The consulting website was designed to build rapport and highlight the qualities, characteristics, and skills of the organization and trainer which is the first step to building a mutually beneficial business relationship with potential clients. Relationship building skill training for employees is often valued by executive leaders even more highly than technical skills and technical competency. Relationship building is critically important for a consultant. Dr. Hazel, in the Introduction to COML 511 – Training and Consulting, describes successful consultants as ones who strive to build strong relationships with their clients. 

 

Successful consultants who are adept at building strong relationships with their clients and their employees also focus on viewing the situation from the client's perspective. Dale Carnegie in his book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, discussed this concept. "If as a result of reading this book, you only get one thing - an increased tendency to think always in terms of the other person's point of view and see things from that person's angle as well as your own - if you get only that one thing from this book, it may easily prove to be one of the stepping-stones of your career" (Carnegie, 1981, p. 165).

 

Highly effective consultants also ask relevant questions, listened intently, performed diagnostic assessments, and gathered valid data well before offering any type of solution. These consultants displayed a genuine interest in our organization, viewed the situation from our perspective and listened to understand, not just to respond. The goal of this website is to promote the trainer’s interpersonal and technical qualities and skills that would benefit an organization utilizing the consulting services and training programs of our organization.

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Interpersonal Qualities and Skills of Highly Effective Trainers

• Participant-focused – This identifies a trainer who is selfless and realizes that the focus should be about the class participants and not about the trainer. They make sure that the light shines on the class members and not on themselves.

• Life-long Learner – This describes an individual who is committed to self-improvement both personally and professionally.  This person takes the opportunity to watch other successful trainers and learn from them.

• Authentic – This person is genuine and takes time to be in the moment, never attempting to put on a false persona to try to impress the class

• Empathetic – An empathetic trainer is aware of class members who may be discouraged, disheartened, or need extra help. This trainer is approachable and makes it a point to coach this individual to build their confidence, courage, and positive self-esteem.

• Enthusiastic – A genuine sense of enthusiasm comes naturally for this instructor even when they may not feel very enthusiastic. This trainer has a pep in their step and is excited to be sharing their expertise with the class. They have fun in class realizing if they are not enjoying the experience then it is likely that the students are not enjoying it either. They employ different learning approaches because, “a variety of learning approaches keeps interest alive and can help to minimize downtimes when energy levels are low” (Silberman & Biech, 2015, p. 14).

• Naturally Humorous – This trainer is quick to make others smile and has a natural sense of humor that is part of his or her personality and teaching style. This instructor does not try to force humor by telling canned jokes.

• Passionate – This trainer truly loves teaching as a profession and view it as a calling. They couldn’t imagine doing anything else and it shows. This person’s joy is evident when interacting in the classroom with participants and gives the impression that they would even teach the class for free if they needed to because of their love for what they do.

• Humble – The most successful trainers are modest and gracious. They realize that although they may be experts in their field, there is still much that can be learned. They are self-reflective, taking the time after each training session conducted to evaluate and analyze their own performance and seek areas for improvement.

• Inspirational – The most successful and memorable trainers have a special talent for lifting others up, leading them to grow in ways that the participant may have never thought possible. They uncover and recognize strengths and talents in their class members that those participants didn’t see in themselves.

 

 

Technical Qualities and Skills of Effective Communication Trainers

• Encourages Participation – Highly effective speakers and presenters engage the class participants from the moment they walk in the room. They begin class on time and enthusiastically sweep the attendees into an activity and gain attention almost immediately.  Silberman and Biech state in Chapter Four’s Five Ways to Gain Your Audience ‘s Interest that “The first design element you should consider if you want a presentation to be effective is a method to grab hold of your listeners’ attention”. They advise readers to, “Begin with a game or fun-filled activity that dramatically introduces the main points of the presentation” (Silberman & Biech, 2015, pp. 76 - 77).

• Creates a safe space – The best trainers create an environment based on trust, where students can stretch themselves and grow as they expand their knowledge and skills. This instructor makes it clear that he or she would never intentionally embarrass a student and that the classroom is an environment where the greatest gains will be achieved outside of our comfort zones.  This instructor encourages each participant and models an environment where the attendees will also find support and encouragement from each other.

• Naturally Dynamic – This person teaches in a way that is memorable and relatable by dramatizing their ideas and connecting with students who possess a variety of learning styles. They keep the class moving at a fast pace and leave the students energized even after class ends.

• Highly Attentive - An attentive trainer is in tune with all class members, not just the one that may be speaking. They are adept at sensing when the class needs to have more information in order to better understand the material or assignment.  This trainer is skilled at asking questions to allow the student to connect with what is being covered. They are not afraid to encourage students to dig deeper with statements such as, “Tell me more” and “How so”?

• Talented Coach – This trainer knows how to bring out the best in others. They can see when a student may be holding back, and they know when to push them to take a step outside of their comfort zone. This instructor believes in his or her students and has a natural talent for getting them to believe in themselves.  This trainer recognizes a job well done by spotlighting that participant and then casting a flood light on the entire class with a statement about how their lives will improve when they apply that same demonstrated skill.

 

Limitations

 

A challenge that those in the training industry experience is that training is often not viewed as a high priority or an urgent task.  Setting up specific areas and scheduling designated time slots for employees to focus on uninterrupted online training, helps if there are not more urgent, higher priority tasks that need to be done which leads to frustration for both the employee and their supervisor.

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Another challenge that consultants and corporate training departments sometimes face, is that managers expect the trainer/employee development department to take full responsibility for developing their team members and then send them back with an advanced skill set ready to hit the ground running. What the managers are missing is that “Developing people, closing the skill gaps in the workforce, and increasing knowledge must be a partnership between you (trainer/consultant) and managers” (Silberman & Beich, 2015, pg. 367).

 

Opportunities for Improvement

 

Systems theory indicates that to thrive, organizations must adapt as the environment changes. I consider this also the case for trainers and consultants committed to lifelong learning through personal and professional development. The DiMaio Development consulting website must adapt as well. In the future, with more time available, I would add additional pages to the website such as an In the News section, Blog or article entries, sample presentation video clips, and a link to a Neighborhood Council Leaders video training project produced in collaboration with Gonzaga University School of Leadership and the City of Spokane. Another major future goal is to write a leadership book and feature it on the website.