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What kind of format should I use for a training seminar?

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There are several options for how to format your training seminar, and it is best to choose the format that best fits your company and your purposes. A seminar aimed at a thousand people will necessarily have a different format than one aimed at twenty.

One of the first things to determine is whether your company should run the training itself or go to an outside trainer. Is your company equipped (does it have the proper personnel and materials) to provide the necessary training? Is it financially viable to do it yourself? Instead, should you hire an outside trainer to come in or pay for the few employees who need training to go to a weekend seminar on the topic?

If you decide to do the training yourself, delegate a point person for the training. That person can be in charge of logistical details such as the time and place of training as well as determining what exact topics need to be covered and how you will cover them. Do you have good lecturers in your company that will be available to provide training? What about people that can give testimonials on the benefits of training? Experts in certain areas? Videos, power point, or other necessary equipment? Can you do it all in one place or will you need to go to different areas to demonstrate training issues? Make the training instructional first, but also as entertaining as possible. Use humor, snacks, and breaks if necessary. Entertained trainees will be more likely to pay attention.

If you decide to use an outside trainer, get recommendations from those who have done similar training in the past. If you are sending employees to seminars, make sure it is worthwhile by choosing a seminar that deals specifically with issues that the employees need to know.

There is a Chinese proverb that reads, �I hear, and I forget. I see, and I remember. I do, and I understand.� Your goal in providing a training seminar is certainly not that the trainees forget what they learn, but neither is it that they simply remember it. You want them to understand it and truly learn it. To this end, encourage trainees to think and even role-play during training. Allow them opportunities in training to put into practice what they are learning. If you are doing customer service training, role-play different scenarios. If you are doing ethics training, give them some potential ethical dilemmas and let them decide how to respond.

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