How to Be a Facilitator: A Traditional Trainers' Task

It is nice to get a compliment. Recently I was told that it was appreciated that I did a traditional trainers' task: doing the admin.

I usually have a slide with the title 'Admin' or 'Misc' or 'Administrivia' or 'Stuff'. On the slide it has a list of the things that I think people need to know before we go too far into the workshop.

Some of these are included in the photo above. They include:

Timing & breaks
Evacuation
Comfort station/amenities (toilets)
Staying focussed
Be open-minded
Encourage your workmates
(Something about) mobile phones
And more

You might also notice that I keep it relevant and 'mix it up' by not covering the same things in the same way every time.

I'm not sure when I started doing this. The oldest record I can find in my file archive only dates back to 2006 - and it was called 'Practicalities'. However, this was roughly when I started using PowerPoint in workshops. I trained for many years with only a script and a large whiteboard before I started using PowerPoint consistently. This stuff is covered in Australia's Certificate IV in Workplace Training and Assessment. And for the old-fogies, I cannot remember whether Mager and Pipe discussed it, but is certainly likely.

...Geoff
www.performancepeople.com.au

A Traditional Trainers' Task - Admin/Misc