Being a travelling trainer and consultant has it’s fair of challenges. With the Corona Virus now a pandemic, travel is now restricted. My last assignment was to Phnom Penh a few weeks ago. It involved lots of careful planning and deliberate actions on my part, from sanitizing my hands, learning not to touch my face with my hands, popping in an extra load of vitamins and much more. I avoided crowds and my hotel room was my safe haven.
What kept me going was the engagement of my participants and their appetite for learning. This was a group of trainers or trainers-to-be trying their best to learn more about training delivery, all with a shared passion to make their lessons more engaging. They shared their challenges and contraints with me; we played lots of games; and shared intimate conversations during breaks – but most importantly we all learnt together.
I could sense their passion in the work that they do and this spurred me on to do that extra bit in class. Everything I shared, they simply lapped it up. Each morning, I would wake up at 4am and prepare for the class, a little something on top of the usual lesson. These were all lessons in building self-confidence and to motivate them along the sometimes lonely journey of being a trainer.
During the close, and after all the formalities, it was my turn to be surprised. They had composed a poem to thank me, dispite the language barrier. What truly mattered is that the words came sincerely from their hearts. And it touched me. Thank you!
Great teachers do not just teach, they influence and inspire – and I am sure this group of participants are going to do the same. All the best!
