Jackson Ng is a professional trainer & speaker, he has conducted countless training programs, workshops, seminars ranging from government to private organizations. The largest group he had ever spoken to before was 2000.
As a trainer, whether new or seasoned, one will always meet challenges before, during and after any training. There are a thousand things you need to know before you can deliver a great training. I spent lots of money in my early days to learn from gurus, both local and international.
What makes a trainer great at training, I won’t be able to answer completely in just one article. I suggest you get connected with me and my team to get continuous support and assistance.
How fast can a new trainer become great at training?
From my 17 years of experience as a trainer and speaker, let me share a few tips with you here.
TIP#1: IDENTIFY THE RIGHT TRAINING ISSUE
A good training begins with the trainer being able to identify training needs clearly and accurately. Many times, the effort ended up a waste of time and money because the objectives of training were not met. The clients didn’t get what they wanted and the trainees were shortchanged and disappointed. Therefore trainers must be able to identify the issues and design the right training critical to the success of any training program.
TIP#2: GIVE YOUR BEST CONTENT
Many times like everyone else, I paid a few thousand ringgit for a class. As usual everyone was excited in the beginning but as time passed by, we were still wondering when the trainer would heat things up a bit. In fact, he did but perhaps ONLY about 10 %. The rest of the time was used to upstage and promote another premium program, asking everyone to buy again. This is the biggest sin in training. If you are not giving your best content, your client will definitely be disappointed. You need to give the best of what you have got. Give all because you have agreed to offer in the first place. Remember every participant must feel grateful and excited after leaving your training.
TIP#3: ALWAYS ENJOY THE TRAINING OR PRESENTATION
Some of the best training I had ever seen was when the trainers made fun of themselves and people could see the trainer was having fun on stage. It is important to know 8 hours listening to one person is far too torturing, especially if the trainer is superb at being a bore. You need to enjoy the stage time. If you are comfortable, the audience is comfortable. If you are not willing to be open, no one will be. In order to be engaging, first you need to feel good and enjoy every moment you have with your audience.
TIP#4: USE YOUR EXPERIENCE TO THE FULLEST
Experience, expertise and knowledge are gems. Perhaps, you have already worked for an organisation for a long time. All the experience you have, bad or good can actually help you a lot in your work as a trainer. Talk about it openly and get others to share too. Your experience will count especially when it fosters a connection with people affected by the same issue.
TIP#5: WRITE A BOOK AND USE IT
Writing a book is not a walk in the park. The first book I wrote, Dare to Dream went into the rubbish bin after it was printed for 2000 copies in 2000. I had no one to guide me. I was writing on impulse. Just some ideas and a patchy style and the whole book badly written.
I learnt a great lesson. Get help. My second book was written in year 2004, You Are A Top Student which managed sales of15,000 copies. Two years were taken to produce it. I made sure lots of research and survey were done before writing the first page.
My third book, Speak With Impact to Any Audience was rated 4 star by Berita Harian in 2008. It launched the training of many big organisations like Bank Negara, Walton Group International, RHB Bank, Nestle, JKR, Sarawak Energy , Telekom Malaysia, Pos Malaysia and many more.
My latest book, The New You has created many new opportunities for me to speak to many new clients. I have one client who confirmed 15 sessions because of this book. I am grateful that all my 3 books have helped me a tremendously in my work as a trainer and consultant.
Today, if you are not sure how to write your book and you need help, you can talk to us. We can help you.
TIP#6: GIVE YOUR FIRST 50 TRAINING AT NO CHARGE
There is no money in the beginning. Why? No one knows you. Second, you are not sure about the quality of your work. Therefore, I always suggest to new trainers to give training or seminars at no charge. When you do for 50 sessions, you become better each session you do. At the end of 50th session, you have become an expert. The 5O session rule has always been my guiding principle.
Those early years before I turned professional, from 1997 till 2002, I was doing it for FREE. I can’t actually remember the times I was speaking to all the schools in Kuching on HOW TO STUDY SMART and diligently contributed many sessions to each school.
Due to the practice and experience, I became prepared to speak in any environment, to any size of audience and to any audience.
TIP #7: ENGAGE YOUR AUDIENCE WITH MULTI METHODOLOGY
In our Train the trainer programme, we teach you more than 25 methodologies to engage your audience. As a trainer, you can’t rely on lecturing your audience. Dealing with adult audiences is entirely different from speaking with students.
- If you are good with singing, sing!
- If you are a good dancer, get your audience to dance.
- If you are good with stories, tell stories.
- If you are good with humor, make them laugh!
TIP#8: GET A GOOD MENTOR AND COACH
Everyone needs a mentor. A mentor is someone who can guide you and show the precise way of getting certain results. You can get a mentor on public speaking or presentation skills. It’s easy but to get the right mentor for training business is a bit tricky. However, if you have the chemistry with a mentor that can help you in your journey to becoming a professional trainer, get one today!
I was without a mentor/ coach in my first 3 years of training business. I did it all wrong! I ended up losing money for 3 years. I hired many employees and guided them wrongly. I spent money on the wrong advertising media. My material wasn’t solid. The list went on. The biggest problem was, I didn’t even know what went wrong till I learnt from a few mentors and coaches.
Getting the right mentors will shorten your learning curve and expedite your success in this industry.
TIP#9: GET WELL PREPARED AT ALL TIMES
As a trainer or speaker, the mastery of 3 things is important.
First is the mastery of your training content. You need to be well versed with the content and know what is to be covered and what is not as important. You need to have the depth of the subject. Otherwise, you will be cooked alive by your audience.
Second, the mastery of delivery. It is the way you deliver your training.
- Is it interesting?
- Is it boring?
- It is easy to understand?
- Is it fun to learn?
Third, the stage mastery
You need to be a master in using the stage and the room. How you arrange your stage area and room setting is crucial for your learners. When to turn on the lights and how to use sound to your advantage is needed.
Will people feel comfortable with the space in the room?
Do you have enough space for each activity?
TIP#10: JOIN THE RIGHT TRAIN THE TRAINER PROGRAM, GET YOURSELF CERTIFIED
The best way I can answer all your needs as a trainer is for you to join our next Train the Trainer programme. In train the trainer, we teach you everything you need to know to be a great trainer. At the end of 5 days, you will receive a certification award from the human resource development council which will entitle you to train and speak for a fee in Malaysia. This marks the start of the beginning of your journey.
UPCOMING COURSE : HRDF Train The Trainer Certification Program
TIP#11: MENTORSHIP AND COACHING PROGRAM
This program is exclusive and we only select a few certified trainers to be on this program. You can apply and we will interview you to see whether we can go on this journey of mentorship together. If yes, we will mentor and coach you and aim to guide reach a revenue of RM 100,000 in your training. This mentorship works yearly. After 1 year, you can continue or discontinue the mentorship. There will be a small fee charged for this program.
For more information or training request on Train the Trainer, kindly write to us at [email protected] or call/whatsapp to +6016-3366030. Thanks for reading.