Many of us know instinctively what strategies help us to learn and retain information. Using these natural strategies when trying to teach others creates sticky training.

1) Simple

  • Keep it short and sweet.
  • Bullet points and short phrases are easier to assimilate than lectures.
  • Speak to the learners’ needs; having an idea of what they are familiar with will help to shape your lesson.
  • Jargon and acronyms can be important, but don’t go overboard and alienate a learner who’s unfamiliar with them.

2) Movement

  • Allow for frequent discussions in small groups or pairs.
  • Any time that learners can be out of their seats is good, this helps for better focus.
  • People learn in different ways, so changing up between slides, lectures, stories, discussions, etc. keeps it fresh and ensures that all learners can take something away from it.

3) Steady

  • Be knowledgeable about the subject matter, use of stories or cite where information came from to make learning clearer.
  • Have a list of materials available that could be used as follow-up.
  • Use other sources that can be cited to help make points more concrete.

4) Stories (emotion)

  • Personal stories are a great device for sticky learning, they help a learner identify with the material.
  • Having the audience participate by sharing stories or anecdotes that relate is another great way to make learning stick.
  • Build time for these relatable moments into your lesson, they are invaluable.

5) Staying With It (follow-up)

  • Always reiterate important points, preferably in point form, at the end of a session.
  • Have learners do a reflection or follow up in the days that follow.
  • Periodically check in with learners to see that the learning stuck and hasn’t become blurred in the time since the learning took place.

This is an excerpt from Velsoft’s course- Making Training Stick. You can have a look at it here.