Practice Makes Perfect
In Aids for Training, we established that the best trainers are those who are well trained and able to effectively use a variety of training tools. They don’t use them in order to make their training sessions more interesting (though they inevitably do). The best trainers select training aids that enable them to impart skills to their trainees. They focus on training aids that actually facilitate learning, so that by the end of the training session, the trainee is able to demonstrate that they have gained proficiency in the skill being taught.
On the other hand, rather than zeroing in on the most effective training tools, poor trainers default to picking the training aids that they like and know how to use.
We also disclosed that in the training world there is a prevalent false belief. It is, “If I tell you this, you’ll get it.” This untruth has a sister belief that is just as widespread and equally wrong. This second false belief is, “People don’t have to practice to gain competence.”
Unfortunately, when corporations and individuals go through the processes of choosing a training program, their decision making processes are all too often driven by the question, “How little can I get away with doing [to learn this skill].” This is why the “learn while you sleep” training programs of the 80’s sold so well. People want the results without doing the work.
Practice takes time, and most people (and the organizations that employ them) don’t want to spend the time practicing that’s required to truly build a skill. And so to contradict the old axiom “practice makes perfect” (which has long been supported by music, foreign language and athletics training programs, to name just a few) the false belief, “I don’t have to practice to gain competence” was born.
It’s an odd belief, because the male dominated business world is aware that sports teams spend about ten times as much time practicing as they do competing. Yet when it comes to personal or professional skills training, it’s expected that professionals pick up new skills without any practice at all.
I learned this myself, as a fledgling entrepreneur, straight out of the corporate nest, when I enrolled in a course to learn a web authoring software program called Dreamweaver. The training I chose was a three day trainer-led program conducted in a classroom setting at an IT training facility that cost $1,250. My assumption was that after the training was complete,I would know how to use the software.
Throughout the program I was a diligent trainee:
- Attentive in class
- Following the trainer’s every instruction
- Reading the training manual at breaks
- Completing all of my homework assignments.
During the training, I felt confident that the 
learning I had invested in was occurring. And yet on the fourth day, as I sat at my computer and looked at the the Dreamweaver toolbars and menus, I drew a total blank. Over the next few days, it became clear that I had developed no proficiency in the program whatsoever. In hindsight, it’s clear that because I merely followed directions in class, and was not given time to practice the skills being taught, the learning had not “taken.”
The instructor had told us to call him if we had questions after the program. I would have if I could have formulated one. Where I had expected to find proficiency was an echoing void. Without practice, none of the learning took root. Consequently, I was unable to develop my website, as planned.
Ineffective training costs—on two fronts. I needed to invest MORE time, energy and money into sourcing and paying a knowlegeable web developer. I also needed to invest additional training dollars in learning the fundamentals.
How I wish that training had been formatted differently! I would have beneffited so much more if it had been prepared by professional trainers with expertise in anchoring learning (as opposed to technicians with software knowledge). Knowledge dissemination is not training. Argh!
If I had not been an A student and also excelled in a number of professional skills training programs, it would have been easy to feel like a failure. Not the intent of training! And there’s an expensive, lingering cost to remotivating oneself or employees.
99.9% of what passes for training is someone “telling” someone something, not instructing them on anything. Be sure you source a trainer who is able to deliver the goods you’re paying for.
And now that we’ve established what separates excellent training skills from those that are merely average, stay with us to read and comment on our overviews of the typical versus optimal uses of training tools.
Comments
One Response to “Practice Makes Perfect”
Got something to say?
[...] To learn about another false belief that strikes out a lot of promising rookie trainees, read Practice Makes Perfect. [...]