As someone who essentially acts as ghost-writer for internal L&D departments, is vital that any training I design truly fits the organisation. Public or standard training workshops can of course be very useful, but it is easy for people to dismiss a lot of the content simply because they can't immediately see how it relates to their environment, or 'feel' right to them. This in turn affects transfer of learning, and ultimately, ROI.
One of the simplest and yet most important ways to aid the transfer of learning when designing or delivering training on someone else's behalf, is to use the company's language and tone. That is one of the reasons it is important to complete full research, get a proper 'feel' for the company, look beyond the immediate assignment and design materials using the 'in-house' style. As a ghost-writer I don't have a brand or style of my own - instead I take on the style of the company.... There is no point having handouts that refer to sales advisors for example, when the client organisation calls them sales consultants. I may prefer the GROW model of coaching, but if a client uses CIGAR, then I become an advocate. Referring to a competence model immediately alienates the audience if they have success factors instead. The wrong language can put up barriers to learning, and can sometimes cause it to fail before it has even had a chance to be applied.
So, even though I rarely get credit for the programmes I write, and am even less likely to deliver them, I make sure that I use the right language. This way the trainer is being exposed to this language as they prepare. Internal processes, procedures, departments and documents are referred to correctly. All the take-away training materials that delegates may refer to after the event uses words that are meaningful to them, and are presented in a way that is familiar. This means that people don’t have to spend time trying to work out what things mean, and what their ‘equivalent’ is. In turn, this helps to improve the transfer of learning to the workplace, which ultimately is what training is all about.
Sheridan Webb
