12 December 2019

Staff training and development presentation tips

One of the most common methods for staff training and development is presentations, whether you need to improve skills before a new project or to put employees into a management or leadership training programme. These can be incredible for sharing knowledge and boosting employee satisfaction, which is why we have worked on a set of guidelines for making a presentation as part of a high-impact employee training and development programme.

Make the right first impression for effective staff training and development

Introduce yourself

Once you’ve got your audience in front of you, clearly introduce yourself and the topic or course. Explain how the training session will run and give a brief itinerary. Give learners the opportunity to introduce themselves so everyone can be more familiar.

When hosting a presentation, being a genuinely friendly and confident speaker does the world of good. People are so much more likely to be engaged by someone who uses humour and gives encouragement, and in turn, employees will learn faster. On the day, make sure you dress smart and arrive early to give you plenty of time to set up.

Ensure a comfortable learning environment with good technology

Ensure the room is comfortable and at the right temperature for your delegates. If you’re using AV or any other equipment, do a test run to ensure you know how it works and that there won’t be any hiccups. You may need to check what facilities your training venue offers.

Always provide tea, coffee and water throughout the session. If it’s all day, consider providing a buffet for lunch to refresh guests for the rest of the day. Ensure to give reasonable breaks throughout the session to improve concentration. Below are more tips for actually giving the presentation:

Help employees to learn on your staff training courses

Have visuals

When explaining something, always have visuals. It’s no secret that even the most focused humans have short attention spans so you need to be constantly engaging to keep delegates’ minds active.

Be hands-on

Where possible, allow your delegates to learn by doing. If there’s a way for them to be hands-on with the learning then that’s the best way for them to retain the information.

Audience participation

It’s easy to become bored when all you’re doing is listening. Always ensure there’s a certain level of audience participation as it will keep the session fresh and enjoyable.

Get your timing right and ask for feedback

Keep to schedule

Once you’ve set out timings at the beginning of the session, ensure you stick to it. There’s nothing worse than a training session which runs over and leaves delegates feeling bored and frustrated. If you feel the session is going off on a tangent, steer things back in the right direction.

Receive feedback

After sessions, encourage your delegates to give feedback on your presentation. This way they can suggest improvements and commend strong points of your presentation. This is one of the most effective ways to improve because you get first-hand information. Staff development training isn’t always easy to get right so it’s important to know how you’re doing and how they feel it will improve their understanding and navigation in the workplace.

If you’re looking for flexible meeting and training rooms, look no further than Kents Hill Park. Located in Milton Keynes, we have exceptional transport links to the rest of the country, to make it easy for your delegates to attend the training. Our purpose-built facility is one of the largest dedicated conference and national training centres in the UK. With over 70 dedicated meeting rooms, which can hold up to 350, we are able to host both smaller and larger training sessions and our friendly team will be on hand to help. Enjoy our free Wi-Fi, 800 parking spaces and first-rate technology to support your learning environment. Don’t hesitate to get in contact with our friendly team for more information.