Fat-free Learning

 We’re finding that more and more people are asking for shorter training without all of the high-calorie fluff with which it’s usually accompanied.  Learners are becoming more and more accustomed to going to YouTube or a social media site to get a quick bite of knowledge rather than a week-long training course full of extra carbs that they just don’t need. Remarkably, they are getting the information they need faster and cheaper than they ever could in a live classroom.

Remember, most people are starving for time—not knowledge—and if you constantly try to take that away from them to fill them full of sweets rather than the protein they need, you’ll find your training café will soon be empty.

So, if you find that your training programs are a bit bloated, here are five simple weight loss tips that you can incorporate.

1. Blend it up. Rather than expecting your learners to sit through a series of full-day live programs, hold one live program and then add in effective online components that they can experience at their own pace.
2. Spread out the meal. Don’t try and force-feed your learners in one, two or three full consecutive days.  If you have a lot of information you need to cover, spread it out over two or three weeks (or longer).
3. Count your learning calories. Do you really need a multi-day workshop?  Can you get the same content done in one day? In one hour? People are smart and can learn faster that many of us believe.
4. Put the dressing on the side. Try teaching your core content in a 2-hour webinar and then dismiss the learners to practice applying the concepts out of the classroom as a side project. Hold the learners accountable by regrouping a week later to hear what happened and to offer additional coaching.
5. Reduce portion size. Simply put, cut out all of the garbage. If you don’t know what it is, ask your participants for their honest feedback so that you “can improve the training for future learners.” Undoubtedly there is unneeded material that you don’t need and can be removed.

So the next time you create a training program ask yourself, do you really need all of that super-rich, high-calorie content?  If someone’s asking for soup and salad, make sure you’re not delivering a buffet.