On Being a Trainer

When I was a little girl – almost too long ago to recall – I remember my teacher asking me what I wanted to be when I grew up. My reply without hesitation was, “Sunday school teacher.” She must have been a little too taken aback to reply as I can’t seem to recall what she had to say to that.

Don’t ask me why I said that, perhaps my naïve mind was thinking, “Cool, I only need to work on Sundays!” Anyway, I never became a Sunday school teacher or even teacher, but instead became an editor for a women’s magazine for nine years and today, I “teach” adults on a variety of topics from image and grooming to how one can design their life – my absolute passion.

I don’t know about you but I’ve never heard a child who’s asked what he or she would like to be when they grow up, answer “Trainer.” They may say: doctor, lawyer or even astronaut but “trainer”? No, never! One is then tempted to engage in a lengthy discussion if a “trainer” is indeed a professional, as well as what exactly qualifies one to be a trainer.

But we shall not go in that direction here. My objective in writing this article is to highlight that training can indeed be a fantastic career alternative that pays well, better than most other professions. In fact some of the more well-known world class speakers and trainers can be ranked in the same pay bracket as world class entertainers!

So what does it take to be a professional trainer? Experience, expertise and, in my opinion, a passion for sharing. You may be an engineer, a doctor, a corporate executive – doesn’t really matter. Question to ask is: Do you have valuable experience/expertise/ideas to share with others? If the answer is yes, then the next question to ask is: Will they benefit from your sharing/teaching?

That would be at the very basic level. What is then needed to elevate one to the next level of being a good teacher/trainer/instructor/coach/motivator – and indeed a trainer is all of that and more – is the ability to communicate and present. As well-known speaker and trainer KC See once said, “Brilliance, without the capability to communicate or present it, is worth little in an organization.”

1. Communication skills

This is not so much about how eloquently you speak but rather, how well people understand you and how effectively your message is put across. At the end of the training period, there has to be productive change in the participants otherwise, as far as I’m concerned, the training objectives have not been met.

The highest level of communication which I personally would strive for as a communicator is what is known as persuasive communication. This takes place when the person(s) we are communicating with, 1) understands what we want to say, 2) feels what we are feeling and is then 3) motivated to take action on what we have said.  Effective communication may stop short at (2); the listener may not necessarily want to do something about what he or she has just heard.

There is so much to learn about communication that it’s truly an art, and a most fascinating one as well. There are so many elements to persuasive communication – body language, the art of asking questions…. You can see racks of books on this subject in the library or bookstore! I will certainly not attempt to oversimplify it in this short article. Suffice it to say, if you dedicate yourself to learning how to master this art, you will indeed be able to achieve whatever you set out to do in life.

2. Presentation skills

I’ve known many good communicators who do well one-to-one or in small groups but get tongue-tied when presenting from a stage.  Hence, the term, stage-fright. I also know many who simply bloom when put on a stage. In fact, to some “born” performers, it seems like the world’s their stage and life is but a performance.

So how can one move from the first group to the latter? Is good public speaking really something that’s inborn or can it be developed? Of course the skills can be learned and developed! You can learn how to get the butterflies to fly in formation! You can learn how to captivate and engage your audience. Once you’ve mastered the skills, I promise you, you will enjoy it… tremendously! And along the way, pick up some great income as well.

Jessica See, a Certified Professional Trainer and Coach (IPMA UK), conducts programmes on ‘Training as a Profession’ in Singapore, Malaysia, Shanghai and Beijing. She can be contacted at  Jessica@qscasia.com