I had an alternate title for this article: Safety Talks and BS Walks! (BS stands for Bored Student - what did you think it meant?!) It's true, though, isn't it? It seems that more often than not, the moment a safety trainer stands up to speak, the trainee yawns. So what's a trainer to do?

12 Ways to Stifle the Yawns

How do you run a safety meeting that will keep your trainees' attention? There are many answers to that question. Here are just a dozen.

1. Keep It On Time. Everyone's time is important. If the meeting doesn't start and end on time, people will start showing up late and may not attend at all. Respect their time and they'll (hopefully) respect yours by paying attention.

2. Keep It Short. The longer the meeting lasts, the less effective it becomes. People have short attention spans. Remember the "KISS" method - keep it short and simple. (Yes, there is another version, but we're being polite here.)

3. Keep It Focused. Don't ramble. Stay "on message." Just say what matters most - the message.

4. Keep It Topical. Make sure that the topics are directly applicable to the daily/weekly operation/tasks. Make sure that the meeting relates to the job and what's going on. Adult learners of all stripes need to have their training apply to their work - and I mean directly apply. Make sure that your lesson or example is on the same tools, same tasks, same sites, same jobs and same situations workers face. Get the idea?

5. Keep It Timely. Remember the point I made that the topic you're training on must directly apply? Boy, I hope so - it was number 4 above. Well, this is the corollary to it: Adult learners need to have their training be of an immediate need, not for future needs. Make sure that you're covering only things that are happening (or are about to or just did happen). Adults don't want training about matters that don't matter.

6. Keep It Fresh. Don't do the same stuff repeatedly. Either cover new items or cover old items in new ways. You know the old cliché that doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results is an example of insanity? It applies to safety training. If you provide the same old training expecting safety performance to improve, you're nuts.

Conclusion

In keeping with my own advice, I'll keep this short. Next week, I'll share with you the final six of my "dozen do's."

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