement, and varying strategies and training techniques to deal with the different ways that people learn. A lecture is premised on a one-size-fits-all learning philosophy, and that simply is not reality.

In order to prevent an encore appearance and experience, you and your fellow attendees should let management know how you feel about this session. You should also do a little homework and generate a listing of individuals and educational institutions that are likely to do a better job and ultimately help you do a better job, too.




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