At the beginning of this month, Truett Black published an interesting new book entitled Training Zen: How to Build a Sustainable and Rewarding Career in Corporate Training and Facilitation. This book is a comprehensive guide to the knowledge, beliefs, skills, and practices that consistently bring outstanding results in training workshops.
Truett Black is a veteran designer of high-impact learning experiences with over two decades of experience working with multinational companies across Asia, North America, and Europe. He has trained and mentored hundreds of trainers, helping them refine their craft and elevate their impact.
When I spoke with Truett this past week, I asked him: "What are the most common mistakes corporate trainers make?" Here is his response:
These mistakes aren't limited to beginners. I've seen experienced trainers make them, and I've made every one of them myself.
The first is treating training as a performance rather than a service. It's easy to focus on how we're coming across -- our delivery, our slides, whether people think we're credible -- instead of focusing on what participants actually need. The moment we shift from "How am I doing?" to "How are they doing?" is when real facilitation begins.
A second mistake is sticking too tightly to the scripted content. When you're tasked with delivering predesigned materials, it's tempting to think your job is to deliver those materials. It isn't. Your job is still to serve the people in the room. That means being willing to alter the materials to fit their actual needs -- and the only way to know what those needs are is to ask. What are their challenges? What questions do they have? What concerns are they bringing to the topic? You can't throw the content out entirely, but you can and should adapt it so that it connects to what's real for them.
Third, trainers frequently neglect their own energy management. We overcommit, overprepare, and underestimate the physical toll of being "on" in front of a room. I write about this in the book because I've lived it -- knowing better doesn't protect you. Disciplined self-management does. Without it, even seasoned trainers end up running on fumes, and the quality of their facilitation suffers.
Finally, too many trainers underinvest in relationships -- with clients, with fellow practitioners, with mentors. This profession rewards trust and long-term partnership far more than it rewards individual brilliance. The sooner we recognize that, the more sustainable and rewarding our careers become.
Do the corporate trainers reading this post agree with Truett's perspective? Are there other common mistakes that you feel should be included here?
