training trained trainers

it has been a tradition that i give a short talk to the participants at the end of the trainers qualification program. la lang. share ko lang experiences ko sa pagtuturo. conducting technical training used to be part of my job kasi. here’s a glimpse of what i shared this time around. please note that this is from my own personal perspective and experiences. it may not apply to all. 😉

4 TRUTHS (or myths) IN CONDUCTING TRAININGS

training starts the moment you (trainer) enter the training room. – MYTH
for a trainer, training starts way before he/she enters the training room. preparation is key.

in training, less is more. – TRUTH
keep everything simple. have only a few objectives. emphasize on key points.

you (trainer) must have an answer to any question the audience may ask. – MYTH
this is impossible. be humble and have the integrity to admit that you do not know the answer BUT do not leave your participant hanging, research about the question and come back to him/her once you got the answer.

once you (trainer) know more than your material then you are set to go. – MYTH 
there are 4 things a trainer should know:
1) know your material
2) know yourself
3) know your audience
4) know more than enough

i used to train a lot and, frankly, medyo na-ka-ka-miss din. maybe later on (much, much later on… 😀) i would go into teaching. between selle and i though, my wife probably will become a better teacher. unang-una, she has a much better academic background. note, selle was 2nd in her graduating class. talino, no? 🙂 pangalawa, she’s more diligent than i. 😆 pangatlo, she’s more in the mold of a teacher. lastly, selle is really attractive. wait a minute, ano koneksyon nun? wala lang. i just wanted to say it. 😉

quick trivia: selle and i were both student assistants back in college. selle actually was being groomed as a professor in mapua but she accepted work here and the rest is history. buti na rin lang kasi kundi, i wouldn’t have met her. 😉


tqp participants with the judges.
first row, left to right: kiko (judge), loida, ikai, tin, amor (judge), tinay, melissa, led and you know who 😉
back row, left to right: cris, allen, mike, charles, brian, laila

and my special awards:

continuing-the-legacy award: mike
the tqp has yielded 5 graduates from the environment and safety department and, like their superior and fellow judge, kiko, all have been very impressive. it is imaginable how much pressure the succeeding participants from e&s have as they are expected to excel due to their predecessors. with the e&s staple of props and multi-media presentation… plus plenty of humor, mike surpassed the expectations. now, who’s next for e&s? 🙂

walang-karapatan-kabahan award: ikai
a relatively new employee, she was very vocal about her apparent nervousness. but as she finished her presentation, i felt like the “kinakabahan-ako” was all a front/tactic as she displayed the qualities of being a first-rate trainer.

the voice award: hannah
calm, clear and controlled. later on i learned from my wife that hannah was a former call-center agent. now that explains it all. 🙂