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A back up plan is an important contingency in your training plan so that you can
avoid disasters or at least minimize their effects and maintain your professional
decorum.
We’ve probably all heard about speakers who put on their lapel microphone and
then forget to turn them off while going to the washroom. One trainer we know
was ready to provide a ninety minute breakout session at a conference. She had checked the room out
ahead of time, tested her laptop and slides to make sure they worked, and checked that the lighting was
okay. She even spoke with the audio-visual technician and tested out the microphone.
Everything seemed fine, until the session started and she spoke! Someone from the next room (which
had been empty when she did her testing) stuck their head in the door and explained that she could be
heard in all the rooms on that side of the hall. She had to take off the microphone and project her voice
in order to be heard by 200 people.
Here is another example: a car with four participants starts out on a two hour journey to attend training,
and a tire blows out. By the time the tow truck arrives and the tire is fixed, that car load of trainees is
now two hours late for your session, which you started on time.
Is your program flexible enough to allow you to have groups working simultaneously yet be in different
places in the program? Can you help those four trainees get caught up at lunch time? How will you
handle these kinds of unforeseen adventures that can test your mettle as a trainer?