How to find a communications trainer

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Does your company need some communications training? Here’s how to hire a trainer…

I’m negotiating with a potential client right now about delivering a series of communications workshops. Today, I thought, we might be getting close to signing a final contract.

Instead, I learned, they’re feeling jittery. And they have good reason.

The last person who delivered such a workshop for this large company was a bust. He or she (I don’t know which), was very knowledgeable but delivered a class that was totally academic. Theoretical. Impractical. Participants found the class interesting, to be sure. But when they returned to their desks they had no practical tips for writing or editing. No tools. No idea what to do next.

Understandably, the client doesn’t want to see this happen again. We talked at length today about the kinds of things I can do that will be different. I learned more details about the employee group and reiterated my commitment to practicality. I told them about the Hemingway app and described how I’d teach employees to vary their sentence length.

But it wasn’t enough. The client wants to see an hour-by-hour class breakdown. And examples of the kinds of exercises I’m going to give their people. I don’t blame them for insisting on this! It’s exactly what I would do if I were them. In fact, it’s exactly what they should have done the first time.

If you’re lucky enough to have the budget to hire a trainer, review their work before you hire them. Get them to prepare a class outline for you and ensure that what they’re teaching your people is exactly what you want them to learn. Brian Tracy describes communication as a skill that anyone can learn. “It’s like riding a bicycle or typing,” he says. “If you’re willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of every part of your life.”

Here’s hoping I get the chance to show this company they know how to find the right communications trainer.

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