Lauren Siegfried in ITD
Interpersonal Skills and Communication Skills
"Interpersonal and Communication Skills" is a corporate training program consisting of a slide deck, facilitator guide, and participant guide with the goal of training company employees on interpersonal and communication skills.
Project Objectives
The purpose of this project was to design an all-encompassing training program for a company that was experiencing issues with interpersonal and communication skills among their employees. This train-the-trainer program was developed to be able to pass all of the materials necessary for facilitating a training course to the individuals who will be in charge. A slide deck with speaker notes is paired with full facilitator and participant guides to assist in the facilitation of a training session. Discussions, reflections, and learning activities are included in the training program to keep participants engaged and to encourage deep levels of interaction with the content.
From the beginning of the project XYZ, a remote based company, was looking for consultation with an interpersonal and communication skill issue they were experiencing with their employees. Analysis of the company and its employees confirmed that there was a need for the training course to be developed to teach and expand on interpersonal and communication skills in the workplace. After confirmation, extensive research was done on the topic to determine best practices regarding these skills and procedures for teaching the skills in a remote format.
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Development started with the design of the slide deck which includes notes and materials for the facilitator or speaker to refer to while conducting the training session. Engaging discussions and activities were worked into the slide deck to break up lecture heavy content and keep participants engaged throughout the session. The facilitator guide was developed upon completion of the slide deck and includes all instructions that the session facilitator would need to successfully and effectively deliver the training. Sessions agenda, lesson plans, technology instructions, and preparatory directions are included in the easy-to-use guide. Finally, the participant guide was created for learners to use not only during the training session but upon completion as a reference material as well. The participant guide provides learners with a breakdown of the session, key takeaways from each lesson, and ample space for note taking and reference content.
Project Process
Lessons Learned
This Train-the-Trainer program was a very fun project to complete and provided many opportunities to learn from to expand my corporate instructional design skills. Obstacles did arise during the development of the program but all taught me very valuable lessons that strengthened my instructional design skills. Train-the-Trainer sessions require a focused attention to detail to ensure all necessary information is provided, including the smallest of details. As a member of a team that worked to complete the design and development of the program, I was able to build on my collaboration and communication skills that are essential to delivering a well-developed and timely project.
