I just attended a three-day marketing seminar led by a self-proclaimed expert in resume design.

It was very disappointing to see once again what happens when a trainer ignores the basics and sets students up to fail.

She made ten glaring mistakes. Here are the first five:

1. Never say “no” when a participant asks a question or makes a comment. It immediately becomes a rejection of the person, who will not risk asking questions or comments again voluntarily. Over and over in this class, the trainer answered “no” to a question or comment, with and sometimes without further clarification. I’m not saying she was nasty about it. It is simply a fact that “no” can invalidate the thinking of the individual and, depending on the sensitivity of the individual, invalidate the person as well.

Instead, accept responsibility for the confusion on the part of the participant. “Sorry, it may not have been clear.” Now, “I can see why you might think that. I may not have made my point as directly as I could have.” Or, “If I had said x, then you would have been perfectly right. However, I said y and I should not have made the distinction as well as I hoped. Let me rephrase …”

2. Never ignore it when a good part of the class is confused by a point or an instruction. In the case of this course, I saw the trainer send 1/3 of the audience to the back of the room to get remedial help with the trainers and then proceed to teach new concepts to the remaining 2/3 of the audience. Can we count the ways this was irresponsible on the part of the coach?

On the other hand, if a good part of the audience does not understand a concept and it is a fundamental springboard towards the next concept, STOP and FIND AGAIN. Don’t remove them from the group and then make them have to catch up on something that confused them in the first place !!!

3. Never give participants a complex task without first modeling what you want them to do. In this course, the instructor handed out a worksheet that required very complex thinking and told the group to go and complete it. Of course, people got stuck. What should have been a very productive hour and a half of writing turned into an hour and a half of shared frustration.

Instead, guide the class through each step, modeling it at least twice. Post the flip charts for that work so that participants have examples for reference. Then you will have set them up for success.

4. Never spend so much time building a positive relationship that you waste time on content. In this case, the trainer included a series of games and activities that had no relevance to the content. Then he rushed in when he got to the actual content.

Instead, focus on both content and relationship building. It is important that a group of participants feel comfortable in a class. It’s also important that they get the content they paid for. Energizers are great, just keep them manageable so they won’t be eaten most of the time.

5. Never rush content, so there is little or no time to practice and no time to reflect. In this class, ideas were thrown at a breakneck pace with rushed practice time, if any. There was absolutely no time for discussions or follow-up questions.

Instead, plan carefully so that participants have enough time to practice what they have learned and then time to reflect on what went well, what did not go well, and the questions that arose, with time to discuss and clarify.

Hopefully you know and do better than her!

In the next article, we will look at the last five errors.