Three Keys to Getting Buy-in FromTraining Participants

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Three Keys to Getting Buy-in FromTraining Participants

very trainer has experienced it at one time or another: a room full of blank stares, rolled eyes,

and mumbled groans. It’s a phenomenon otherwise known as a training class with reluctant

participants.If your learners

don’t

react to training this way, good for you. Consider yourself lucky and continue doing

whatever it is you’re doing that rallies them to improve their skills. If, however, you have a difficult time

getting buy-in from training participants, the following three steps might help you turn that around.

State the objective of the training session

At the beginning of the session,

it’s important to tell the group what they’re there to achieve. The

objective should be written on a flip-chart, slide, or whiteboard (so that it can be seen by participants)and it should be verbally announced by the trainer as well (so it can be

heard

by participants). Keep inmind that often a training session has more than one specific objective. State them all.

To determine the objective, ask yourself “What will

the learners be able to do at the end of the

training?”

Then state the objective positively and concisely. Following are a few examples:

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Learn how to successfully operate the XL 22000 account management program

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Acquire skills to write e-mail messages that are clear, concise, positive, and professional

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Learn three techniques for effective cross-selling

Explain WIIFT

Most people are motivated by answering the ever-

present question, What’s In It For Me? (WIIFM). Inorder to get learners’ buy

-in and active

participation in training, it’s essential for you to let them knowWIIFT (What’s In It For Them)—

bas

ically, how they’ll benefit from

doing whatever it is that you wantthem to do.In many cases, there are multiple benefits. Pick the two or three that you feel will resonate moststrongly with your learners, and then point them out with enthusiasm and confidence. You can alsoremind them of these benefits throughout the course of the training. Following are some typicalexamples of how people can benefit from learning new skills:

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Save time

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Have less stress

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Handle challenging customers with ease

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Progress along a career path

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Make fewer data entry errors