Finally, Group Trainer!

Perhaps it’s true that ideas or hopes put into writing realize much sooner and it really is not about being superstitious.  There are thousands, perhaps millions, of ideas get lost among the nerves because they are said one day and forgotten the next day.  It’s a shame, really, because had they been put into writing (and better read out loud regularly), they would impact our subconscious mind who in turn will sort of “direct” our actions towards those goals, or ideas.

This is what happened to me just recently.  There is this workshop I had been dying to attend for quite some time but could never make it due to external factors.  This workshop, called “Group Train the Trainer” or GTTT, is essential to obtain a certification to be a Group Trainer although perhaps more importantly, it teaches you on how to be one. 

It was only early this year, when I was busy drafting my New Year resolutions, that it struck me again, after one year of being left somewhere in the corner, forgotten, abandoned, and ignored for nearly a year.  And publishing my New Year resolution to the whole world was perhaps one of the best decisions I have made in life.  I revisited my blog regularly to remind myself of my resolutions every now and then, and sent a few more e-mails, looked for ways to make it come true, and it finally did.  I finally managed to secure a seat for this elusive workshop last month and attended the session last week.

In all honesty, corporate trainings are not my cup of tea and the idea of having four consecutive days of it was just too much to bear.  In fact, was it not essential to support my job as a departmental trainer, I might have not grown any interest in this workshop at all.  But this one was an exception and one that might even change my perspective forever.  Granted, the topics discussed might not be the most interesting things in the world, but I am grateful to have two energetic and upbeat trainers plus a great company which made the whole thing, well, very interesting. 

There were seven of us in the workshop, plus the two trainers.  To sum it up, it was me plus eight strangers I had never even had heard the names of in my life.  This made me a bit worried at first as I am not really good at small talks and creating first impressions.  But somehow we became quite close to each other in just the first couple of days.  Certainly we would not be BFFs, but I must say I personally enjoyed the numerous active discussions, debates, and interactions we had, including those times when we wished each other good luck before our presentations and lent hands whenever anybody of us needed one.

So was it worth the one-year wait?  Without the slightest doubt!  I learnt a lot during the four-day course and have started thinking of ways to apply what I learn on my future training sessions.  Although I considered myself to be quite comfortable and confident delivering trainings to groups even before the workshop, I now realized that my trainees might not think so.  They might have their own preferred learning methods and thus might not enjoy my training sessions as much as I do.  As a trainer, I learnt, turning a blind eye on this could be your biggest mistake as not only it makes the whole training ineffective, it might even turn contra-productive.  Gone are the days of the old school-style learning, where learning is the responsibility of the trainees.  Parts of it are now the trainers’ and it actually makes me even prouder being a trainer.

If you too are a full-time or even a part-time trainer, feel free to share your experiences with me!