Top tips to maximise training and meeting sessions at Wyboston Lakes

Recognised as one of the UK's foremost training venues, Wyboston Lakes polled the trainers and meeting hosts using the centre between September and November.


The results reveal the top tips on how to get messages across in a short period of time whilst in learning or meeting scenarios:

Break the ice early
Know your audience as quickly as possible as you will find that there are those who will contribute and those that simply won’t.

Make sure everyone is heard
To ensure that everyone has their say during the session, make sure that those who are perceived as being quieter, get a chance to contribute. Acknowledge everybody’s contribution and use whiteboards or flipcharts to record good ideas from the group for later use.

Clarify the reason for being there
When learning a new skill, brainstorming or trying to get to grips with new procedures, clarify exactly what you are expecting from the delegates.

Stick to your guns
With everyone in agreement of what they are there for, make sure you keep on track with everyone contributing equally. Bring the conversation back on message if needs be.

Ask delegates to write ideas on cards and then put them on a board
Ask a question but give the group some time to think, then ask all the group to share their thoughts.

Build the spirit of co-creation
For immediate engagement, welcome anecdotes and examples of workplace situations. These allow the presenter to base the presentation on things common to the audience.

Let the audience interact with peers
Set aside 10 minutes for attendees to discuss the presentation’s key themes in small groups. This helps to create a stronger connection to the content and its message.

Make the most of your human capital
If you have specialists in the group, use them to help reinforce a point.

Wyboston Lakes is at the heart of the UK on the border of Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. This learning and development centre has been used by many of the UK’s FTSE 100 companies along with the public sector, associations and not-for-profit sector.

Clive Bache, sales and marketing director at Wyboston Lakes said: 'Getting the most out of meetings is paramount as budgets are tighter and return on investment has never been more important. Meeting hosts can use these broad tips to make best use of their delegates’ time’.  

For more details see http://www.wybostonlakes.co.uk/news.aspx