Here’s a great way to encourage participants to remind themselves of key learning points or action points from your training:
Towards the beginning of your course/workshop, ask each participant to choose a postcard from those you’ve brought with you. Ask them to look after their chosen postcard (but don’t tell them what it’s for yet).
At the end of the training, give each participant an envelope and ask them to write their name and address on it. Then, ask them to take the postcards they chose earlier and on these, write the action points, learning points or anything else that will trigger memories of the course for them – their choice.
Once they’ve done this, ask them to place their postcard in the envelope, seal it, and hand it to you. Explain that the postcard will drop onto their doormats one day in the future when they are least expecting it.
Make a diary note to remind yourself to send the postcards out to the participants – it’s recommended that you send them out between six and twelve weeks after the training.
The postcards will provide a powerful reminder of things participants may have forgotten on their return to work and re-focus their mind on what they need to do to implement the learning.
Thanks to Rod Webb from Glasstap for this idea.
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March 2011
