Adults should be MUCH easier to train in a classroom than a bunch of kids, right? WRONG! Maintaining the attention of an adult audience can be an extremely challenging process. Here are some tips from veteran instructors on how to make effective classroom presentations that are entertaining, captivating and highly effective.
General Guidelines
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Learning should be experienced based with goals adults can relate to. Adults have lots of "life experience" and they learn more when they can relate that experience to the goals and objectives of the material being taught. Encourage sharing experiences and introduce some of your own. The scenarios in Section 8 will help you with this problem/experienced oriented learning. Use them they work!
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Adults enjoy actively participating in class. Encourage participants to search for methods and information in the book that will help understand the objectives. Involvement is critical.
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Adults require feedback. Adults want to know how they are doing reaching their goal. It is your job to encourage feed back. Tell them how they are doing. Congratulate a good answer. Highlight and positively acknowledge some successful participation.
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Above all, always remember Adults learn at different speeds. Many of your students have limited education. The class make up might be as diverse as a college graduate to a high school drop out. Remember their learning speeds differ, but not their desire to learn! Great instructors size up their audience and adjust the delivery of the material to the audience.