Motivating difficult trainees during training

It is said there is no such thing as a “difficult trainee”, just the unknown and our reactions to that.

Not everyone is like a spring lamb or an inquisitive 3 year old!

We have all been there,  seen it and done it before, indeed many have the T-Shirt. Often, when things are new and we believe passionately about it, on occasions we can seem a “little” too over enthusiastic. J

This can happen in your training too. As trainers we can appear to be “too full on” or almost as a disciple for the change or movement. For some this is a motivator, for others it’s a warning.

Imagine the scenario, you have been selected to be part of a special group that gets to see the “shiny new” system before everyone else. You are told that this will change the way the business works. You are shown the system and trained in its use. Of course some things are easier to do, and others are more difficult than before. But your role is to help people adjust to the change. You spend weeks getting to know the processes and software. Over this time you learn to focus on what it does no, not what it doesn’t. This is natural.

Proof is in the eating

When you have completed your training, it is then for you to go off into the “wild” and help to train people. How they will receive the training and the new system is dependent on a number of factors:

1. How the change was communicated to them
2. Expectations of the training from their manager
3. The previous tools they had to do the job (was it easier or harder before)

And of course this ignores your style and the actual contents of the training.

Energy mismatch

When as a trainer you are passionate and energised and your participants are not (they may appear disinterested or negative), then there is an energy mismatch. Unfortunately when there is such a difference, then this itself becomes a significant barrier to learning. You cannot “drag” them to being interested by energy and passion alone. To the participants it’s like when you have had a bad day and someone over the road is screaming at you to come and join them. We need to lead them by the hand.

Leading by the hand

To help move learners that are in a different place from you, and where you need them to be, they need to trust us, and walk with us. We need to reassure them that it’s the right thing to do.

The trainers tips are:

• Slow down to their speed
• Recognise that the training or solution is not magic or perfect
• That it is natural for people to be concerned about changes to their working methods
• Go to where your participants are in terms of energy and motivation… then slowly lead them where you want them… more engaged, more positive