Conducting a training program is much more than the subject knowledge or experience of the trainer. Trainers have to prepare themselves thoroughly before each session with intense research about their audiences, irrespective of the experience and skills they possess as trainers. The trainer not only has to satisfy his audience adequately but also master the training techniques and tools for the effectiveness of the delivery to conduct a successful training session.
The key objective of any training program is to influence behaviour. The trainer wants the audience to learn the content and subsequently use it in practice by trying something they have not done previously. Changing an employee’s behaviour needs a lot of effort. They must be motivated to learn, able to study in a way that clicks with them, and capable of recalling the information from what they have heard at the training session once they are back on the job.
Identification of the audience is necessary to tailor a speech to the listeners’ interests, degree of comprehension, attitudes, and beliefs. It is crucial to keep the audience in mind when creating and delivering a presentation because doing so will increase a speaker’s efficacy. Since it might be challenging to pinpoint the exact behaviour of the audience even through in-depth research, the adaptation of the trainer frequently relies on the constructive use of creativity.
A wide variety of employment roles, as well as various segments in terms of age, education, experience, and expertise, are represented in the audience for the training programs. Each member of the audience brings with them a unique set of learning preferences and motivations. For instance, all new hires in all roles within the company receive new hire training, while during the same program, the existing staff learn new techniques or tactics.
Important tasks
Audience analysis enables the trainer to identify the curriculum’s learning objectives by learning what participants already know and what they still need to learn. It will also reveal any training resistance, allowing you to incorporate measures to lessen possible opposition into the design of the training.
Before a training program, trainers have to complete several important tasks. They must identify the business needs of the organisation; define the competencies, skills, and existing level of knowledge of the audience; recognise the gap; understand priorities; and determine the best-suited methods for delivery. Audience analysis is one of the most important factors for a trainer to decide on the content and conduct an effective program.
What does this exactly mean? An audience analysis is a process of analysing specific attributes of those who are about to listen to the trainer. It also identifies potential barriers to the success of the program. The information derived from the analysis is used to decide the best approach for the training.
The trainer’s first task is to identify the demographics. The trainer must have a clear idea of the average age, gender, language preferences, general education levels, and basic functions of the current occupation. This information is vital to eliminate possible boredom that can arise from a monotonous presentation.
The trainer has to prepare his “ice-breaking” approach and occasional pauses during the presentation. The video clips, props, or even funny stories that are used to expel the dullness must be planned based on the demographics.
Another critical aspect is estimating the basic expectations of the audience in a presentation. In a staff training situation, apart from the possible learning content, the audience may consist of people who are dragged in unwillingly or also those who presume that they are more knowledgeable than the trainer on the training subjects.
Hence, the trainer must identify possible mischief-makers or ego-centric people early on and plan to respond to them appropriately, without toppling the apple cart. People bring different expectations about the occasion, subject, and speaker with them when they join the audience. Breaking the expectations of the audience might make the training session less successful.
Audience understanding of the subject can vary greatly from situation to situation and from person to person depending on the practical experience, job-related qualifications, and the subject knowledge of an individual. Therefore, trainers should ascertain what their audience already understands about the depth of the subject. There could be new recruits in the same audience, who do not possess any knowledge. Hence, the trainer’s audience analysis must help balance the delivery to everyone.
Effective outcome
However, the trainer must never assume the audience knows more than they do about a subject and everything related to it.
If even a part of the audience presumes that they are better, the whole session can go awry. If you jump into a technical discussion on the subject matter without first explaining some fundamentals, the audience will not follow the trainer and will rapidly lose interest.
On the other hand, a speech that grossly underestimates the audience’s knowledge may come under instant criticism. Hence, balancing the two ends will ensure an effective outcome.
Analysing the size of the audience is important. Depending on the size of the audience, several speechmaking components may be altered for better results. Most often, the presentation is more formal when the training is provided to a large audience. When speaking to a small group, sitting down and using everyday language is frequently fairly acceptable, unless the training is on a highly specialised technical topic.
However, if the trainer is addressing large audiences, the informal or casual approach would likely be unsuccessful or unsuitable. Speaking in front of large crowds frequently necessitates the use of a microphone and a raised platform, which can limit the movements of the trainer. However, in my experience as a trainer, I am able to safely say that training provided to smaller audiences is more effective and enjoyable, and the outcome is more successful.
The environment in which a speech is delivered can affect the speaker’s ability to speak and the audience’s willingness to listen. These include the size and arrangement of the audience in the room; the time of day; the environment; external noises; and internal noises around the training location. could tailor their speech appropriately if they are aware of the various elements that will affect the environment in advance.
Although these aspects might seem insignificant and minor in comparison to the topic, knowledge of the environment and how the trainer can prepare to evade them if they occur during the training. Any trainer will vouch that this seemingly marginal disturbance can disrupt the flow of the presentation.
Hence, the trainer must be aware of how the environment will impact audience engagement and attentiveness when choosing a location. It is good to take into account the way that the setting and the location will affect audience attention and participation.
Finally, based on the outcome of the analysis, the trainer can ascertain the audience’s needs, why the training is required, what basic criteria to be presented, the method of delivery, which props or video presentations to use and how the expectations of the audience can be successfully satisfied.
Simply put, a thorough audience analysis can greatly improve learning outcomes with a well-designed training program and by providing pragmatic solutions based on real-time information. More importantly, an audience analysis effectively negates the need to make irritating and uncertain assumptions.