When I left my job at Google 10 years ago I never wanted to be in sales again. Not my cup of tea, thank you very much. Imagine the irony when I discovered that in order to be a great trainer, you still need to employ your sales skills on the regular. Introducing the goal of the session is the first moment for this.

During the session you will invite participants to step out of their comfort zone. As the wording implies this isn’t necessarily -well- comfortable… Participants may feel awkward, uneasy or vulnerable as they try something new. Therefore, few people will venture out of their comfort zone without a good reason. There needs to be something worth having outside of your comfort zone to endure the discomfort that inevitably follows when you leave it. The goal of the session is that reason. It is this goal that you have to ‘sell’ to the participants.

You do this by framing the goal in such a way that it appeals to your participants. It needs to be so alluring that they buy into it and sign up for whatever is coming next.

Now I can imagine you might be curious what a ‘salesy’ goal might sound like. In that case, fret not: here are two examples.

Training Protecting your Focus: ‘In our chats before the session you’ve mentioned that this quarter is especially busy for your company. Some of you told me that it feels like treading water sometimes, keeping up with all of the things that need to get done. In times like these it is increasingly difficult to remain focused on the things that matters most, am I right? [check for non-verbal confirmation]. This session has been designed for you to enable you to keep that focus, even when demands are high. Sounds good? [hold space for some reactions].’
Training Situational Leadership: ‘Since you have all started leading your own team in the last year, you’ve probably noticed already that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to leadership. Different people in your team require different things from you at different times. [check non-verbals of the group to gauge whether this resonates]. Figuring out what approach would work best in a specific situation can be difficult and actually carrying out what you intended can prove a struggle. The two days of training ahead of us will tackle these two challenges. By enabling you to become flexible in the leadership style you display, you will yield better results with your team. How does that sound? [hold space for some reactions]’

Have you noticed that I’ve inserted space in my delivery of the goal for some (non-)verbal reactions from the group? You probably suspect by now that that is intentional. You would be right. I take in their reactions to gauge whether they are on board with what I’m saying. If their reactions are positive, I keep going. If their responses are lukewarm, that is my first cue that there might be some resistance that has to be addressed. How you do this will be tackled in a later blogpost.

Let me share three common pitfalls you might want to elegantly step around as you start putting this into practice:

Skipping the goal altogether. That sounds something like: ‘So today’s topic is Bad News Conversations. In the morning we’ll learn the 4 steps of delivering bad news and how to avoid the most common pitfalls and in the afternoon we’ll practice with your own cases.’ By skipping the goal, you deny participants the opportunity to buy into the end result and build up intrinsic motivation for the session ahead. Plus, you miss the moment to check for possible resistance.
Mistaking the means for the end. This sounds something like: ‘The goal for today’s session is to learn how to give feedback and practice with your own cases’ In fact it is not. Those two things are merely means to achieve a bigger goal. That goal might sound like: ‘The goal for today’s session is to empower you to build a high-performing team. How you as a manager encourage effective behavior and discourage ineffective behavior will heavily influence how your team performs. The tool you have for this is feedback. At the end of this day, you will feel more confident in giving feedback and you will have the skills to deliver the feedback in such a way that it motivates the employee to develop while nurturing the relationship.’
Framing the goal from the company’s point of view. This sounds something like: ‘So the reason for today’s session is that the Employee Engagement Survey showed that 73% of employees feel they do not receive enough feedback from their managers. By spending the next two days learning how to give and receive feedback the goal is to bring that number down to less than 20% by the end of next year.’ Even though this might very well be the reason the training is happening, framing it in this way is a no-go. Why? Because it is unclear to participants what is in it for them personally. Only when you frame the goal in such a way that it communicates an end-result worth having for the individual participant will you entice them to leave comfort behind and go on the training-journey with you.

This is an excerpt from my upcoming book on how to deliver awesome trainings. It comes from the chapter Opening a Session. This theory is also covered in my Train-the-Trainer programme: Inspire to Develop.

As I enter the virtual training session I am welcomed by a slide that says: ‘Welcome, the training will start at 09:00’. The trainer is muted and typing. He doesn’t acknowledge me nor the other participants dripping in. For the 5 minutes left before the start of the training everyone just sits there, on mute, somewhat uncomfortable, somewhat bored. At 09:00 the trainer looks up from his keyboard and opens the training. As he gets to the introductions, he asks: ‘I’d love to get to know you all! Who would like to start by introducing themselves?’ He is met with a sullen silence.

This trainer obviously did not receive a very important memo with regards to training: The training starts before the training. Take a moment to let that phrase sink in. What does it mean for you?

Okay, cut to a different example.

As I approach the training space I hear some faint music. When I walk through the door I see a trainer behind his computer, singing along to some Blues Brothers music. He is obviously enjoying himself. When notices me, he stands up and walks up to greet me with a big smile on his face. We get into some small talk as he asks me about my job, how I am looking forward to today’s session and my taste in music (he noticed me singing along to one of the songs). As other participants come in, they’re met with the same welcome and he includes them in the small talk. When it’s time to start he redirects the conversation to the topic of the training by saying: ‘09:00, let’s get this show on the road!’. As he gets to introductions he says: ‘Let’s do an official introduction round, so we get to know each other better. Who’ll go first?’ Immediately, two people raise their hands.

This trainer had achieved what ‘the training starts before the training’ is alluding to: He had us in his pocket before the training had started. Even though this training took place years before I decided to become a trainer myself I always remembered this session. I used it as an inspiration for how I start my sessions. I’ll share my checklist with you, in the hope it inspires you in turn.

20 minutes before start time: Prep Done. Room set up to my liking? Check. Presentation plugged in? Check. Went to the bathroom? Check. Wrote my flips? Check. Training Materials in place? Check. Got my morning tea? Check.

Music & Chill. Put on some music and chill until the first participant drops in. A few notes on music…

Go for something you enjoy, don’t pick something for the participants. The participants are influenced more by your demeanor than the music. Also, if you pick something unique to you that tends to be a nice conversation starter. Obviously, you do want to be mindful of the setting you are in. If you are into death metal or gangster rap I would say Rock on, but choose something more middle of the road for the session.
Tailor the vibe of music to what you need in the moment. Participants are stressed and high in energy because of the commute? Pick something mellow and slower-paced. Participants are lethargic after lunch? Pick something lighthearted and upbeat.
An additional benefit of having music playing is that it makes it very easy to transition to the actual session. You simply turn off the music, and you will automatically have everyone’s attention. No need for raising your voice. As a music-lover though I have one request for you. For the love of Pete, do not turn the music off mid-song. Anyone who’s into music like me will have a short-circuit in their brain and they will need at least half an hour to recover from that musical faux-pas. So please, wait ‘til the end of the song or do an elegant fade-out. On behalf of all music lovers everywhere: I thank you.

Smile & Welcome. Walk up to each participant, welcome them and point them to the big 3: coat rack, toilet, coffee machine. By walking up to them you immediately establish yourself as the trainer and the one in charge. Names are a big deal. Make a point to remember them and get the pronunciation 100 % correct. You want participants to feel seen and welcome, and learning people’s names is your first step to get there. If remembering names is not your forte, do make your own life easier by using name tags or writing them down. If you’re seeing the group for the second time, study the participant list beforehand so you can greet people by name as much as possible.

Talk Small. If small talk doesn’t come naturally to you and you’d rather skip this part, may I advise against it? These seemingly innocuous conversations aren’t mere fillers. They serve you as a trainer in many ways. Really? Yes! In these conversations with participants you:

…dig up information that is relevant to the training.What’s their attitude towards the training? Are they excited, neutral, resistant or something else? How are they doing? Are they hung-over because they had the company Christmas party the day before? Are they anxious because the company is in a re-org and they’re fearing for their jobs? This is stuff you want to know about before the training starts, because it will influence how you might approach the session.
… form an image of participants’ daily reality. This you can then use during the training to create examples that are recognizable and relevant to participants, creating a custom-feel.
… win them over with your personality so you have participants in your pocket before the training starts.

Express interest. Most participants can sniff out the difference between genuine and feigned interest in a heartbeat. So do bring an attitude of true curiosity to your small talk. Make sure you respond to what they’re sharing with a follow-up question, because the most interesting information lies hidden behind the second or third follow-up question.

Include everyone. Since your goal is to have the whole group in your pocket before the session starts avoid deep one-on-one conversations with a single participant, however interesting the topic may be. Actively engage others by saying something like: ‘We were just discussing…/ Did you also experience…/ How is that for your department?’

So now you too have received the memo and it’s up to you to make it your own and create your own unique ways to greet, engage and connect with your participants. When your moment arrives, I trust you share the memo in turn, so together we uplift the game and dazzle all of our future participants with a welcome that’s surprising, warm and engaging.

Opening a session: Selling the training to participants

Opening a session: The training starts before the training