The trainer who goes to training,has got two tasks. One is to impart knowledge, The second is much more challenging – constantly motivate learners to learn.

What is the basis of MOTIVATION? The trainer’s relationship with the participant, the safety of the participant, appreciation of people and building close bondings in the group.

So, do not prolong and move on to practical tips, there are some suggested tools (techniques, exercises, methods) that builds motivation to learn in groups of adults.

Building relations with participants

1. Use the name from the beginning, when you approach the participant. You can learn names of your students before the course starts, offer name tags in a prominent place and, most importantly, move on to facilitate communication.

2. Share your personal history, related to the topic of the training. It may be a failure story, a success story. A story about the crisis that led to the search for a way out of a difficult situation. This story fulfills two functions – it builds trust between the trainer and the group and builds the relationship that is needed in the learning process. The risk of using this method is the ability of returnees to withdraw, who may think that they are expected to have a similar level of openness.

3. Pay attention to participants who are reluctant to engage in the learning process – do not speak, do not speak in the forum. Do not apply pressure, rather invite couples to practice in pairs or smaller groups so they can express themselves.

4. Gather information about training expectations and save them in a prominent place. This is important, but it is much more important to RELEASE this content during training. Referring to the expectations recorded during the first minutes of the meeting. Needs are respected and the participant noticed.

5. Fun at the beginning Who is it? That is, examine the motivation of the participants by assigning the participants themselves to the group CONVICT or VOLUNTEER? Fun primarily reveals motivation (or lack of it) to participate in training and reduces resistance by naming it. It relaxes the tension in the group and builds the initial relationship between the participants.

“Pay attention to participants who are reluctant to engage in the learning process – do not share, do not speak in the forum. Do not put pressure, rather arrange exercises in pairs or smaller groups so they can express themselves.”

Security

6. Give the opening question WHAT ARE YOU HERE FOR? in the place of regressive WHY ARE YOU HERE? Even realizing ignorance in this area through the answer I DO NOT KNOW makes this question one of the better working questions in the opening part of the training.

7. Transfer Question WHAT ARE YOUEXPECTING FOR AFTER THE TRAINING, which moves the participant’s attention to results in everyday life or in work life.

8. Question addressed to the participants about the expectations regarding the training content related to the objectives presented by the trainer. Open-ended questions: WHAT GOAL FROM HERE IS CLOSEST TO YOU? This tool has two meanings – one is acquaintance with the target (if one needs to be nearest, it must be traced) and the other – integration of participants with similar priorities.

9. RECOGNIZE THE TRAINING OBJECTIVES BY PLAYING. This may be a trainer’s request to repeat one or all training objectives. It can be a quiz to play all or one of them unaltered (of course, without looking at the notes). Exercise can be done at the end of the training day or as a game to open the next meeting. This exercise mobilizes the participants to look at the objectives of the training while simultaneously recreating the atmosphere of the first minute of training, motivating the participants to come to the training room.

10. A multiple-choice method that filters the motivation to the bottom. Exercise in pairs begins with the question WHAT DO YOU GET AFTER FINISHING THIS TRAINING? Another question is the progressive deepening of the answer based on it. For example, completing the training will allow me to change my job. WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR WORK? Changing my work will allow me to earn more. WHAT DO YOU GET BIGGER? Etc. The exercise is completed when the person responding feels that this is the finale of her quest, ie, the deepest hidden motivation. This is most often a feeling of satisfaction, happiness or the ability to live in harmony with one another.

11. Tell a joke related training by the trainer. You may recall experience with other groups, it may be a joke related to training.

Appreciation

12. Rewarding participants for disclosure on the forum – for the statement, for applying for the exercise, for the activity. Rewards can be made through applause, personal thank you, encouraging the group to appreciate through a shout or an earlier established gesture.

13. Appealing during the training to the participants’ speeches with the author’s remarks. Here’s a note – do not overdose and rely only on very active participants. This threatens the withdrawal of people who are timid. Recalling even a funny gesture or word that has been spoken once and in some way stirred the group is equally good practice.

14. Encourage discussion on the forum by getting up. It makes the participant break the resistance and feel more engaging. Sometimes it seems to be an artificial activity in small training groups. In a large group, by avoiding appearing on the forum by an undercover person, the participant may focus on the goal of maximizing the self-protection, ie avoiding the notoriety of speech.

Building community in group

15. Appreciate the participants to follow the rules created by the group, such as punctuality or wearing an ID. The advantage of this method is simple building a sense of belonging to a group by passive behavior such as being on time or remembering to wear a badge. The secondary effect of using this tool is to increase the sense of security in the group, which strengthens the positive attitude and willingness to stay in the training room, where there is no risk of ligation or reprisal.

16. RITUALS created jointly by the group. This can be a ritual of greeting, ending the class, welcoming the lecturer, a sign of consent with the content presented by the participant. From gesture to word-shout. The method of anchoring is taken from NLP, but builds a sense of belonging in the group, which is invaluable in enhancing motivation in learning.

17. Exercises in pairs or smaller groups that give the participants the opportunity to meet and build trust between them.

The source of the exercises and techniques is self-practice and the training provided by the ERASMUS + program (Emotional Intelligence, Event Wise).

This article was produced as a result of the “Competence Improvement Program”, implemented by the Innovation Development Foundation.

Project is co-financed by the European Union Erasmus + (Action 1 Educational Mobility, Mobility of Adult Education Staff, Agreement number 2016-1-PL01-KA104-025815).

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.