Conducting Training Workshops: A Crash Course for Beginners

What if you weren't planning to become a trainer . . . but now you have to train someone? Or what if you are planning to become a trainer . . . but you have no idea where to start? How can you effectively communicate your expertise to your audience? This book has the answers.

A training workshop can be frightening for both neophytes and old pros. You know you have the knowledge. But just having knowledge is not enough. You need to match your training to your audience. You need to establish the learning objectives of your audience. You need to explain yourself clearly, to ask and answer the right questions, to relate to your audience. You need to determine how you will evaluate the effectiveness of your training. Basically, you need a plan, and you want it fast.

"This book is designed to answer the questions that I have been asked over and over again by students. Each key concept is linked to one of Aesop's Fables to make it easy to remember. The writing is deliberately simple and practical. I'm convinced that if you apply the concepts, you'll do a good job."
--Eileen K. Van Kavelaar, Author

You have the road map in your hands: follow this book. Fill in the worksheets as you progress. And when you are finished, you will have prepared a flawless program. Van Kavelaar takes what can be an overwhelming event--a training workshop--and divides it, chapter by chapter, into simple components. Breeze through these easy steps and you will find that your enormous event, your training workshop, is perfectly planned.

Each chapter begins with a fable. Each fable becomes an illustration of a key component of training workshop success. Van Kavelaar's engaging style moves you quickly through the essentials of workshop design, enabling you effortlessly to assemble a precise, effective plan. This book is excellent for accidental trainers, individuals who never identified themselves as trainers but find that they must share their know-how with others. And even experienced trainers will benefit from Van Kavelaar's back-to-basics approach to workshop planning.

Maybe you have never trained before. Maybe you have trained many times before. Maybe you are a manager who must give the subject-matter experts the tools they need to present their knowledge to their coworkers. Anywhere you need a training workshop . . . you need Conducting Training Workshops.

EILEEN K. VAN KAVELAAR is an education services specialist with the U.S. Army Recruiting Command. In that capacity, she manages the educational programs that the Army provides to high schools and colleges within Indiana and Kentucky. She also conducts training for recruiters. Eileen has a doctorate in adult education from Indiana University and currently resides in Indianapolis, Indiana.