What makes a trainer credible?

What sets apart one specific presenter as different to the others?

Why can we be transfixed on one person, nodding our heads in agreement with every point raised and have a skeptical eye on another?

At work it seems we get bombarded with many different people “presenting” themselves; their views, beliefs and attitudes.

But why do we ‘believe’ one person’s presentation as truth and another one’s as fiction?

It seems that we tend to believe those presenters whose views connect with our own personal values. If the information that they are presenting matches the key values that we personally believe to be true then we are more likely to believe them.

As a trainer you need to connect personally with the participants in order for them to believe you and increase your credibility.

Applause

So how do you do that?

I asked the participants of a recent Train the Trainer class that I was delivering to watch some videos of different presenters and identify which they felt more connected to and why.

Their responses included:

  • someone who’s passionate about the topic and shows strong commitment in what they’re saying
  • who comes across genuine in their belief
  • shares a personal story of how the concept has impacted them on a personal level
  • has appealing body language, fluid movements and animated in their gestures and facial expressions
  • is repetitive in their conviction
  • bombards all our senses with congruent concepts
  • provides examples of real life situations that others can relate to
  • turns information into facts citing researched results and experts.

Building your credibility is crucial if you’re training people. If they don’t find you credible they won’t trust your concepts and would be less likely to retain the learning outcomes.

Trainers, what do you do to build your credibility?