If you’re in IT, you’re a trainer—whether your job title is support analyst or network engineer—because you explain your systems and give instructions to users in writing, on the phone, and in meetings. This week, I’m happy to present a list of columns I’ve written to help you be a better communicator and trainer when you’re presenting technical information.
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Fine-tuning your instrument
One reason some IT professionals don’t like to conduct training sessions is their fear of public speaking. These articles offer some tips to help you speak up and be heard:
- “Warm up your voice before class to improve the way you sound”
- “Trainers: Just say no to ‘uh’ and ‘um'”
- “Public speaking tips: Pause, punch, and color”
- “To improve your training lectures, take this tip from stand-up comics”
Teaching beginners
Perhaps the biggest challenge for experienced IT people is how to explain technical concepts to people who are new to computers. Use these tips to break the cyberice with nontechies:
- “Three essential lessons for teaching beginning computer users”
- “Windows 101: Teaching the Details view”
- “The first lesson in e-mail training”
- “The big three rules of e-mail etiquette”
- “Put IT on the training agenda for new employees”
- “The benefits of tag-team training new employees”
- “Getting the most out of tag-team training”
- “Helping students who miss a training session”
- “TechRepublic members share tips for handling student questions”
- “Adopt yourself an IT protege”
Classroom tips
Being an effective trainer means more than just knowing the subject matter. Here are some tips for managing the classroom environment:
- “Creating a series of click-activated instructions in PowerPoint”
- “Limit your off-the-clock training time”
- “Borrow this tip from Army training to keep students alert”
- “Training beginners requires emotional stamina”
- “Students who can’t type shouldn’t ruin the training”
Share your training techniques
Do you train as well as support end users? Post your comments or write to Jeff.
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