Your All Important First Impression in Class

Copyright (c) 2010 The College Of Public Speaking

You don't get a second chance of a first impression - not with this group anyway. So it's good practice to get it right...

Similarly, a trainer whose introduction to the session is slow, ponderous or unsure is setting up a low level of expectation and energy in the participants. This is difficult to alter. It is like a juggernaut set rolling in one direction that becomes incredibly difficult to divert into any other direction.

If the first few moments of a training session seem halting and insecure, sparks of dread shoot through each participant's head and connect with everybody across the room. Without a word being spoken, disappointment spreads around the room like a Mexican wave, 'It will be a long day. I am already bored and unsure and we have not even started yet'.

The problem is that once a trainer sets up those expectations it becomes very hard to undo them.

One may argue that if you start off slowly then you can steadily improve as you move on. However experience as a public speaker suggests that this is not the case. The introduction to a training session is a bit like a stage introduction to a speaker - it creates high expectations.

It is not uncommon even in professional settings to endure a lame introduction which sets the event off on a real low note 'Yeh..and..?'.

It is very difficult to change that feeling once it has been set.

Professional sports psychologists reflect on how difficult it is to change stride when you're already behind on points. So I would recommend that the opening of a training is regarded as a 'set piece' that should require a lot of consideration and attention.

If the opening comes across as clear, concise and controlled, psychologically the participants will settle back in the same way as a good friendly welcome over the intercom from an airline pilot makes the passengers relax and feel they will be in safe hands during the ensuing flight.

We should never forget that as a training session starts some of your participants may be arriving late or have just come from their offices or answered a text or phone call, so it is important that a good, solid, confident opening gathers their attention and helps them leave all their other issues outside the training room.

Therefore the introduction should gather the participants together, give them a positive anticipation for what is coming next and give them a sense that they are about to embark on an interesting, valuable and worthwhile journey.

About The Author The College of Public Speaking offers a BTEC level 4 accredited by Edexcel. This unique course is an ideal and inexpensive opportunity for indiviuals to get their foot on the training ladder. Workshops are run regularly in London and the South-East and welcome enquiries from around the country and abroad. For more details, please follow the following link: Training Qualification Train the Trainer