I did not seriously consider getting into the Training Space to earn my bread or to feel fulfilled. What I wrote down my Life’s Agenda about 2 months back – I will develop myself as an effective writer and speaker to touch the lives of thousands of people – was only a framework of an idea, hardly intended to be fleshed in the foreseeable future. So, when I saw the ad about the Training Course organized by Indian Institute of Training & Development (IITD) I went to attend the exploratory session more out of curiosity than for any other reason. Rajan’s session explaining the nuances of training and its potential really floored me and I decided even before the end of the session, to take the first step towards becoming a Trainer.
In the recent past I could never conceive of raising about Rs.85,000 to enjoy the early bird advantage saving a little over Rs.25,000 from the regular price. It was hard, but the entire amount was raised from Service Square, without being indebted to anyone.
Yesterday on January 28, I attended the first session, right after spending some time with Sumathi alone, at her resting place. She would have been very thrilled if I were to attend something like this when she was around.
The training started late, around 6.45 pm. Rajan who is the brain behind this initiative seems to be very accommodating. Very much unlike my mentor the other Rajan – who would close the door for good on anyone who came even a few seconds late. People have different ways of being their authentic selves while producing results.
The session started with a prayer and it felt good to communicate in silence with the Infinite Mind of the universe.
The participants among themselves figured out the difference between a lecture in a classroom and training. In the case of a lecture, students are imparted knowledge by someone who is a cut above them. In the case of training, the trainer brings out as creatively as possible – what the participants already know.
Then we formed a circle – about 20 of us – to get to know one another by name.
Let me try to recall the names – Rajan, Ravi, Babu Vincent, Sujitha, Gunasekaran, Keshav, Param, Kamala Kannan, Gowri, Seetha, Radhakrishnan, Sadiq, Sundar Rajan, Senthil, Selvam, Vigneswari Abraham, Subramaniam & Gopi. May be I have missed out one or two other names.
That was lesson number one – that we can train only when we know the participants. To further drive home the point, Rajan asked the participants to share with everyone why they opted to become trainers. People had their own reasons:
To use the power of words to transform lives.
To gain greater insight about communication to aid in a selling career.
Because they felt they had it in them to enrich others.
To do something out of passion, not for money alone.
I said I was there to make discoveries about myself, to tap my potential and to share with the world my perspectives on life. To be frank, I had prepared to say something else, but when I started to speak, the words and content were different.
Then Rajan spoke about the three essentials of making a successful career in Training or in any other spheres of life. Knowledge, Skill and Attitude form the 3 sides of a triangle – aspects which are essential and very interdependent.
The class got over a little after 8 pm. I came home very excited and waiting for the next class.