Training people more experienced than you? Don’t be scared

As a trainer, there is a decent possibility that the people you are training might be senior to you in age. And there is a large possibility, they will be the master of their trade so they would know the trade more than you in any case.

In such cases, it is important to for the trainer to understand that this is common and I suggest the following things to go about it:

Be confident of your skill or the craft

Reflect on the whole selection process. You might have gone through multiple rounds of screening in terms of profile screening, interviews, price negotiations and post that you might have been selected. It means the employer has hired you after seeing your skills and its matching with the training requirement. So be confident on that and recollect your self.

Be confident but do not be overconfident.

Be confident but do not be overconfident. After all, that is the harm in learning from others. Be humble, be some one who can unlearn and relearn if some new information is provided. In my experience, it is best to set the ground rule as Learning from each other and not a one way learning.

Prep well

This one goes without saying. Irrespective of the target audience, you should prepare well. But in a case where you know where people are more experienced than you, prep harder. You may try and think the potential questions. You may try and give out examples which are from their day to day operations. Not only will they relate more, but they will also be far more respectful for you.

Overtry with Caution

It is not uncommon for trainers to over try. Specially the adventurous ones. In a context where you are training people more experienced than you, over try with caution. Your respect, your value depends on your content. If you make a blunder, all of it might go for a toss. Risk it, but thoughtfully.

Set the ground rules

I went to an evening MBA school. In such a class the situation where the students (at-least some) are more experienced than the prof is pretty common. I found those profs to be more effective who followed the above approaches (one or more) or set the ground rules. Learning has to be child like. Certain ground rules are pertinent to a great learning session.

In totality, such contexts are common, don’t be scared. Just be yourself and prep well.

Agree or disagree? Hit me up at a@gargashutosh.com