We've all heard of the saying that first impressions count and that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Well this is even more the case when you do freelance training in the corporate world where you might well only get one chance to impress your audience. It's a little different in the world of education. As a primary school teacher, I had the privilege of teaching the same students for a whole year enabling a unique rapport to develop between myself and my students.

Presenting information in a creative and interactive way is one of the most important aspects of engaging your audience – whether they are students or business people. Unfortunately all too often learning and development presentations tend to be the presenter presenting their PowerPoint slides and the audience passively listening. This was also the case in the classroom until interactive technology was introduced. In one fell swoop, we went from the old fashioned 'chalk and talk' type of lesson to a more collaborative experience where the pupils took a far more active role in their learning, actually coming up to the front of the class and interacting with the material on the SMART Board. Lessons actually became fun. How many times can you say that about learning and development sessions?

 

Much of the problem in workplace learning and development is that everyone has their own preferred style of learning and this isn't taken into account. The opposite is true in the world of education where teachers develop resources that incorporate the three main learning styles – visual, audio and kinetic – to deliver a more personalised learning experience. Not easy with a classroom of over 24 students but if you want your audience to retain the information that you are giving them, it is a lesson that the workplace must take from education.

So what can education learn from workplace L·&D? One of the aspects that I really like about the corporate world is its emphasis on investing in their people. The corporate world understands that training is a vital component of a company's strategy for growth especially in today's knowledge-based economy where companies are competing fiercely in an increasingly global marketplace. Many corporates I have worked in ensure that their employees have a personal development plan to help them realise their full potential. 

But are the two worlds so different after all? I believe that training is training whether your audience is a room full of 7-year-olds or high powered business people. You need to engage with your audience. If we are to compete effectively in the global economy we need to move towards a more holistic learning environment that meets the needs of the 21st century. A love of learning and how to use that learning effectively should start in school and naturally progress right through the whole of a person's working life.

I have gone from a relatively well-paid teaching post to setting myself up as a freelance trainer and earning much less than I used to. But I wouldn't change a thing. I love the freedom that freelance training gives me and I have a much better work/life balance. And I still get to enjoy training both in the education and corporate worlds. To me they are not worlds apart but worlds that are learning from each other.