This is a story from many many moons ago, as I was a newbie braving the deep waters of hashtag#learninganddevelopment. All of 23, with a career swap, and brimming with equal parts of enthusiasm and nervousness- I threw myself into the sea of hashtag#facilitraining.
One of my first paid projects came my way. It was for a bunch of technical and mechanical engineers working in various organisations. I had newly procured my certification as India’s youngest Certified FaciliTraining Practioner (CFTP) – it’s a no-brainer that I was all guns ablaze and enthused about this gig. I wanted to give it my all.
And I did.
Right from session design, to writing the instructions down, to jotting down the flow, to scouting for props- I really did give it my all.
And the results spoke for my work. The feedback, rating, testimonials were all too good to be true.
Except ONE.
One of the key stakeholders was also a participant in the session. And their feedback was something that’s stuck with me to date. I’m forever grateful for the way it’s chiseled and sharpened me as a professional.
He said, “Vahista, the session was beyond our expectations. We have never seen something like this before. The participants were fully engaged, and emmersed themselves in the process throughout, which is a first for us, because they never participate and engage. So, congratulations!”
While maintaining a professional demeanour on the outside, internally I was jumping on cloud nine. And then he went on to add-
“I have one recommendation for you, though. While there’s no doubt that the session was gripping, and the participants had some takeaways from this, what I saw was missing was the relavance to their daily job roles. If you could add a few examples or anecdotes and make it customised as per their profiles and jobs, it would have been perfect.”
I’m so glad to have received this feedback so early on in my career, I held on to this dearly. Now it’s become my modus operandi. Before each session, I dive deep into industry specifics, competitor analysis, pain areas and challenges, areas of growth- all so they can be incorporated in the sessions in some way or the other.
The payoff? The customised experience for the client and participants, etc is one thing.
But the immense knowledge and awareness that it brings me, is unparalleled. Getting key insights on various industries and job profiles is an inimitable, quiet luxury not all are conferred upon, or can be bought.
Oh and by the way, that same client pulled me in 5-6 other times to deliver various types of programs for them, too. With the new feedback and meticulously designed sessions, each of them hit the nail on the head.
Feedback that moves you forward
