The Principles I Use to Run Training Sessions (and Why It Matters for Your Business)

A couple of weeks ago I led a training session so power users and admins could build their own forms.

I like teaching these power users. I don’t gatekeep the tech stuff. If it’s easy, I’m more than happy to show my clients how things work and how they can do things themselves.

Training is key for your business. Because it gets people to actually use software by helping them discover features they didn’t know existed (“oh, I didn’t know I could do this”) and making them better at their jobs.

As the product strategist Kathy Sierra says, the best-selling products and services are the ones that make their users badass and help them achieve their goals.

Here are the training principles I use to help my clients get better results:

1. Preparation

It’s obvious, but you can’t skip it. Prepare your training session beforehand by answering these questions:

• What topics are you going to cover?
• How long should the session be?
• What’s the main goal, and what should you leave out?
• Who is attending, and what are their skill levels and goals?
• How will you record and share the session?
• Who is the champion? (The power user who will take on the most training.)

2. Keep it focused

Focus on one specific goal and just enough subjects to let them achieve it. Don’t overload them. Go through the most important topics and leave out the rest.

In my case, I showed them the basics of the backend platform and focused on how to create a really basic form. We can build from there. If they want to learn more, I offer extra training sessions, or they can just hand the work over to us.

3. Set expectations

Share the agenda ahead of time and let them know what to prepare. For example, I make sure they have access to a desktop so they can log into the admin platform. This gives trainees a chance to flag anything they want to include or exclude.

At the beginning of the session, explain the goal, go through the topics you’ll cover, and explicitly say what you won’t cover as well.

The intro should set clear expectations and remind them of the “why” so they stay engaged. And don’t forget the basics: downloading the app, logging in, and navigating around.

Don’t assume they know specific tech concepts and try to explain everything in plain terms.

4. Use real scenarios and examples

Use an actual problem or a case study they care about. For example, I used a specific room inspection form they actually wanted to build as our live example.

A generic demo won’t hold their attention or feel useful. Showing them how to do a specific job they care about helps them learn and remember much more.

5. Make it hands-on

Instead of showing them how to create a form from scratch, I build a simple form with the most important fields that they can use as a template. I show them how to duplicate and practice on it inside a safe, sandboxed environment so they know they won’t break anything.

If possible, leave a few minutes for hands-on practice right after teaching something important.

6. Provide support materials

Give them resources they can actually use afterward:

• Video recording: Validate it’s working by playing it back, and make sure they have access by testing it from another device or an incognito browser. Add timestamps for the most relevant parts.
• Guides: It can be as simple a sheet with step-by-step instructions, or a one-page cheat sheet with the most used patterns.
• Templates: A training form template with basic fields and comments to guide them while they’re building.

This is how I make sure they experience an effective training session, and make sure the lessons don’t get lost in the million generic eLearning videos shoved at them.

Running a software rollout or tech implementation and want your team to actually use it? Send me a message and let’s map out a training plan that gets them up to speed fast.