A dozen tips that do a lot!

A moment ago, I was thinking about the little tips that people have given me to make my work as a freelance trainer much easier. And they are little tips that have done a lot. Both in the training room and the various hotels in which I stay. Here’s a short selection of tips for both types of venue.

Hotels

·        Creased clothes from the suitcase magically come into shape when hung in the hot shower room.

·        Very rare to find a bad review of Premier Inn or Travel Lodge – in the absence of either do a good review of the other reviews. Fawlty Towers might await you!

·        Card shaped room keys will often not like being near your mobile phone -and up and down  the stairs or lift you will go!

Training Room

·        They rarely have clocks – pack a small clock and keep it visible. Nothing worse than being seen to look at your wrist or phone when presenting!

·        Case the joint 30 minutes to check equipment and supplies of water or sweets to keep your voice hydrated

·        If you use name plates(I do with folded cards) ask people to write their names on both sides so that you and their neighbours can see

·        A horseshoe tabled format is best for events when you want to get eye contact around the room. Do so by thinking about a GIANT letter M in front of you. Pretend you are a lighthouse and systematically take your eyes up and down the M to secure momentary eye contact – it helps you read the room quickly

·        Stick a flipchart on the wall as a “Parking Bay” to capture questions that are either off the agenda or can be swept up at the end. Otherwise, your timetable could be hijacked. And sometimes these “follow ups” can lead to collective requests for more material on other topics. Send it swiftly. You may get new course requests! I do.

·        Never give anyone a timed programme. You need the flexibility to accelerate or slow the pace of activities once you have determined the knowledge levels and skill capacities of those in front of you. A timed programme puts power in the hands of a clock watcher determined to catch you out or creates anxieties for some who might assume you won’t finish everything. A 20-minute built in cushion does the trick for me to accommodate either speeding up or slowing down.

·        Equality proof all the arrangements in terms of equality of access, choice, content and process

·        Role play with a purpose -not as entertainment. I have a ready-made set of slides from my half day role play course. Drop me a note if you want them

Finally – KPMGU – a reminder not to forget:-

·        Keys

·        Phone

·        Money

·        Glasses

·        Umbrella

Have you got any little tips that do a lot? You may have transferable ideas from other types of freelance work?

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