Connect with Consultants. When Consultants arrive, imagine you are ?on.?



Preparations in place. There should be no distractions and your focus should be on them.

Talk with each Consultant and guest individually. Take time to make them feel welcome. While speaking, make good eye contact. When asking for a response, raise your hand or nod. They should SEE and FEEL your presence.

Watch for ?the barometer.? Usually someone will react before the others do. They will help to anticipate the overall reactions. If they look confused or bored, consider adjusting the presentation.

Ask questions. When asking questions, involve the participants. It keeps them thinking. You are also teaching the Consultant how questions will benefit them.

Respond to questions. Every question is an indication of interest! When responding, look at everyone while checking with the individual who asked the question. Make sure you answer the question and ask if you did. You do not want the person to feel stupid.

Partner and small group breakouts. For small groups or partner participation, suggest working with someone they do not know well. Working with others causes people to get up and move. This offers a change of pace, keeps your presentation interesting, and involves the participants.

Teaching style. Be aware of personal learning styles. Your audience will include visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners.

Do more than tell. Demonstrate. Use flip charts, overheads, posters, and other visual aides to engage the Consultants. Hold up the product instead of talking about it.

Communication. Only 7% of the message comes from what you say, while 38% comes from how you say it. Fifty-five percent of the message comes from body language. Try to alter your voice to make the presentation more interesting.

Share personal experiences. Share part of you! When giving personal experiences, your participants get to know the real you. Do not be afraid to share some of your disaster stories. They need to know you are not perfect and are still learning yourself.

Humor. Most people love to laugh. It helps people to relax. Use your humor. As you know more about a subject, your sense of humor will blossom.

Enthusiasm. Act enthusiastic! This will inspire Consultants. You are more believable when speaking with energy. When you show enthusiasm, Consultants will want to be like you. If you appear tired and worn out, they may lose interest.

Evaluation. When time permits, do a short evaluation at the end of the training session. Ask questions relating to how valuable the training was, what additions or changes, and how will they adjust their business from what they learned. Writing out answers anonymously will give a better and more honest response.