How to Turn Reluctant Attendees into Eager Learners
You stand at the front of the room,
pour your energy into a warm "Good morning!" and are met with a wave
of silence. A few heads nod, but most eyes stay fixed on screens or the table.
It’s a trainer’s familiar frustration.
My team’s first instinct was to fight
silence with volume. We amplified our greetings, hoping our booming voices
would elicit a response. Sometimes it worked, but it felt like we were cheering
for an empty stadium.
The fundamental shift happened when I
stopped taking the silence personally and started listening to what it was
really saying. During breaks, the truth emerged: "My manager told me I had
to be here," or "It's a nice break from my inbox." A handful were
genuinely hungry to learn, but they were the exception.
I realized the problem wasn't in the
room; it was in the invitation. The issue isn't unenthusiastic people; it's
unconvinced participants. When someone sees training as a mandatory checkbox
instead of a real opportunity, their energy is already drained before they walk
in.
So, we stopped just being trainers and
started being evangelists. We now work hand-in-hand with L&D before the
session to craft compelling teasers and clear messages for managers. We help
"sell" the program's value. Because when a participant arrives
thinking, "I need this," instead of, "Why am I here?" that
first "Good morning" is met with a genuine smile.
We can choose to dwell on the problem
(the Circle of Concern), or we can focus on what we can influence (marketing,
manager buy-in) and control (our creative opening techniques). By shifting our
energy from the circle of concern to the circles of influence and control, we
don't just hear more greetings—we build a room ready to learn.
M.L.
Narendra Kumar
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