Defining Training

One of the things that makes us unique as human beings is that we each have our own perceptions of the world around us. The way one would run a business or manage finances would differ from person to person. If I were to say a word like liberty, you may have a different definition in mind than I have. But words are a funny thing. Some meanings behind those words can be misconstrued while others are literal – they either are or they are not.

Take a common word like training. Based on our own life experiences, we each may have our own definition as to what training is and what it isn’t. I happen to think that training is one of those literal words.

Let’s first explore what training is not. Training is not communicating. By that I mean one person telling another person or informing them on what they need to know. We do that on a daily basis. It’s really no different than picking up a newspaper or going to a favorite news website to get the latest news. Being informed doesn’t necessarily mean someone is properly trained. Yes, we learn something new, but with the new knowledge we gain the real question is, “Is it actionable?”

Training is a means to change behavior in another person or to fill a gap in knowledge and skills they didn’t have in the first place in an objective, measurable fashion. Training is a planned process with a clear outcome. Most of the important life skills we learned growing up simply cannot be explained away. For instance, our parents taught (trained) us how to properly wash our hands. Learning to wash hands wasn’t something rudimentary, there was a real purpose behind it to help in the prevention of spreading germs and getting sick ourselves. Into adulthood, we learned (trained) how to drive a car. A car can be a deadly thing if the operator isn’t properly trained on how to control it. Ultimately, a driver must change their behavior in addition to learning proper control to be cautious of others on the road so as to avoid potentially dangerous accidents.

Change in behavior and a clear outcome is what sets apart training from mere communication.  Anyone can communicate with another person however, in order for it to be deemed as training in the true sense you must take the approach where the learner is the focus, a visible change in their behavior can be witnessed and the trainer’s desired outcome is actionable.

Further Reading

Learn more about training with this post:

• What Instructional Design Means to PinPoint Performance Solutions