Creating a culture of learning in your organisation benefits both the employees and the company, but it doesn’t happen overnight. Instructors often struggle to engage people while training, and this can lead to gaps in retention.
These learning retention gaps may be connected to how you’ve designed your training, and whether your training programmes are set up to deliver content in highly interactive ways. Interactive training can change how instructors share knowledge and boost both employee engagement and the efficacy of training.
In this blog, we’ll cover what interactive training sessions look like, why interaction is so critical and how to increase it, and how collaborative technology can help build engagement.
What does an interactive and engaging training session look like?
An instructor-led training session that engages participants effectively will look different from one where attendees aren’t actively involved. When your employees are interested and feel as though their contributions are valuable to the conversation, they’re likely to interact, ask questions and learn more while training.
“An engaging session has a lot of discussions and a lot of people participating with their own experiences and knowledge,” says Juan Otero, training consultant and owner of Tecadi Training Technologies.
With three decades of experience in corporate training, Otero has learned these high levels of participation are good indicators of successful training.
Why is interaction so important in training sessions?
If your employees are zoning out during training or feeling disconnected from the instructor, they likely won’t take away the knowledge or skills you hoped they’d gain. That’s a waste of company time and resources – and is frustrating for everyone on your team.
A learning and development strategy that bolsters knowledge sharing across your company is important, but ensuring employees are getting the most out of their training is critical. To achieve this, promote continuous learning throughout your organisation and invest in methods that increase training interactivity and engagement.
How to increase interaction in instructor-led training
Interactive training creates powerful team connections no matter where people work, simplifies training tools to ensure seamless adoption, and engages employees with memorable training experiences.
Don’t underestimate the power of games and healthy competition. “Games can support learning because psychologically we like to play, and it awakens a more creative side of us,” says Otero. Did you know training that incorporates learning activities like polls, quizzes, and games is naturally more engaging, interactive, and collaborative?
Key tips for nurturing interactive instructor-led training in your workplace:
- Encourage collaboration with dynamic, interactive displays
- Boost engagement with innovative tools that offer broad accessibility
- Ensure cross-functional groups can work together seamlessly
- Use strong visuals for better retention of training content
- Create better cohesion by providing all participants with the same learning experience
Collaborative technology can foster dynamic training
The best training brings your employees into the experience with tools that build critical engagement and bolster learning. “The tools are so powerful,” says Otero, noting that collaborative tools can allow remote workers to “participate in a session in exactly the same way as if they were inside that room.”
Investing in the proper training resources can deepen the impact of every training session you carry out, ensuring that your team gains the necessary skills to help build out your company’s future.
For a deep dive into all the elements that drive better interaction in corporate training, discover our corporate training resources and other valuable content here.