Here at the Hub Events, we’re proud to work with some incredible trainers. We wanted to find out a little bit more about their approach to training and what makes them tick. So, we chatted to Larry, one of the first trainers we ever worked with when our company began, to find out what a day in the life of a Hub Events trainer is really like.
How do you get ready for training success: What’s your morning routine?
The interesting thing is that there's no single routine. It depends hugely on what I'm doing that day. If it's an online course, that has a completely different feel to a face-to-face course. If it's a public course, and I've never met any of the people booked on it before, that will be a bit different to if it's an in-house course, particularly if it's a client I've worked with before. So, there's a huge amount of variety.
Quite a lot of the time, I do courses in a venue in London, at CCT venues. Typically, I'll travel to London the night before and stay overnight. My day begins around 7.30am, I’ll have my breakfast (almost always a cappuccino and some porridge) then I do a thing called my morning pages. I'll write two or three pages on whatever springs to mind - it usually ends up being a bit of a mixture of a kind of diary, what I've done the previous day, reflections on political events and thinking about what the day ahead will bring. It's a good centring exercise. I’ll have a quick phone call with Monica, my wife, before the day starts, then I'll head over to the venue, go to the room and get set up!
In terms of online courses and face to face, do you have a preference of the two?
What I like about the face-to-face courses is that I think it's easier to build that rapport with people, there are more opportunities over the coffee breaks and the lunch break to chat to people informally.
The downside is it's time away from home. If it's a one-day New Manager Boot Camp I'm delivering in London, I leave home at five o'clock the day before, travel up to London and get settled. And I'm not going to be home until nine o'clock the next evening. The great advantage with the online course is that by 4.30 or so it's done, and I'm having a cup of tea with Monica!
For the participants, I think there's obviously pros and cons both in-person learning and virtual courses. It is a richer learning experience if people are physically in the room. But practically, for a lot of people it's a big commitment to take time out for training, so just being able to log in do courses online is a good way for them to do it.
However, there is no difference in quality. The content and the activities that I do in an online course are identical to the ones I do in a face-to-face course - a lot of the group activities and interactive things I do in person, I also do online. For example, there’s one activity which involves learning in small groups. Someone presents a problem or a challenge that they have, while two people listen to it. Then the person presenting stops and listens while the two others discuss what they think the individual should do, as if they're not there. Then finally, all three of the participants work together to think about the next step forward. It's quite an interactive thing and structured learning exercise - I've done it face to face for a long time - I tried it online and it works really well.
What sort of challenges do you come up against during training?
A challenge that many trainers like me will have faced is when the participants clearly don't want to be there. They may even have been sent on the training by someone else and they think it might not be the right course for them.
My strategy for dealing with that is to be very upfront and say, ‘I know you might not want to be here, but it would be nice if you give me the benefit of the doubt. Just give it an hour or so and see if it's going to be useful to you. If it isn't, feel free to leave! But if it has been useful, then then stay, and we'll see what we can do.’ So far, no one has left!
I have to say, in the 14 years I've been with Hub Events, I think I've only really encountered that challenge twice, ever. I think the reason that doesn't happen very often is that Hub Events are really good at liaising with clients, letting them know what the expectations are and making sure that the organisation arranging the training is able to communicate well with the participants.
I’m pleased to say that most often the participants I get to work with are just great - keen to learn and they want to be there.
What’s your favourite part of the training day?
Firstly, at any point in the course, I really, really like it when people ask questions. My training is generally pretty interactive, and I really encourage people to ask questions. It is great to be able to fully answer the question a participant has. When I know they've been scratching their heads for months and then they get a light bulb moment and a very practical and useful solution to a problem, that always gives me a little buzz.
The second is getting informal positive feedback from participants at the end of the course, or sometimes over the lunch break. People might say, ‘This is really useful, I've made lots of notes, it’s great’. The fact that attendees can go away with a whole list of practical things that make their life easier, that's hugely satisfying.
What are the three most important characteristics a trainer needs to have?
The most important thing is to be able to build a connection with the people. Build that rapport within the first few minutes of the training starting, you want the participants to be thinking: ‘Right, I like this person standing at the front, I believe they know their stuff, and I believe today is going to be useful to me.’
“I have a rule that if I'm going to teach something on a course, I make sure I've actually used it myself and know that it works.”
I think the second one is you really need to know your stuff. I like to know that what I'm teaching is well researched, but also that it's practical. A good trainer really needs to know that techniques don’t just work in theory, but in practice. I have a rule that if I'm going to teach something on a course, I make sure I've actually used it myself and know that it works.
And I think number three is understanding how adults learn and structuring a session that will work really well. There's quite a lot to that, particularly around pace and energy. For me, building rapport with the audience, knowing your stuff, and then being able to structure the training in a way that really works for people are the three most important characteristics.
What are your three top tips for candidates attending a course?
I would say ideally, before you come to the course you would have asked yourself ‘what do I want to get out of this?’ It can be even better if you come along with a specific issue you want to solve. My ideal participant will come to us with a specific challenge they have or objective they want to learn.
Secondly, when you’re on the course, participate fully. You almost have to on my courses. I love the participants who ask lots of questions. Even if you are quite introverted, and it feels slightly uncomfortable, I would encourage you to experiment, try to at least ask something during the course.
And then the third thing? Actually do something with the things you’ve learned. You’re not going to transform your personality, habits and practices overnight, but if you enjoyed a session on feedback, next time you go into order a coffee put what you’ve learned into practice and give the person who serves you a nice bit of feedback. Just make sure you do something with the course content as soon as possible!
Find out more about courses and training
We couldn’t be happier working with Larry, he’s been with us from day one. He’s semi-retired now, so if you get the opportunity to take part in one of his fantastic leadership and management courses, grab it with both hands!
If you want to know more about how The Hub Events can help your organisation learn, inspire and thrive, get in touch today – and you can find out more about Larry and our other amazing trainers here.