Enthusiastic

A week ago I finished an 8 days seminar for trainers. A wonderful intensive experience. As a team we were very happy with the outcome but also the participants wrote extremely positive evaluations. Trying since then to analyse why it was good, what made it that people really had the feeling they were learning. What popped up all the time in comments that participants made were the word 'personal' and 'intensive'. Which I recognised because these were exactly describing my feeling. To be honest I was exhausted after the seminar and needed quite some extra hours of sleep. Not because I didn't sleep enough during the seminar but because of the intensity. Intensity which was a lot about personal things, choices, fears, emotions, also a lot of fun. Very brave people that took the chance to open up, to show themselves, to question themselves, to look for support, to give support.... 

It's a wonderful mix of all these things that made it great. And it's awesome to be part of that. Although I'm paid there to be a trainer I learned a lot. (well...maybe the 'although' is absolutely the wrong term here..)

At the same time it was more obvious then ever that people learned completely different things, had different goals, different paths. Well... I'm not sure I have really an overview of what people learned.

Of course it was all related in one way or another to 'being a trainer' but you can relate many things to that. I also think it's very OK that people do different things...I even think trying to make them learn all the same would be really a big mistake.

From the trainers' point of view it made me even more clear that learning happens mainly because of the 'right' atmosphere, climate, dynamics...whatever you name it. When human beings find themselves in a situation where a certain level of safety, trust and challenges are provided they start to learn! It's just in our nature...a human need.

Well...maybe not all that clear...just very enthusiastic at this moment...

My main learning point by the way was around 'self-perception' and 'learning'. Not that I concluded something there but in my Personal Learning and Memory Book I made some notes and questions. Will come back to that later!