With 37 years of experience in the world of training, I affirm that there are supportive traits for an outstanding trainer—spices and seasonings of brilliance. In this article, we’ll outline some of them:
- Fun and Entertainment
Incorporating fun and entertainment into a training course makes it shine, just like its trainer. A course without fun or entertainment is deemed a failure. However, fun here doesn’t mean cracking jokes to make trainees laugh; rather, it involves sharing real, amusing stories from real-life experiences that bring lightheartedness and enjoyment to the participants.
Let’s give an example: In one of the sessions, during the introduction segment, I asked each participant to state their name and a positive word starting with the first letter of their name (in Arabic), for example: Musa = Cooperative.
The participants began to mention unexpected positive words, such as: Ahmed = Lion, Maryam = Queen, Suad = Empress, Hani = Brave, and so on, making the trainees laugh at each other!
In another course at the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development about emotional intelligence and anger management, I shared the following story with the trainees:
While in Alexandria, I needed to return to Kuwait and called a transportation company for a taxi.
Incorporating Fun and Entertainment into the Training Course Makes It Outstanding, While Lacking Humor Makes It Dull
When the car arrived, I asked the driver to take me to the Borg El Arab International Airport, a 45-minute drive from Alexandria, and the following conversation ensued between me and the driver, in Egyptian dialect:
Me: May I know your name, sir?
Driver: I’m Engineer Momtaz (Excellent).
Me: An engineer? Driving a taxi?
Driver: Yes.
Me: Is your name truly fitting?
Driver: Absolutely! I’m excellent, my father is excellent, my mother is excellent, and all my family is excellent.
Me: The road ahead is long, Engineer Momtaz. I’d like to hear an "excellent" story from you.
Driver: Sure! Listen to this one.
He began: "One day, a prominent figure called me and said, 'Momtaz, I have an appointment tomorrow at 9 a.m. I want you to be at my villa by 8:30, half an hour early, so I don’t run late. Got it?' I replied, 'Got it, sir.'
The next day, I arrived at the villa at 8:30 sharp. I waited for him to come out, but he didn’t. Nine o’clock came and went, and he still hadn’t left the house. Suddenly, he came out, fuming with rage.
He started ranting: 'Why do women do this to us?! Doesn’t she know I have a 9 o’clock appointment? She’s been in front of the mirror for an hour, dolling herself up!'
I didn’t say a word. I was puzzled, unsure of what to say. This wasn’t my business, and speaking up would only make things worse. So, I chose to stay silent.
The man paced back and forth, yelling at the villa guard: 'Go and call that troublesome woman!' The guard didn’t move a muscle.
I thought to myself, 'God help this poor woman. If she comes out now, there’s going to be a fight. He might hit her, and blood could be spilled!'
Eventually, his wife emerged, impeccably dressed, at 9:15. I braced myself for the impending clash between them.
But to my astonishment, the man transformed into a dove of peace!
The man greeted his wife with utter affection: 'Come along, my dear. Please, step in.' He opened the car door for her with love and care, showering her with poetic words.
His wife asked, 'Did I make you late, my love?'
He replied, 'Late? How could you have? No, no, not at all! I can’t live without you. Come on, my queen!'
Engineer Momtaz concluded the story with this remark: 'Where did the roaring lion go? How did he turn into a dove of peace? I have no idea!
The trainees burst into laughter at this point.
The takeaway: An outstanding trainer is one who incorporates fun and humor into their sessions. A training session lacking a sense of humor becomes dull and boring.
2- Challenge and Competition
It is natural for trainees to become bored, restless, and lose interest quickly. An outstanding trainer must recognize this and challenge the trainees with questions, puzzles, and competitions to energize, motivate, and ignite their enthusiasm and energy.
Among the ways to foster competition and challenge among trainees is by organizing administrative competitions that spark a competitive spirit. These can include:
Among the Ways to Foster Competition and Challenge Among Trainees: Organizing Contests That Inspire Enthusiasm
- Global Personalities Competition: Display images of renowned global figures who excelled in the subject of the course, and ask each team to identify them. Prizes are awarded to the winning team.
- Connecting Letters and Reading Between the Lines: Present a phrase made up of several words, where some words are fully visible, while others only show the first letter. Teams are tasked with identifying the hidden words.
- Priority Management Matrix Competition: Show four quadrants representing priority management: urgent matters, planning, interruptions, and trivial matters of life. Teams must match each phrase presented to the appropriate quadrant.
- Who Said It? Competition: Display famous quotes attributed to well-known scholars, and ask teams to use their mobile phones to identify the authors.
- Logo Competition: Display logos of successful global companies or failed bankrupt organizations. Teams must identify these logos.
- True or False Competition: Present administrative or leadership statements, and teams must choose the correct answers.
- Choose the Correct Statement Competition: Present several administrative or leadership statements and provide multiple-choice options. Teams must select the correct answer.
Some of these competitions can also be conducted individually, with prizes awarded to the winners. An outstanding trainer knows that competitions are an effective way to motivate trainees during training sessions.
In upcoming articles, in Allah’s will, we will provide examples for each of these competitions and methods for managing them.
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Read this Article in Arabic
