Confession time – this is where my dorkiness is about to be displayed front and center. With that said I was on a plane this week. As usual I had my headphones on and was listening to music. My playlist is varied to say the least and at one point “The Ride” by David Allan Coe came on. Great song that I’ve listened to many times before. But during the chorus it hit me in a completely different way. “Boy, can you make folks feel what you feel inside?” I had to hit pause. And that phrase got me to thinking about training – weird, I know. But, bear with me for a minute.
That phrase got me to reflecting on some of the training I was responsible for delivering during my career. To be completely honest, there were a few times when I trained my people when I felt absolutely nothing about the topic. Not good. Not bad. Nothing. Zero. Not that I spoke poorly of the topic or said anything negative about it. I just didn’t feel anything.
And that’s the problem. Training is supposed to be about behavior change. People should act differently or have their actions affirmed after they attend training. Often times achieving behavior change requires affecting people emotionally. We have talked about before, but it is worth repeating – people don’t follow numbers, they follow feelings.
There should be a connection, an emotional connection, formed between the trainer and those that they are training. If it is formed, the results are incredible. Scientists call this “neural coupling”. It is reached when the same areas of the brain that are activated in the speaker is also activated in the one who is listening. And that is where the magic happens (it’s not really magic, it just feels like it is).
We should be teaching passionately. The topics that we cover can potentially have life or death results. We should leave it all out there. And after it’s over, did you make the folks feel what you feel inside?
