Last week I set up for a training session on our CMS. 4 clients and me. My laptop died while I was booting it up. No start bar, no icons. What was I going to do? The clients were walking in the door!
A lot of times training is like this — mishaps occur we didn’t plan for. How can we be ready for them? Thankfully, I was able to borrow a co-worker’s laptop and complete my training session, but I don’t know what I would have done if that laptop hadn’t been available.
So now, I’ve decided that I need to have a comprehensive “Plan B.” It’s the only way to keep from having a panic attack! What will my “Plan B” look like?”
First, I’m going to make a list of everything that could go wrong before and during a training session. My list will look like this:
- computer dies
- wireless cuts out
- our network goes down
- the display monitor dies
- and, so on.…
Second, I’m going to come up with a solution for each of these scenarios. I may find that many of the problems have similar solutions. This will be helpful when something happens that I haven’t prepared for, I can take a deep breath and see if a solution I’ve already thought of will fit the new scenario.
Third, I will make sure to leave myself enough time before training actually starts to make sure my equipment — especially — is working properly so I’m not looking for a solution as the clients are walking in the door!
What about you. Have you had a mishap during a training session? How did you handle it? If you were being trained, how did your trainer handle it? I’d love to hear your solutions or experiences using “Plan B!”
