Top 5 Things I Learned When Planning a Multi-Day Training

Planning training for any experience level can be daunting whether it is for an hour, a day, or a week. I have had numerous experiences planning hour-long trainings, but as I conclude my first two-and-a-half day training for a group of 15 high-potential leaders, I have learned a few valuable lessons that will make it easier to plan the next session.

1. Get Creative with the How

Filling a multi-day agenda requires more than just having enough content to fill time – it requires a diversity of learning opportunities. The final plan included tours, demonstrations, roundtables, semi-structured lessons, and the
leveraging of community events. By including an assortment of experiences and commingling them to avoid too much standing, walking, or sitting at any given time, it keeps the participants engaged and actively participating in each session – just make sure to leave some time open for travelling and breaks.

To keep yourself on track, I suggest using an erasable magnetic calendar or cute desk calendar to stay motivated as you cross off tasks. There are plenty of different formats for these calendars at affordable prices available online and can be generic if you are in the middle of the year and don’t want to get one that is marked by year. Alternatively, you can turn any surface in your home into a white board with Think Boards!

2. Leverage Your Existing Network

Utilizing the network I had nurtured through other events enabled me to better find charismatic leaders for roundtables, subject matter experts that could provide specific lessons, and point of contacts that lead the most dynamic tours. By flexing my network, I was able to fill a majority of the agenda quickly and incorporate special requests in anticipation of the training.

3. Use it as an Opportunity to Broaden Your Network

Don’t just show off how expansive your network is; use this opportunity to expand your connections. Whether through a friend of a friend or asking for a recommendation, seize the opportunity to reach out to someone unknown to you in order to be able to leverage their support next time.

4. Only Plan Training that You Care About

I’m sure some people can plan a fantastic training without being invested in the development of the people going through the training, but I have found that without passion behind building the course, you lower the level of excellence the experience can attain. Sometimes you can’t choose the group you have to plan for – in that case, I highly recommend pulling someone into the fold that cares about that particular training as a co-leader and support their vision as necessary. Support can take the form of sharing your connections to helping with logistics.

5. Don’t Tweak It

Have a cutoff that after which you won’t tweak the agenda. A contact that gets back to you right before the training begins – A last minute session cancellation – Someone that would like to shift their time slot to one that is occupied by another lesson… Keep your stress to a minimum by trying not to make any agenda moves right before or during the training. Unless it’s a phenomenal, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for both yourself and the participants – don’t overwork yourself to incorporate a modification that the participants won’t even notice. Gauge the audience to see what would be best received: time to make connections with previous session leaders, space to catch up on emails/calls, or an opportunity to network with their peers.

These tips kept me motivated from start-to-finish in the planning phase and allowed me to learn a lot from each session. While these tips won’t prevent your heart from skipping a beat after you have received a call saying that the session speaker is ill, it did give me a strong foundation for a successful training. What tips have helped you plan and lead an extensive agenda? Have these tips worked for you?