How to Get the Most Out of Your Training By Arlene Dickerson It can be difficult to reserve the time necessary to attend a training session, whether you train online, or leave your office and go to a classroom. Sometimes by the time that training session comes around it is for a skill that you truly want and need to master. Here are some tips to help make sure the new information sinks into your brain. • Take notes. This may seem counterintuitive in our hightechnology culture, but taking notes, either by hand or by typing them into a document, is a great way to help you remember key points. • Review your notes during a break. This technique is especially helpful if your training class is spread over several days. After you’ve had a few minutes away during a prolonged break or when
the class is done for the day, take five minutes to review your notes and jot down questions you may have. • Ask questions. Sometimes engaging your instructor provides more than clarity. It gives you that extra kernel of information that will help the information stay with you. • Relate the new information to something familiar. Our brains automatically look for patterns as we learn. Taking time to figure out how new information can be used in your day-to-day life gets you more excited about the knowledge — and helps it stick in your mind. The way we learn as adults is very different from the way we learned as children. As adults, we master new skills when we can apply them to knowledge we already have. When you’re trying to hook new information into your mind, consider
everything you know — don’t limit yourself to only work skills or personal skills. Figuring out how new information can be applied to everything you know will help you gain comprehension faster and may just make you more efficient in several areas. Benefitting in more than one part of your life will give you huge returns on the time you invested and may just motivate you to learn more.
Arlene Dickerson is the co-owner/ director of Technical Resource Solutions. 678-928-9491, TechnicalRS.com
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