How to Run Seminars and Workshops, 4th Edition

Chapter 3Recognizing Trainees' Levels of Behavior

Probably the best place to begin would be to look at your trainees' current levels of behavior. In everything we do, including training, everyone's behavior falls within one of the four levels outlined in this chapter. Have you ever been taught a particular skill or idea and thought to yourself, “I have been doing that correctly all along”? One somewhat confusing aspect to training is that trainees come to seminars and workshops performing at various levels of behavior as well. What makes this issue potentially confusing is that these levels can change like the wind. It is therefore important to understand four basic levels of performance.

Level One—The Unconscious Incompetent

At this first level, the trainee is ineffective and unaware. I also refer to this level as the “blissfully ignorant stage.” Often on the first day of training, a lot of trainees actually start at this level. The good news is that if you are at this stage right now, you would not even know about it. For example, all of us have known someone who got on everyone's nerves in the office and had absolutely no idea those around him or her felt this way.

One of the problems with individuals at this first level is that these people generally do not seek training as a solution. Why would you want to learn to do something you feel you already know how to do well? Presenters who see individuals at this stage have to be careful that they begin to move these people ...