Training Session Scheduling

Trainers must be more than experts— Here's the secret to delivering impactful training sessions, no matter what comes your way. As a trainer, being prepared for instant changes in the delivery of any concept requires a flexible and adaptive mindset. Here are key strategies to help you stay prepared: 1. Thorough Subject knowledge - 📕 Master the content so well that you can break it down or present it in multiple ways, adapting to the audience’s needs. This will allow you to explain complex ideas in simpler terms or delve deeper if required. 2. Audience Analysis - 🧐 Before the session, understand your audience's knowledge level, learning preferences, and possible challenges. This will help you anticipate where you might need to adjust your delivery. 3. Create a Session Outline - 📝 Have a structured outline that allows for adjustments. Include different examples, analogies, and activities so that you can switch methods if needed. 4. Plan for Flexibility 🧘 - Build in buffer time to the session plan, allowing you to address questions or revisit concepts without rushing. Be prepared to cut less essential content if time constraints arise. 5. Use Interactive Methods 🗣️ - Include interactive methods such as Q&A, group discussions, or problem-solving activities. These allow you to gauge understanding and shift the delivery based on immediate feedback. 6. Technology Familiarity - 🧑💻 Know the tools and platforms you are using so you can quickly adapt, whether it’s changing slides, moving between resources, or using multimedia to reinforce concepts. 7. Stay Calm and Confident ☺️ - If a change in delivery is necessary, remain calm and composed. Confidence reassures the audience, and maintaining a positive attitude will help you navigate unexpected changes smoothly. 8. Prepare Backup Plans 🖋️ - Have alternative examples, exercises, or activities ready in case the original approach does not resonate with the group. 9. Stay Current 🏃 - Keep up with the latest trends, tools, and methods in training and your field of expertise. This allows you to bring fresh perspectives and solutions to any spontaneous situation. 10. Gather Feedback ✍️ - After a session, ask for feedback to understand where adjustments were successful or where improvements are needed. This helps in refining your ability to adapt in future sessions. Being prepared for changes is about blending preparation with flexibility and having the confidence to switch gears when necessary. #confidence #trainthetrainer #training #softskills #leadership #communication #learning

Stop fighting your body’s natural rhythm. Adopt chronoworking. Have you ever wondered why you feel sharp and creative at certain times of day but foggy and distracted at others? It’s because of your brain has a unique chronotype. Essentially, your personal body clock regulates your optimal times for focus, creativity, and recovery. I’ve been saying this for years - it doesn’t matter when you work, but rather the outcomes that you produce. This is the essence of "chronoworking" – aligning your schedule with your brain's natural rhythms, instead of forcing yourself to work at certain times or follow the arbitrary 9-5 schedule. By doing this one thing, you can dramatically enhance performance. Implement strategic time batching: - Reserve your peak cognitive hours (when your prefrontal cortex is most active) for complex analytical tasks requiring deep focus. - Save routine tasks for your "valley" periods when your brain needs less cognitive horsepower. - For maximum effectiveness, try habit stacking—link new productive behaviors to existing routines during your optimal performance windows. Forward-thinking companies are increasingly adopting flexible working styles. It’s my hope that it is only a matter of time before even more places accommodate different chronotypes. The payoff is substantial: reduced stress, higher creativity, lower burnout rates, and measurably better performance. What's your chronotype, are you a "lark" (morning person), "owl" (night person), or somewhere in between? Do you lean into it, or have to fight against it? #Chronoworking #Neuroscience #LinkedInNewsDACH #BrainScience

Alignment is where L&D earns its credibility. It’s easy to say “𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭𝘴.” It’s harder to prove it. Because alignment isn’t about matching a course title to a business metric. It’s about understanding the real work, the real friction points and the outcomes that matter most to the organisation. Too often, training is built around topics and modalities: “Should it be eLearning or classroom?” “Should we focus on delegation or coaching?” Those questions miss the point. Because the moment theory collides with the messy ACTUAL reality of the job, the gaps stick out like a sore thumb. Alignment means digging deeper: What challenges derail people in their day-to-day? Where do managers see performance nose-diving? Which KPIs signal whether the job is being done well? How does culture shape the way work actually gets done? When you answer those questions, you move from training for topics → to supporting performance. From completions → to capability. From “cost centre” → to true strategic driver. What’s the toughest part for you: defining the right KPIs, or uncovering the real challenges of the job? ________________ High functioning ≠ high capacity. I consult with L&D teams to turn busyness into business impact.

Be it private or government sector, capacity building is a decisive factor in increasing efficiency. Believe me, it's less about knowledge and more about accuracy, clarity, and strategy. The general struggle is - How to decide what works? So, I am sharing a tested and tried framework for you: 1. Confirm your content with Policies and Law Officials work within strict policies and the law. Ensure your training aligns with relevant laws, policies, and administrative guidelines to make the content factually correct and actionable. But don't hesitate to raise deep critical questions on the framework, if possible. 2. Use Real-Life Scenarios Employees face at-the-work challenges. Incorporate real-life case studies and scenarios to provide context and practical application of the content, enhancing attention retention. And make sure it covers the darker side of their working condition too. 3. Keep it Outcome-Oriented Focus on the desired outcomes and how the training will help them achieve their official goals. Be clear about the key takeaways and how it ties to their performance metrics or departmental objectives. Must conduct a quantitative survey at the end of the day or whenever deemed fit. 4. Simplify Complex Information Work procedures and policies can be complex. Simplify jargon-heavy content and legal terminologies with clear explanations, visuals, and examples to enhance understanding. Humans LOVE to understand things without having to memorise something. 5. Engage with Interactive Learning Use interactive methods such as group discussions, role-playing, and scenario-based simulations to encourage active participation. This keeps functionaries engaged and improves learning outcomes. This adds a lot of fun and increases the reflection speed. People get the opportunity to reflect while living their daily life situation. 6. Provide Actionable Tools and Templates Give participants ready-to-use tools like templates, checklists, and guidelines that they can immediately apply to their daily work, ensuring the practical utility of the training. This is a must. This becomes the real takeaway and can be transformative. 7. Make Space for Local Context Customize content to the regional and local realities that employees work within. Address specific challenges like local resource constraints, governance issues, or community dynamics. Allowing space for contradictions is a critical success factor here. 8. Build Awareness Around Change Management Humans are often slow to change. Train participants on how to handle resistance to new processes, systems, or policies. Emphasize how they can influence change within their system. Tables get turned and they change faster. 9. Inspire confidence in participants Officials are not classroom children and you can't control their thoughts. You can just influence them or maintain the decorum. But primarily, they must feel welcomed and have confidence in you! #CapacityBuilding #Effeciency #Governance

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 They treat it like a one-time event. A workshop. A box ticked. An expense. The result? Underwhelming impact and wasted budgets. The truth is: training only works when it is designed like a leadership journey, not a classroom session. That’s how executive presence gets built - through repeated practice, reflection, and reinforcement. Here are 3 ways to make training stick and deliver business results: 𝟏. 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 Build structured journeys. Pre-work, dynamic sessions, post-work application. Like a mission, not a meeting. 𝟐. 𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧  Group Coaching, virtual peer huddles, and daily quick-hit refreshers so new skills don’t fade. 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 Track the business impact. Not just attendance sheets and smiley-face feedback. One of our clients discovered this the hard way. For years, they invested in sending leaders to The Ivy League MBA schools, skills workshops, communication templates, even role-play drills. Each worked in rehearsals. But in real CXO and board conversations, the impact never stuck. That’s when they shifted to our 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 that included an 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 and 100-day journey. The difference? Senior leaders didn’t just learn, they practiced, measured progress, and reinforced behaviours until they became second nature. Within 4 months, senior leaders reported: ✅ 𝟔𝟑% 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞  ✅ 𝟓𝟕% 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧  ✅ 𝟓𝟓% 𝐮𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 CEO noticed the shift immediately in boardroom decision-making and stakeholder engagement. When you do this, training shifts from being an expense to becoming a strategic asset that fuels collaboration, loyalty, and decision-making. That’s how organizations grow leaders with true presence. 👉 What’s one reinforcement practice you’ve seen work well in your company’s L&D programs? #ExecutivePresence #CoachVikram #Impact #Leadership

I had a chance to facilitate a workshop for 130 people. Here what makes it a success. 💡 CHOOSE THE RIGHT METHOD With 130 people and it needs to be a workshop not a seminar, we decided to break into 6 group which every group had 1 facilitator. We only have 2.5 hours so we needs to stick on the timing and start end on time in each activity. 💡 ENGAGING SESSION Need to ensure that each participant feels involved although they are part of a big group. It could be done by asking the representative of each group to share their opinion during plenary session or to ensure everyone contributes during small group discussion. 💡 MANAGE THE ENERGY This is a shared responsibility with the co-facilitator. Need to ensure that everyone is engaged in the discussion, have high energy, and eager to participate. When we see the energy down then we could have a quick intermezzo or icebreaking session to bring the energy back. 💡 PERSONALIZATION The small group discussion format is important to ensure that everyone have their voice to be heard which less likely to be done if we only have 1 big group with 130 people as participants. 💡 CHECK THE IMPACT Make them share the insight, key learnings, and also next action plan that they could implement in day to day work to make their work more effective and efficient. The success of a workshop is always combination of having clear objective to come up with the right format, good preparation, well coordinated facilitators, and good execution on the day. As facilitator, it is important to have high energy when we deliver the session since our energy is contagious. If anyone has additional tips for a successful workshop facilitation, feel free to write in the comment section! DM me for any potential collaboration!

I talk to 10+ compliance leaders a week: I’m hearing there's more pressure than ever to reduce overall training time. How to reduce seat time while increasing training quality? 1. Streamline topics Over the years, every stakeholder piles on a few extra topics here and there. Always adding, never subtracting. The issue is there isn't anyone looking at the bigger picture and tackling training governance. Airbnb fixed this by taking a targeted, streamlined approach: “So rather than a new hire coming on, [and saying] ‘Here’s your 14 hours of random trainings,’ now it’s, ‘Here are the two, three hours of very specific training activities that we know you need to do.’” From Dave Stephenson, Chief Business Officer, Airbnb in a Fortune article. 2. Test out/Test down We’ve implemented test-out with several customers this year. Catherine Choe at Zendesk comes to mind. On a recent podcast she said: “It wasn’t an easy test,” Catherine admitted. “Even I didn’t get 100%. But I passed. And instead of spending an hour taking a course, I spent 15 minutes proving I knew what to do. That’s a win for me and the company.” Test out ensures each employee's training is tailored to their needs. If you want to see how much time/money you can save with test out, check out the ROI calculator in the comments. 3. Role and risk based training (powered by AI) Not every employee needs the same training!! Make role and risk based tracks (specific ABAC training for sales; Data Privacy for HR) so training is targeted. Ethena's AI course builder is a phenomenal tool for making specific trainings without having to start from scratch. What did I miss?

A lot of time and money goes into corporate training—but not nearly enough comes out of it. In fact, companies spent $130 billion on training last year, yet only 25% of programs measurably improved business performance. Having run countless training workshops, I’ve seen firsthand what makes the difference. Some teams walk away energized and equipped. Others… not so much. If you’re involved in organizing training—whether for a small team or a large department—here’s how to make sure it actually works: ✅ Do your research. Talk to your team. What skills would genuinely help them day-to-day? A few interviews or a quick survey can reveal exactly where to focus. ✅ Start with a solid brief. Give your trainer as much context as possible: goals, audience, skill levels, examples of past work, what’s worked—and what hasn’t. ✅ Don’t shortchange the time. A 90-minute session might inspire, but it won’t transform. For deeper learning and hands-on practice, give it time—ideally 2+ hours or spaced chunks over a few days. ✅ Share real examples. Generic content doesn’t stick. When the trainer sees your actual slides, templates, and challenges, they can tailor the session to hit home. ✅ Choose the right group size. Smaller groups mean better interaction and more personalized support. If you want engagement, resist the temptation to pack the (virtual) room. ✅ Make it matter. Set expectations. Send reminders. And if it’s virtual, cameras on goes a long way toward focus and connection. ✅ Schedule follow-up support. Reinforcement matters. Book a post-session Q&A, office hours, or refresher so people actually use what they’ve learned. ✅ Follow up. Send a quick survey afterward to measure impact and shape the next session. One-off training rarely moves the needle—but a well-planned series can. Helping teams level up their presentation skills is what I do—structure, storytelling, design, and beyond. If that’s on your radar, I’d love to help. DM me to get the conversation started.

Steps to follow by a trainer to handle diverse audience 1. Know Your Audience Gather detailed information about your participants’ backgrounds, cultures, learning preferences, and expectations before the session. This can be done via pre-session surveys, questionnaires, or informal discussions. Understanding their needs helps tailor the content and delivery style appropriately. 2. Adapt Your Content and Methods Customize your training materials to be relevant and relatable to the diverse group. Use examples, case studies, and scenarios that reflect the participants’ varied experiences and cultural contexts. Incorporate multiple teaching methods such as lectures, interactive activities, group discussions, and multimedia to cater to different learning styles (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) Provide materials in various formats (written, visual, audio) to enhance accessibility and comprehension. 3. Set a Tone of Inclusivity Begin the session by establishing an environment of respect, openness, and mutual learning.Use icebreakers that encourage participants to share about their cultural or personal backgrounds, fostering a sense of belonging and appreciation for diversity. 4. Communicate Clearly and Inclusively Use simple, clear language and avoid idiomatic expressions that might confuse non-native speakers. Be mindful of your tone and word choices to avoid unconscious bias or alienation. Use body language, voice inflections, and visual aids to reinforce understanding and inclusion. 5. Build Concrete, Actionable Skills Focus on developing practical pro-diversity skills such as advocacy, inclusive language, allyship, and self-reflection on unconscious biases. Encourage participants to set personal diversity-related goals to foster commitment and behavioral change. 6. Engage Your Audience Actively Incorporate interactive elements like Q&A sessions, group exercises, and discussions that allow participants to share their perspectives and learn from each other. Listen actively and respond to participant feedback to show that their voices are valued. 7. Evaluate and Reflect Assess the effectiveness of your training through feedback and evaluations. Reflect on what worked well and what could be improved for future sessions to better meet the needs of diverse learners. By following these steps, trainers can create a learning environment that respects and leverages diversity, making the training more effective and impactful for all participants.

How I Automated Calendar Management and Took Back My Time If you’re a Virtual Assistant or manage multiple executives' calendars, this one's for you. (And trust me, you'll thank me later.) Managing the busy and overlapping schedules of several high-level executives or any client can quickly turn into a chaotic mess—especially when they’re in different time zones. I was spending hours manually scheduling meetings, coordinating time zones, sending reminders, and dealing with conflicts. It was overwhelming, and things were slipping through the cracks. Here’s how I turned that chaos into a streamlined, automated system: 1. Automated Meeting Scheduling   - I integrated Calendly with Google Calendar so that when a meeting was booked, it was automatically added to the relevant executive’s calendar. No more back-and-forth emails—just smooth, conflict-free scheduling. 2. Time Zone Coordination Made Easy   - I used World Time Buddy to automatically convert meeting times to each participant’s local time. Then, I set up Gmail to send confirmation emails with the correct time zones, so everyone was on the same page. 3. Daily and Weekly Schedule Summaries   - Every morning, I set up my automation to pull a summary of the day’s meetings and send it to the executives via Gmail and Slack. At the start of each week, a similar overview was sent, helping the executives plan their time effectively. 4. Conflict Detection and Resolution   - I configured Google Calendar to watch for potential scheduling conflicts. If a conflict was detected, the system automatically flagged it and sent me an alert with suggested alternative times. This way, I could resolve issues quickly without missing a beat Automated Meeting Reminders and Follow-Up   - I set up reminders to be automatically sent 24 hours before each meeting. After the meeting, a follow-up email was sent with key points and any relevant documents stored in Google Drive The Result? I went from spending hours managing calendars to just minutes each day. My workflow is now smooth, my time is reclaimed, and best of all, my executives are always informed and prepared. My name is Munirat Asubiaro. I am a Virtual/Executive Assistant and a Business Process Automation Specialist. I help people with: - General Administrative Tasks - Task and Workflow Automation - CRM integration and Project Management Workflow Let’s connect if you’re ready to streamline your Business Processes and take back your time! P.S. Repost this if you know someone who could benefit from a little calendar automation magic in their life. Which workflow automation would you like me to do next? If you have any questions about this calendar workflow, feel free to ask—I’m here to help! Thank you!