What makes a good classroom trainer? I will break it down into some relevant bullet points:

• Careful preparation, which includes reviewing your material and observing your body language.
• A sincere rapport with your audience.
• Engaging the whole group and not just a select few.
• Ability to adapt to changes that present themselves during the training session.
• Helpfulness in answering questions.
• Honesty when you don’t know something and need to get back to the group with an answer.
• Firmness when someone wants you to break a rule or is disruptive during the training session.
• Keeping track of time and staying on topic. (Questions that are not central to the session can be dealt with one-on-one with the questioner during a break, or via email after the session.)
• Availability after the session, either in person or via email, to answer questions. This point is especially relevant if you are a designated “super user” of a system that is being deployed.
• Keeping your promises to contact people with an answer after the session.
• Striving to improve yourself on a continuous basis.
• Accepting constructive criticism and learning from it.