We have all been there either as a learner or as a trainer — a question is asked by the trainer and the response is nothing but dead air. No response at all. How the trainer interprets this is one of the most important things they can consider as it pertains to the absorption of the material.

What are some possible causes of complete silence?

• Learners are checking their email or are otherwise distracted
• Learners do not understand the material

In either case the trainer should recognize that an engaged student will respond. At least in a group of 6 or more learners you are likely to have at least one learner that will respond. So if you get no response it is the responsibility of the trainer to identify why there was no response and address it.

The first issue is easier to address. You can ask for a response via chat to a simple question. Most learners that are partially paying attention will perk up and join back in and answer your chat. Something like “hey guys let me know via chat what version you are on.” You should get a good number of responses and you can move on.

If the subject is new for the learners you should be more concerned with their grasp of the material. If there is no response and you are confident some of the learners are actively listening then you need to re-explain yourself. Ask the learners to explain what you just said in their own words. This can be very valuable. Other students will hear the explanation in the words of another and you will get a chance to asses the learners grasp of the material.

At Sage we are trying to educate the developers, administrators and users of our products. It makes good business sense to provide the best training we can since the people we train sell or use the product. Better educated users are happier with the product they have purchased. Partners who sell our products are served by training by quickly learning the newest customization techniques so that they can modify the application for their customer’s needs. Developers and administrators have a interest in learning the material as best they can so that they are productive at their jobs.

So why the silence? We are considering it here at Sage and coming up with ways to ensure we get the message out.

If you attend training we set you up to absorb the material in a few ways. First you get the book. It is a detailed, step-by-step guide showing you how to perform the tasks for each exercise. Second we give you a working SalesLogix environment that is prepped for the class you are attending. Usually this is simply a base machine with SalesLogix installed. You get to try it out with your own hands. Then we give you videos showing you someone else completing the tasks and walking you through each step. In the videos we might take a different route than the book to show you what is possible.

So you can be as silent as you like while taking advantage of the various learning tools. We are ok with that.

One note — what we show you in the class is the required learning to get you started in the material. There is always more to learn and someone else to learn from. We can learn from you just as you will learn from us. So stay in touch with training. Ideas, problems, and suggestions are welcome.