Instructor Importance

 

While the CORE FOUR® Business Planning course is a great curriculum, it requires a strong and talented instructor to bring the materials to life!

Entrepreneurs are looking for an experience that will allow them to come away with a better understanding of the concepts presented along with the ability to apply these concepts in their real lives.  The key word here is experience.

It is the role of the instructor to create this experience for the participants.  The curriculum an instructor uses is just a guide to help the instructor - it does not create this experience by itself.  As an instructor, you are responsible for doing your due diligence to make sure you plan a quality training that will be well received by your participants.  Examples of this may include:

1.  Making an effort to understand the needs of your participants so you can deliver a quality experience that meets their needs.  Take the time to personally inquire about every participants' situation and needs (before class, during breaks, after class, etc.).

2.  Telling stories the participants can relate to.  People remember and enjoy stories.

3.  Engaging participants and making sure they all participate in discussions.

4.  Having the class do exercises as appropriate to reinforce learning concepts and break up the lecture.  Exercises are wonderful for starting a class or coming back from a break.

5.  Asking open-ended questions to start discussions.  Examples would include, "How does this apply to your business?"; "Who has an experience in this area they would like to share?"; "Can anyone think of a real-life example of this?", etc.

6.  Not reading straight from the book - the participants can do this themselves and this is one of the quickest ways to irritate adult learners.

7.  Watching the group for signs it is time to take a break or bring a discussion back to the topic.

8.  Using humor as appropriate.

9.  Creating a relaxed environment where you encourage class participation and genuinely listen to and respond to the questions and comments that are asked and shared.

10.  Learning everyone's name and using their name.  Nametags at the first class can benefit the instructor to learn names as much as helping the participants.

11.  Walking around the room from time to time.

12.  Using voice inflection (not speaking monotone).

By creating the right experience for your participants, your can bring your class to life!