The Pros and Cons of Training and Presenting

I am a little bit obsessed with quality training and presenting. For the past 30 years I have been helping trainers and presenters to step up, step out and share their expertise through a variety of different modalities. It is my belief that you owe it to your participants, clients or attendees to develop your presenting and training craft not just your topic or skill area. Earn the right to take that platform, boardroom or training room. Only when you bring your whole self to your presentation by mastering the art, science and practice of quality training and presenting can you truly be a treasured gift for your audience.

As CEO of the Global Institute of Training and Presenting I had the great pleasure of hosting the Great Training and Speaking debate last night with our GITP community.

The key topics that were explored and debated over a lively discussion and 3 presentations were:

1. Accredited training (Nationally Recognised) versus non-accredited training
2. Keynote speaking versus training/workshops
3. Your Intellectual Property (IP) or off the shelf materials and resources.

Our 3 speakers (RTO Owner and VET Expert Janet Curran, Keynote Speaker and Leadership Expert – Suzanne Waldren and Master Trainer and Team Development Expert – Louise Kelly) brought to the room some of the pros and cons to each of the debate topics and we were also moved and delighted with the personal journeys they shared with us from their experience in the industry.

After 3 thought provoking presentations and a lively audience debate and discussion, it was time to vote. The voting paddles started waving after every question was laid before them. There was much  laughter and some groans and grumbles when they realised that couldn’t sit on the fence, a vote must be cast.

This proved much harder for the group than they thought as there are so many variables to be considered in such a diverse industry and so many more modalities that professionals can use to make an impact and solve problems for their clients. However, the last paddle was waved and the results were in.

Before I reveal the results, below are the 3 top pros and cons from the room for each modality. There were many more presented to be discussed and debated but dessert and hot coffee was calling and it was evident from this passionate group that if we didn’t stop for a break the list would just keep growing.

Accredited Training

Pros:

1. National Standards and Regulation
2. Evidence of learning and skills acquisition
3. Credibility in the market place

Cons:

1. Heavy Compliance
2. Not as flexible
3. VET Industry isn’t perfect

Non-Accredited Training

Pros:

1. Can make bespoke solutions for clients
2. Only accountable to your client – not regulated
3. Can get products and services quicker to market and charge accordingly

Cons:

1. Lack of standards across the industry
2. Less access to some government funding options
3. Credibility in some sectors

Keynote Speaking

Pros:

1. Large audience reach for a big impact for shorter amount of time.
2. Higher fees for professional keynote speakers
3. Travel to wonderful places for work

Cons:

1. Harder to build relationships with attendees
2. Bureaus may not want you at the start of your career
3. Sometimes difficult communicating your value and the time/expertise it takes to plan and develop a keynote

Delivering training/workshops

Pros:

1. Bespoke solutions for clients
2. Great relationships with participants
3. Deeper level of learning/skill acquisition for attendees

Cons:

1. The time needed to plan, prepare and deliver the training
2. Quality of some trainers/workshop leaders in the industry
3. Accessing quality training materials

Develop you own IP

Pros:

1. Complete control of your message and the quality
2. Positioning yourself as a category of 1
3. Can leverage, license and re-purpose own IP

Cons:

1. Time to develop your IP
2. Skills to develop materials, models, resources and systems
3. Expert positioning needed to communicate value of new IP

Buying IP off the shelf

Pros:

1. Save time
2. Variety to choose from
3. White labelling or co-branding options

Cons:

1. Quality of materials
2. Other trainers using same material
3. On-going costs

The caffeine and sugar levels were now adjusted and the results were announced.

• Non- accredited training won by a whisker over accredited training
• Keynotes won by a thread over training
• And develop your own IP was a clear front runner over buying off the shelf.

But after another healthy discussion it was unanimous that the key statement agreed by all was the real winner.

“It all depends”

It depends on the outcomes needed, the timeframe, the location, the experience of the presenter, the branding, the business, the budget and the list went on and although the debate was over we continued to chat over a glass of wine or whiskey and it was clear that this conversation or debate was never going to be over.

There are pros and cons for every delivery mode of sharing your expertise, whether it be training, speaking, coaching, consulting, publishing and even curating it’s all about the impact you make on an individual or organisation that counts not always about the modality you choose.

Just ensure your very best self turns up to share because your audience deserves it.