Develop Your Leadership Brand: Tips for Designing Training for Adults

Adults need a learning environment that reinforces their ability to apply the information received in training back on the job. This can be somewhat accomplished by class discussion and talking about what to do based on case study content. The learning becomes more relevant with practice on the job that is then shared back in the training session. Working with a client recently, I asked the participants to practice giving or receiving feedback or resolving a conflict in some situation that would occur between scheduled class sessions. (I always try to provide a choice so that each person encounters some situation in which they can practice. After all, I don't want to encourage them to go out and start conflicts, as an example.) They brought several interesting summaries of their experience trying to implement the ideas learned in training. We all learned from their shared experiences.