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Easier Learning

Guest post by: Tom Miller

Article Overview: 18 simple practical steps that anyone can take to maximise their retention when participating in a training course, coaching session, or learning exercise.

Easier Learning

No matter how inspiring or otherwise a training course is, time on the course presents a rare opportunity to gather new ideas, practice applying them, and create some learning momentum. I once asked a colleague about a course he had just attended. I said, “How was the course? His answer was most memorable so I have written it out here. He said:

“I find that the effectiveness of a training course depends very much on the attitudes and enthusiasm of the participants. Personally, I found the training very good indeed.”

Here are 18 simple practical steps that anyone can take to maximise their retention when participating in a training course, coaching session, or learning exercise.

1. Make detailed notes during training. The act of paraphrasing or précising to write your notes will help you gain deeper understanding and increase retention of facts, concepts and ideas.
2. Ask questions of the trainer to confirm or test understanding. Formulating and expressing questions expands your grasp of meaning and elicits more information from the trainer.
3. Play Devil’s Advocate. Take an opposite view point and use it to test the validity of ideas. Be careful to do this with enquiring, polite, and respectful tone so that you don’t get labelled as a trouble maker. Be ready to listen rather than debate.
4. Make an action list during the course. Write each action in specific terms and state clearly what you plan to do.
5. Consolidate your action list as soon after the course as you can. Some of your action items can be done together. Re write your list, grouping actions together to reduce the time necessary to complete them. It is worth doing this before you leave the training room.
6. Prioritise your action list for magnitude. Allocate a letter starting from 'A' to each action item according to the magnitude of its effect on your results. For the action that will have the greatest effect, allocate 'A'. For the action that will have the second greatest effect, allocate 'B' and so on.
7. Prioritise your action list for immediacy. Allocate a number starting from '1' to each action item according to the immediacy of its effect on your results. For the action that will have the most immediate effect, allocate '1'. For the action that will have the second quickest effect, allocate '2' and so on.
8. Decide what you will do first and put it at the top of your 'To Do' list. If you don't feel you can’t put it at the top, put it within the first five items. If you put it any lower, you will probably never do it.
9. Make an appointment with yourself to review the course within one day. If you spend just twenty minutes reviewing your notes and the course material, you will double your retention of the information.
10. Make a learning map of the course. Take a blank piece of paper and turn it sideways, in landscape view. Draw a picture in the middle to represent the central theme of the training. Draw satellite pictures to represent the various sections and topics. Join each satellite image to the central theme with coloured lines. Write words and phrases to label the pictures. Add more words to represent key ideas and thoughts. Use colour to add emotion to the picture.
11. Make an appointment with yourself to review the course one week afterwards. Each time you spend twenty minutes reviewing your notes and the course material, you will double your retention of the information.
12. Make an appointment with yourself to review the course one month afterwards. Twenty minutes reviewing your notes and the course material will still double your long term retention of the information.
13. Make an appointment with yourself to review the course three months afterwards. Each time you review your notes and the material, you will discover something new. You will gain new insight or an additional idea that hadn't occurred to you before.
14. Tell your manager and peers about the actions you plan to carry out. You will be more motivated to fulfil Public commitments.
15. Ask your manager to help you stay focussed on your development objectives. Discuss your action list priorities and ask your manager to regularly follow up with you to ask about your progress.
16. Discuss the ideas and principles conveyed in the training with other participants. Seek different opinions and compare them with your own. Debate the issues to expand understanding.
17. Use an audio recorder to practise new ways of communicating more effectively. Without practice people quickly fall back into comfortable habits.
18. Teach what you have learnt to others. There is no better test of understanding than to teach what you have learnt.

At school learning seemed to be something that was done to us. Teachers took responsibility for our progress. All we had to do was to follow their direction. As adults, our attendance may be directed however learning is entirely voluntary. “If it is going to be, it’s up to me” echoes in my mind whenever my resolve crumbles. This thought is usually enough to renew my motivation.

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Article Tags: coaching session, information, learning exercise, sales training, Training course



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