Chapter 17
Effective Trainer Behaviours

All the preparation that is done under the survey, understand and create stages of the training cycle covered in Chapters 7, 8 and 9 is important to the success of a training event for international managers. However, much of this work can be undone by the trainer's behaviour in the first few minutes of an event. This is an important factor that creates the atmosphere for the training. This atmosphere will be critical to how the event progresses over its full duration, whether it is half a day or five days in length. Learning and fun are essential parts of the equation. Having started well, the trainer needs to build and maintain momentum as the course proceeds. In this chapter we look at some of the ways in which trainers can do this with international participants.

Training to entertain

Managers from all cultures will have a more pleasurable learning experience if they are also having some fun and getting some enjoyment from the training. This will colour their perceived value of the learning experience.

In general, with many individual exceptions, North Americans tend to appreciate and evaluate training by focusing on how well it entertains. They love a show. Western Europeans tend to appreciate training for its practical application; Eastern Europeans for the theoretical constructs. Those from the Middle East put a lot of importance on the location and venue, while those from the Far East value the clarity of course structure and the precision of instructions for exercises. South America is similar to North America, as is Africa to Western Europe.

This means that the entertainment aspects need to be adapted to the culture. For American audiences, stories, jokes, exercises, and competitions with winners and losers are generally acceptable. This is much less so with Far Eastern participants. Not only may they have problems understanding the context of many of the stories as well as the language, they will be concerned with losing face. They also will be much more reticent to join in unless the activity is precisely structured.

Visual and oral clues can have a strong influence in creating a fun atmosphere. This is particularly so for cultures such as Japan and France, for example, which have traditionally viewed training as a process where the trainer communicates information and the student absorbs it. Any failure to understand is the responsibility of the student, not the teacher. Typically, trainees in these generally high power distance cultures will perceive training as very much a one-way process from master to student. One advantage of this approach to learning is that the participants will be very sensitive to outside stimuli. On entering the training environment their antennae will be actively scanning what is happening around them. This means that visual and oral stimuli such as music, posters, signs, flip charts, both inside and outside the training room, and indeed the layout of the room itself will be sending signals to them. If these signals differ from their expectations of a training event then they can begin to reorientate themselves to the new situation in their own time, without losing face. They will feel it is their responsibility to adapt to the trainer's style but want to do so in a non-threatening environment. Merely dispensing with classroom-style layout for tables and chairs in favour of a 'U' or even cabaret style can be a powerful dynamic in creating a fun atmosphere.

Thought also needs to be given to how participation can be encouraged. With American participants this is generally not a problem unless they are unhappy with the course. Non-participation is a strong indicator that all is not well, as is the case with Middle Eastern participants. However, with East Europeans or Asians this may be far from the case. They do not expect to make inputs or ask questions, and silence does not mean 'I am unhappy' but 'I am thinking about what I am learning'. This means that participation needs to be encouraged in small steps. Initially the trainer might get participants merely to talk to each other on a relatively straightforward issue with a range of possible outcomes, none of which are wrong. For example, what are the three most important attributes of a strong team? Once the process has started then the extent of two-way interaction can be extended and a competitive element introduced.

Telling stories is a desirable attribute in any trainer. For international audiences this should be done with greater consideration. As has already been mentioned in earlier chapters, cultural and historical sensitivities should be respected. This does not mean that they need to be entirely avoided. On the contrary they can help stimulate openness and active discussion. For example, on many occasions we have used a story about a French defeat in the Napoleonic wars with French participants with considerable effect. On one level the events are far enough in history not to be of personal relevance to any individual. However, more importantly, it provides opportunities to create more empathy and understanding through adding cultural stereotypes.

The all-important opening and dealing with low points

At the beginning of a course, participants will be in varied frames of mind, depending on a range of factors, including their motivation to attend the event, their journey to the venue and their initial feelings about what they first experience at the event. To lead the participants into a positive learning experience, trainers need to bring considerable energy to all the events that they run. With international managers this is even more challenging for the trainer because energy is interpreted differently in different cultures. To a Western European, energy means lots of action and strong body movement, whereas for a participant from the Far East, energy is being inwardly focused and calm. Our general advice here, when faced with participants from varying continents, is to start any programme by standing still, looking over participants' heads until they are silent; and then to begin moving after the first few sentences have been spoken.

This energy will communicate itself to the participants and in turn raise their energy levels. Participants will be reading the trainer's body language and tuning into the trainer's tone of voice in those opening minutes, and the impression formed is likely to be enduring. Most of all it is important that everything the trainer does in those opening stages fits naturally with the trainer's personality and the culture of the participants for whom the training is being delivered and the participants' organization. A critical aspect of trainers being at ease with the situation and behaving naturally is that they feel satisfied that all the preparation is complete, giving positive feelings of confidence about the value of the event for the participants. This is important because it will be communicated subconsciously through the trainer's body language and tone.

Before we leave these important opening stages of a training event it is worth considering whether trainers should introduce themselves to participants at the pre-course coffee station, which is an almost ubiquitous part of training events. Most trainers see a real benefit in doing this, as it is good to make contact with a few participants prior to the start of the formalities. It is good because it will mean that there are at least some participants to whom the trainer is not a total stranger and when the first question is thrown out to the audience the trainer can anticipate that one of the participants with whom contact was made beforehand will feel at ease in coming forward with a contribution. In fact we always make sure we introduce ourselves to every participant before the course whenever possible and welcome them. Most cultures are more formally polite than Anglo-Saxons and shaking hands is an important sign of showing respect, particularly in mainland Europe.

It should be said that not all trainers share this view. There are those, probably the minority, who like to make an impact with their initial entrance and are confident in their ability to 'play an audience'. They feel their impact will be diluted if they have interacted previously with participants and so prefer not to be seen by course members before the curtain is raised on the formal proceedings. It is for each individual trainer to make a personal choice here. If there is no clear preference it is worth considering one additional benefit of mingling informally with international managers before a training event. It will give the trainer an opportunity to tune in to some of the accents that are going to be encountered during the course and it will give them a chance to hear the pronunciation of some of the names, which even after several decades of training internationally can be a challenge when working from the written word alone! Often it will be difficult to grasp the participant's name on initial introduction and we often will ask the individual to repeat it just to make sure we have got it right. However, it is easily forgotten and, as soon as practical after the course opening, all participants should be asked to write what they wish to be called for the duration of the course on their name card in large bold letters. We make sure that they complete both sides of the card so that we can see their names from all points of the training room. Remembering unusual names can be a major challenge.

When the trainer makes the self-introduction formally to a group of participants it is naturally important that the information given about the trainer's experience fits the subject matter of the event. Most trainers have several areas of expertise but the participants are mainly interested in those areas that are relevant to them. Training conducted for similar organizations and in the countries from which participants have come needs to be highlighted.

Once the formal part is underway there is a case for agreeing on some course rules, so that participants have a common understanding of the etiquette on issues such as taking a break during sessions, asking questions and using mobile phones. Trainers all have their individual concerns on these matters, but one that is particularly relevant to international events is to encourage participants to feel totally comfortable with asking for repetition or further explanation if they feel they are missing a point due to a problem in understanding the speaker's English (assuming that the event is being conducted in English!). Such matters need to be dealt with at the very outset of the training and are part of creating a relaxed and informal atmosphere while maintaining positive behaviours in the group.

Another issue that often arises is one of timekeeping. The differing cultural attitudes to timekeeping have already been covered in earlier chapters. However, one further dimension that can be an issue is starting, finishing and lunch times. For example, Scandinavians generally tend to start work early, lunch around noon or earlier and are likely to finish in advance of Southern Europeans, who start around 09:30, lunch around 13:00 to 14:00+ and finish around 18:00 or later. Generally it is advisable, should this issue arise, to let the group decide the rules it wishes to follow. The reader will observe that time has been referred to in the previous sentence using the 24-hour clock convention. This is used far more widely than the a.m. and p.m. Anglo-Saxon convention and is less likely to cause confusion.

There will be times during the course when the group loses its energy. Some trainers like to use 'energizers' at these points, especially if the low is due to the physical tiredness brought on by an inappropriately large meal or a late night. Gower publishes books of energizers for trainers who need to acquire these types of resources. Interestingly, not all participants appreciate these sudden bursts of mental or physical energy and so other trainers deal with lows by changing the group activity while maintaining the focus on the learning objectives. Moving to an impromptu breakout group or work in pairs can often reinvigorate participants.

Meeting the challenge of diverse cultures and personality types

Instrumental to the success of any international training course is that the trainer enjoys the challenge of being confronted with a mixture of nationalities, personality types, participant expectations and the occasional uncontrollable event. This challenge should be fun to the trainer, as this will communicate itself instantly to the participants. Potential problems will turn out to be interesting challenges if there is an atmosphere of good humour shared by participants and the trainer alike. The unexpected activation of the sprinkler system in the conference room is a problem at a dour event; but it is amusing in the middle of a good-humoured discussion at a course in which everyone is enjoying their participation.

Trainers need to be as aware of the different perceptions and reactions of individual personalities as they do to the more general differences between participants from different cultures. A good example of this is the way in which trainers at international seminars can expect to be challenged by participants having varied approaches to timekeeping. This is not just a matter of Southern European approximation conflicting with Northern precision. There are individual differences too. Some personality types love to see a schedule adhered to precisely and other personality types hate the very idea of a schedule. There are some very clear rules for success in this regard. The trainer needs to respect the schedule that has been published. There is usually a significant proportion of participants who will be unforgiving if a part of the agenda has to be squeezed into an unrealistically short time. Within the schedule there must be allowance for developing subjects in depth where the participants' consensus is that this will be useful. Do not pack the agenda too full!

In terms of managing the punctuality of starting and finishing sessions, the rules must be equally clear. Sessions must finish on time. There is more likelihood of sessions starting on time if the trainer has built some suspense potential for the next session. Participants are more likely to arrive punctually if there is something which they can look forward to. If within a maximum of five minutes of the published starting time some participants are still involved in apparently fascinating calls on their mobiles at the coffee station, the door to the training room should be closed and the session should start. The norms will thus become apparent and timekeeping will improve.

Dealing with challenging behaviour

This type of situation, early in a course, is potential dynamite for trainers and can only be resolved satisfactorily, particularly with Western European and American audiences, by opening up the issue raised by one individual for discussion with the whole group. Any attempt by the trainer to resolve such an issue by being dogmatic will almost certainly be met with hostility from the group. Flexibility is critical and the power of the majority has to rule, within the constraints of maintaining the critical aspects of the learning agenda. Basically it means treating participants from all countries as adults.

However, sabotage has many faces. Side conversations between participants from one country in their own language can be disruptive. A participant passing round a private note is disturbing. Bickering about whether the room temperature is too hot or cold between participants from hot and cool climates is annoying. Individuals using their own familiarity with their native culture to weaken a point being made by the trainer by saying 'it won't work in my country' can be undermining.

Sometimes there are dominant participants whose native (or very familiar) language is the language being used to deliver the course. These participants can hinder the ability of the others to learn and enjoy the course. They can be worse than a hindrance, more of an irritation, if they also consider themselves to be blessed with an ability to tell jokes and stories! Such behaviour can consciously or subconsciously sabotage the training. One course of action is to divert the conversation to other members of the group which may be enough to give the message that their dominance is not appreciated. If that fails, the group will usually find a way of quietening them. If that is slow to work it can be productive to channel the saboteur's energies by allocating some challenging task to them that does not leave time for wisecracking!

Dealing with these types of issues is absolutely essential. Left alone they can fester and bring a course to its knees. The trainer needs to bring these matters to the fore and resolve them. In the case of the individual passing around a note, this was resolved on a one-to-one basis and in a fairly direct manner as they came from a high power distance, low individualism culture. Other cases, such as the side conversations, can be dealt with by the group and even added to the list of course ground rules.

Challenging behaviours, such as the refusal to see how something could work in their own culture, can only be dealt with by involving the group. Confronting an individual in front of the group is a risky strategy. Suddenly a supportive group will become hostile and all can be lost. Challenges need to be opened up for discussion to see what the group wants to do, always recognizing that the learning objectives of the group need to remain intact.

Compassion and business building

These must look like unusual bedfellows in a title! First, compassion. When participants are far from home in a foreign environment some may feel particularly vulnerable if they have a pressing personal problem. They will occasionally become ill while attending training courses. They may have deaths in the family, and one of our colleagues actually had a participant drop dead in his seat! Trainers need to be ready for all these eventualities and make a very special effort to be compassionate and helpful to the participant who is dealing with a pressing personal issue. Don't panic but do take effective action to deal with the crisis. Also, keep the client informed. There are more points to be won and lost in how the trainer deals with these situations than there are in raising the course score by 20 per cent.

At this point it is worth saying that those trainers who have been in the business for a number of years will recognize that participants of today can become clients tomorrow. In fact it is almost guaranteed to happen if one-to-one relationships with participants are built effectively and it is made easy for them to find the trainer after the event. Doing something that the individual participant, who is a long way from home, values personally at the time of, or soon after, the training event will register as even more important than the recollection of a truly exceptional training course.

Summary

It is important to consider carefully the most appropriate strategy for meeting participants informally before the training event. Building a one-to-one relationship with a few participants before the formal session begins often results in these people participating in the early stages and makes it easier for the format of the course to be interactive at an early stage. Likewise, being compassionate when dealing with personal issues on behalf of individual participants who are far from home will be remembered perhaps even more positively than an excellent learning experience.

Trainers are responsible for bringing energy to the group and need to consider how best to do it in a way that suits their training style. It is critical to create energy early in the course and there will be low points where it is important to use triggers to re-energize the group. This is best done while creating a relaxed yet focused climate.

Keeping to the programme schedule but leaving space for spending time on a particular area of interest for participants is critical to success. The ability to move fluently through the agenda, while being relaxed about spending time on discussions that are of particular interest to the group, is a key skill of the trainer.

When individual participants are over-dominant or disruptive and thereby sabotage the course, the trainer has to rely both on his or her own personality and on the support of the group as a whole to resolve a difficult situation in the relevant cultural context.

Action plan