As a data schooler, we get to be on the receiving end most of the time during the training. However, early in the training phase, we got a feeling of what it's like to be on the giving side as the trainer. It was a challenging experience as we had to do a 3-minute demo of a training session. Here are some of the take away points I had at the end of the session.

Pitch your training

When preparing a training session, you want to keep in mind what type of audience you'll be addressing and their level of knowledge on the subject. This helps to ensure that the session is neither too easy (boring) nor too difficult (quite impossible) for the trainees. A challenging yet feasible session is what you want to go for.

Structure your training

It is important to have a plan of how the session will flow. This helps you not to improvise too much and loose the attention of your audience. It also helps for better time management, by allocating a time frame to each step of your program.

· Introduce yourself and the subject (background and level of expertise on the subject)

· Share training material (if any)

· Give an outline of the session (don’t forget to mention breaks)

· Discuss how you’d like people to interact, e.g when and how to ask questions during the session (raise a hand, interrupt, write in chat...)

· Start the training

· Before a long break try to a recap

· Include exercises

· Have summary slides at the end

Include and Enhance Interactivity

Whether it’s an online or in-person training it’s not always easy to get an audience to interact or take part in the session. Some of these tips are just to help ease this situation.

· Reaction tools (in video mode)

· Using polling for exercises or short questions

· Icebreakers

· Create break out rooms during exercises

· Use a whiteboard (also online) to collect ideas from participants

Some Presentation Tips

Preparing the necessary content for the training is definitely crucial for a successful training. Some additional tips to ice the cake will be to:

· Clear or properly organize your desktop

· Adjust notification settings on applications to avoid pop-ups

· Using apps that helps highlight and zoom in/out of text (e.g Zoomit)

· Avoid moving your mouse around too much when talking

I hope these points can be helpful to current and future trainers.