Having delivered as a trainer for more than 20 years, I’ve got to know a few things about how people learn. Let me share some with you now. When people want training on something, it’s usually a specific topic within a field. They want to learn not just for improvement but also as a solution to a challenge or problem they want to overcome.
People learn in different ways.
That can be through their preferred learning style – visual, audio and kinaesthetic. It can also be revealed in the medium they use, such as books, videos, courses, presentations, webinars and workshops.
With online learning, it can be about how people approach a course.
Some people like to go through all the content in a methodical order, from start to finish. Some people prefer to dive in and start with the video or section that is most urgent or interesting for them. To find a solution to a task challenge or to get an easy win under their belt. They look at the rest when they need to. Some people take lots of notes on every video they watch. Some people simply watch each video and take it in. Some people cover both angles. They watch the course videos through once, then go back to each video and make notes the second time around.
There’s no right or wrong way to do it.
It’s more important to discover and do what works best for you. Some people like to study at home. Some prefer to study in the office. Some are happy to learn on the move, for example on the train or on a plane. What’s your usual approach to learning? When the learning is about MS Office or Microsoft 365, people have their preferences with that, too. Some are content to search all over the internet to find a video or post that tells them how to carry out a task or function. They stick to this approach, even if it ends up taking 20, 30 or 60 minutes – and even longer – to do so every time they have something to work out. They usually forget what source taught them so the next time they need to do the same thing – they have to repeat the tiresome online search challenge all over again, perhaps never finding that original resource again.
That hardly seems a very productive way to go.
That’s why I developed my range of online courses. To save people hours of hassle and frustration. Some people just want to work things out for themselves. They can spend hours exploring the functions and features of an application. They get confident in small bits of it and leave other bits behind. That’s OK if they’re only doing simpler tasks or only require limited functionality in the likes of Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint. But, for a VA for example, this restricts the kind of work they can do and the services they can offer.
That’s why I design my online courses in a particular way.
There’s no padding, no waffle.
The focus is on providing clear, step-by-step training on how to do all the essential tasks in each application. Some people like to learn how to master the essentials of one application. Then they move onto the next application. And so on, and so on, until they have completed the set. That’s why I have created courses for each specific tool in the MS Office suite – and for Microsoft Teams. Other learners want to own a bundle of training, so they have access to all that they need when they need it. They invest in the ‘box set’, knowing it saves them money compared to buying single courses one by one.
That’s why I created a smart solution for them.
It’s called Tomorrow’s VA Hub. It’s the complete box set of my online courses, otherwise known as ‘The Full Monty’. Every course for one price. You never pay a penny again – even when new courses are added to the collection. Learning should never have to feel overwhelming or a huge challenge. It might seem that way if you have lots to learn, or there’s a lack of know-how in most or all of Microsoft’s Office applications or Teams.
But it doesn’t have to feel like that.
If a trainer is smart, they will break up their training courses into small segments. That chunking down means people can tap into what they need – and their preferred way of learning – more easily. When you can work bit by bit, it’s all manageable. Most of the videos in my online courses are short – for good reason. The training is task-based because that is how VA’s work: they’re given tasks to do and Microsoft has an application which allows them to do it efficiently and productively. If you have some training you haven’t gone through yet or you’re wondering how to fit it in around your work and home life, here’s a simple suggestion.
Take the 20-minute challenge.
Can you find up to 20-minutes each day to set aside for watching training videos in Microsoft? (Or for any other training you need right now, for that matter). If that’s possible, that gives you up to a couple of hours a week free for learning. Keep it up for a month and you’ll have invested up to 10 hours into developing your knowledge and skills, to help grow your income and your business as a VA. Even if you can only manage half that, you’ll be in a better position to market and sell your services. You will have the know-how. You will have fresh skills. You will have extra confidence. You will understand how the improved productivity from that learning will claw back those hours of input over time. Your clients will see you as even more of a superhero. Why not start the challenge today… and let me know how you get on.