A challenging training situation is anything that has the potential to interfere with successful completion of a learning event. It can originate with a participant, session leader, the program itself, or some factor that’s external to the immediate learning environment.

Challenging training situations can arise as a result of a number of factors, many of which can be avoided with advance preparation that:

• Clarifies goals and expectations about what will be learned, and how the learning will take place.
• Resolves deficient instructional content and processes that don’t do all they can to engage and involve participants.
• Facilitates effective participant selection, ensuring individuals represent the appropriate mix of positions and background, and have the required baseline knowledge, skill and motivation to participate in a meaningful way.
• Balances the needs of individual participants with those of the group, and effectively aligns those with program and organizational goals.
• Considers issues and events outside of the learning environment that have an impact. These can be personal, cultural, organizational, and/or social.

An ounce of prevention...

In the real world, this seldom happens, and as trainers we need to be willing to accept the likelihood that there will be challenges for which we need to be prepared. You can’t predict everything that will happen, but being prepared for something to happen will at least help you handle it calmly and appropriately. Preparation is the best safeguard against having to contend with challenging training situations

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