Getting the Most Out of Training Courses By James Copper At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Whether or not you were a great student in school is not really relevant in relation to professional development training courses; if you care about your professional skills enough to enrol in the course, you're likely to commit and get the most out of it.

Training courses aren't like school; in school you didn't choose to be there. When you were younger, you were legally required to be there and as you grew into senior years, it probably felt like the normal thing was to stay in school - whether you liked it or not. Professional training courses require your personal commitment or they are simply a waste of your time.

Your time is worth money: if not to you personally, then certainly to your employer. Following are some easy tips to ensure that you always get value for your investment of time in professional development training courses.

Do your research
Just because the glossy brochure says this is a great course, that doesn't mean that it is. Most courses aren't run in isolation as one-off events; others will have completed this course too and a quick Internet search could reveal that participants were generally dissatisfied, didn't like the trainer or felt the training was good but the venue was poor - substandard coffee and snacks... whatever people have had to say, it's good for you to know.

While in research mode, check out the credentials of the trainer. Do they have a professional background in the topic area and what credentials do they bring? Before you part with any cash, you really need to know who you're getting.

Come prepared
A lot of people just rock up to a training course expecting to be completely catered to and spoon-fed every step of the way. Don't expect that the agenda which was emailed in advance will be supplied on the day; print it out and bring it with you. Similarly, don't rely on the trainer to supply pens, paper, tissues or snacks. Make sure that you have the basics that you might need: or else you'll be that guy who has to beg to borrow a chewed up pencil past its prime.

Participate
Trust in the trainer that the seemingly silly exercises and time wasting activities do actually have a purpose. Try to refrain from smart comments and giggling in the back row like a couple of 8th grade girls and focus on what you want to take away from the session.

Take notes
You think you'll remember, but there's really no reason to chance it since you brought the pens and paper with you. Take a few notes as memory starters later.

Use your inner voice: explain it to yourself
If a difficult concept is raised, take a few notes (even if you don't understand what you're writing) and try to explain it to yourself during the break. If you can't fathom it all - ASK. Asking questions at an appropriate time should never be an issue in any training course. If your trainer spurns questions; you have some important feedback to leave after the session is finished, because that is simply not good enough.

The questions list
Sometimes questions pop into your head, and other times you find yourself in a trance-like 'absorption' mode. You need to force yourself to think critically about everything that is said; which involved not only critiquing the trainer's ideas, but also opening up a dialogue with yourself as to your own ideas on the issue.

Keeping a list to be saved until the end during 'question time' is a common request of workplace trainers who prefer not to be interrupted during their carefully timed out session. They will have saved a block of time for questions, usually at the end, and by then you may not remember the question unless you write it down.

Enjoy being away from the office and try to have fun; a good professional development session should benefit you for years to come. Even if the session does let you down, you are likely to meet new people with similar interests - which is always a great thing.

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