I’ve been doing this work for almost 10 years now and, like all trainers, you learn new things every time you work with a group.
One of the most valuable things I’ve learned, which may or may not be obvious to you, is that each person in the room has just as much insight and knowledge to share as the trainer. This is why training is often most successful when the group is diverse and can contribute from different perspectives. The more diverse the input, the deeper the learning.
This morning I spoke to someone coming to our Engaging Communities with the Web course next week. She works for a homeless charity and is coming to the course along with one of her clients who has had experience of homelessness.
Her initial concern was about the course content and suitability for her client – would it be too theoretical? I told her that as long as her client had some experience of using the web and social media (the course is about building communities online and engaging hard-to-reach groups) that he would be fine. After a chat with his key worker, they decided, as a team, that they would work with him in the 10 days before the course to get him up to speed with the social web as he was really keen to come.
This is a brilliant outcome and it is exactly the sort of thing that should be happening in training courses across the voluntary sector. Too often we see training rooms filled with people from the same background or from an organisation whose in-house culture is set. People can fear speaking up or contradicting each other if they appear, culturally, to sing from the same hymn sheet. They look to the trainer for insights while suppressing their desire to reveal their own.
A mixed group with an atmosphere of inclusion and creativity (which, I like to think we’re very good at creating!) leads to more useful discussion and learning.
To that end, we’re releasing 3 pairs of ‘Plus 1′ tickets for this course (Engaging Communities with the Web) *VALID UNTIL FRIDAY 17TH JUNE*. If you are coming from a voluntary sector organisation or a community group, we want you to come along with someone from your community or the group that your organisation supports. And you’ll only pay for one ticket.
This one’s on us because we’re keen to curate a brilliant group for this course. Contact elizabeth@onroadmedia.org.uk or call 0207 324 4790 for details.
