Train the trainer – Discover the keys to creating interactive and engaging training workshops for adults
- Maud Vanhoutte
- Mar 21, 2019
- 6 min read
Updated: 5 hours ago
Last edit March 2025
Learn how to design and deliver engaging, interactive training workshops for adults using proven techniques and facilitation skills.
Are you tired of seeing blank stares and disengaged, multitasking participants in your training sessions? Do you struggle to keep adult learners interested, motivated, and actively involved? Have you ever put hours into preparing content, only to feel like your audience isn’t absorbing or applying what you teach?
Facilitating training for adults requires more than just subject matter expertise—it demands the ability to connect, engage, and inspire. Unlike children, adult learners bring their own experiences, opinions, and habits to the room. If your training doesn’t feel relevant, practical, or engaging, they tune out fast.
In this article, we will explore key strategies to transform your workshops into dynamic, interactive experiences that capture attention, encourage participation, and drive real learning outcomes. Whether you are new to training or looking to refine your approach, these insights will help you create sessions that leave a lasting impact.
Pedagogy versus Andragogy, teaching adults is different from teaching kids
Pedagogy: teaching kids
Imagine this scenario: you have found yourself being assigned the task of training your peers about a specific solution. You are confident about the adequacy of your knowledge but start to wonder if you are capable of getting this information across effectively to your peers. In order to maintain your audience’s attention, you will have to structure your learning workshop in an engaging and interactive way.
The most common education style you are probably familiar with is pedagogy – the method and practice of teaching, especially as an academic subject or theoretical concept. Most of us grew up in a pedagogical classroom environment where learning materials are decided by our school’s curriculum and the learning style is determined by the teacher. This is because a child enters school with little to no attainment of experience; a kid does not know what to learn or how they best learn (yet).
As we grow into adulthood, the way we learn and retain information evolves significantly. We develop habits, behaviours, and thought patterns that make us a more complex audience for any training facilitator. Even the most skilled teachers of children would struggle to engage adults effectively. Capturing attention, fostering engagement, and ensuring long-term information retention requires a completely different approach and skillset when working with adult learners.
Andragogy as the best way to teach adults
Andragogy refers to the methods and techniques used to teach adults; the art or science of teaching adults focuses on experiential learning rather than on content delivery.
Compared to children, adults have more expectations and requirements when they enter the classroom. Trying to use pedagogy with a class full of adults will only lead to resistance and rejection of the entire experience.
Andragogy respects adults' needs and focuses on problem-based learning rather than content-oriented learning. To effectively engage adult learners, it is essential to connect the learning experience to their personal and professional needs.
Here’s how:
Encourage learners to define their earning goals: The WHY. Ask participants what they want to learn about a topic and, more importantly, why. Understanding their motivations creates a sense of ownership and relevance, making the learning experience more meaningful. Setting clear expectations from the start fosters engagement and commitment.
Align learning objectives with learner needs: The BRIDGE. Establish clear objectives that directly relate to participants’ real-world challenges. When adults see how new knowledge and skills will benefit them personally or professionally, they are more invested in the process. Learning must feel immediately applicable and valuable to their current roles or aspirations.
Use Real-World Examples and Stories: The WHAT. Adults learn best when they see direct connections between training content and their experiences. Share relatable examples and case studies that illustrate key concepts. Encourage learners to bring their own experiences into discussions, reinforcing the practical application of what they are learning.
Encourage learners to identify challenges and solutions: The HOW. Engage participants in recognising their own obstacles and exploring how the training can help overcome them. This problem-solving approach increases motivation and helps them see the direct impact of their learning.
Balance theory with practical application: The EXPERIENCE. Follow theoretical concepts with hands-on exercises, role-playing, or real-world applications. Demonstrating how knowledge translates into action ensures deeper understanding and long-term retention. Practical application solidifies learning and builds confidence in using new skills outside the training room.
By making learning interactive, relevant, and immediately useful, facilitators can create an engaging experience that resonates with adult learners and drives meaningful change.
Adult learning is based on the following assumptions and principles:
Inspired by the work of Malcolm Knowles
Adults want to know why they should learn
We are more eager to learn something that will have an impact on our job or personal life. Adults are practical; they want to know what is there for them. They will pay attention and learn if they know that it will help improve a specific aspect of their lives. They need their learning experiences to make sense and to be valuable to them. As such, to achieve an interactive and dynamic workshop experience, trainers should adjust their teaching material in a way that relates or provides specific value to the audience.
Adults bring experience to learning
An adult will have already amassed an amazing lifetime of experiences, and they are valuable learning resources. Adults commonly find themselves tapping into their experiences and past failures to relate to the learning material. As such, they can apply their existing knowledge to manage their own learning experience. Knowing your audience’s experiences and skills beforehand can be extremely helpful in creating an interactive and engaging learning experience.
Adults need to take responsibility
Adults want to be responsible for their own learning. They want to be respected as learners who are able to set their own learning goals and be self-sufficient. They are eager to be involved in planning their own learning experience and making decisions about which information they want to receive. With that being said, as a trainer, you will want to have a support system in place that allows your audience to freely ask questions and be flexible with their learning experience.
Adults and self-motivated and self-directed
As adults, our motivators exist externally and internally. External motivators include a better job or a higher salary. Nonetheless, internal motivators remain the key fundamentals of our learning. They include self-fulfilment, self-confidence, a better life and personal development. A trainer should always consider his or her audience’s motivations when preparing the learning material. For example, if you are asking them to do a group activity, you should emphasize that it will increase their teamwork and communication skills.
We can continue the list of adults learning principles and assumptions with the following:
Adults have self-pride and desire respect
Adult learning is problem-centred rather than content-oriented
Adults desire feedback on the progress they are making
Adults learn best through collaboration and reciprocity
The learning cone, a powerful tool for trainers and facilitators
The learning cone by Edgar Dale is a fantastic tool to assist facilitators and trainers. The learning cone will explain to you how adults learn and retain information to assist you in designing powerful training content. Thanks to the learning cone, you will understand that adults will need a lot of practice, interactions, debates, and direct applications to maintain focus and attention.
With the learning cone, you will understand that your lecture will not be enough to engage your audience. If you are planning on talking and talking for minutes and hours without interactions and with no chance for your audience to share and participate, you might not get the expected results. The learning cone helps you understand that you will need to engage your audience to invite them to participate and share their knowledge, and you will need to be creative to design a fun and interactive learning session.
Are you looking to enhance your training skills or develop the confidence to deliver impactful workshops? Our Train the Trainer program is designed to equip you with the tools, techniques, and strategies needed to engage and inspire adult learners.
With a flexible structure tailored to your needs, we cover everything from adult learning principles and communication techniques to emotional intelligence, storytelling, and personality dynamics. You'll learn how to design and facilitate interactive, engaging, and results-driven sessions that resonate with your audience.
For a more comprehensive learning experience, we also offer video training and on-the-job audits to refine your delivery and maximise impact. Whether you are new to training or looking to sharpen your skills, this program will empower you to lead with confidence and effectiveness.
Maud Vanhoutte
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