Those Vital First Words of a Training Intervention

Copyright (c) 2010 The College Of Public Speaking

You don't get a second chance of a first impression - not with this group anyway. So it's good practice to get it right...

Similarly, a trainer whose introduction to the session is slow, ponderous or unsure is setting up a low level of expectation and energy in the participants. This is difficult to alter. It has the juggernaut effect - the one that is heavy, fast and out of control.

You must start off the session full of energy and enthusiasm. Without a word being spoken, disappointment spreads around the room like a Mexican wave, 'It will be a long day. I have already lost trust in this trainer and the session hasn't even begun yet'.

The problem is that once a trainer sets up those expectations it becomes very hard to undo them.

It's easy to suggest that by starting off slowly, you could add further material as you progress. However experience as a public speaker suggests that this is not the case. The introduction to a training session is a bit like a stage introduction to a speaker - it creates high expectations.

It is not uncommon even in professional settings to endure a lame introduction which sets the event off on a real low note 'Yeh..and..?'.

It is very difficult to change that feeling once it has been set.

Professional sports psychologists reflect on how difficult it is to change stride when you're already behind on points. So my recommendation is that your opening statements be well practiced to ensure that it's not a bumbling start.

If the opening comes across as clear, concise and controlled, psychologically the participants will settle back in the same way as a good friendly welcome over the intercom from an airline pilot makes the passengers relax and feel they will be in safe hands during the ensuing flight.

We should never forget that as a training session starts some of your participants may be arriving late or have just come from their offices or answered a text or phone call, so it is important that a good, solid, confident opening gathers their attention and helps them leave all their other issues outside the training room.

The introduction therefore, sets up the entire expectation for the training event.