EFFECTIVE TRAINING AN ACQUAINTANCE of long standing approached me recently to enquire the ideal way of teaching his office staff how to use their new computer (an Amstrad PC1640 ECD with hard drive). He was understandably apprehensive about the task that lay before him, especially as one of the 'girls' tended to be rather headstrong and influential with the other two staff. He had been putting off the decision to computerise for quite sometime but his partner had made the decision for him by delivering the system to the office in his absence. Sound familiar to you? Have you ever wondered if there is a method to presenting a practical training session? If so, then read on. You will need to do some work before your training session takes place. And this includes elementary things like organising a suitable location, preferably free from excessive noise and interruptions. You need to make sure that you know how to carry out the task yourself. It's very difficult to bluff your way through and according to sods law, anything that can go wrong, will! You will also need to think about how you might motivate that difficult member of staff. Will she have any extra benefits once trained? Perhaps it will be just a matter of enhanced pride in being able to use that new piece of equipment while the rest can only stand back and watch. Whatever the benefits are to your trainee (financial, promotion, chance to learn new skills, pride, make the task easier etc. or merely to keep pace with technology and remain employed), be sure to tell them. You may also need to create some interest in the task before starting. Things like telling personal experiences, pictures or diagrams, structured questions or simply by showing the finished product or piece of equipment are likely to gain the attention of the trainee. Adults will learn a lot quicker if they are motivated and interested in what they are about to learn. Now your trainee is eager to learn, start with the training session proper. You will probably need to gauge their ability and existing knowledge about the task before any new learning takes place. The best way to do this is to ask pertinent questions designed to allow you to quickly judge the trainee's current level of understanding. Now you can build upon their existing knowledge, a little at a time, in chunks large enough to satisfy the individual. The key here is to ensure that your trainee understands each 'chunk' and can actually do it, unaided, before carrying on to the next section. The more complex the task, the more time you will need to allow for training. It won't just happen by itself. Finally, you must check to see if you have achieved your objective. Can the trainee correctly perform the task? Understanding needs to be checked as well, ask plenty of questions to find out. Where ever possible keep your training sessions brief - about an hour or so is plenty - and above all try and avoid any interruptions. Always keep calm, give plenty of praise and encouragement and you will find your time and effort will be amply repaid.