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How do you motivate adults?
January 2, 2009 • By Becky Pluth

If learners are motivated, they retain more information. But can you extrinsically motivate your session attendees? Is it possible?

“While you can't make your participants be motivated, you can create a motivating environment,” said Becky Pluth, vice president of training and development at The Bob Pike Group. Research shows that interacting with your learners “is one of the most powerful factors in promoting learning” while “interactions among learners is another” (Angelo 1993). And teachers who present the information in a dynamic manner and display a genuine interest in what they are teaching have a positive effect upon motivation as well (Larkins, McKinney & Gilmore, 1984).

What are some steps you can take to create a motivational environment?
  1. Create a need.
  2. Develop a sense of personal responsibility.
  3. Create and maintain interest. (Avoid repetition in all areas—how you get back from break, how you introduce material, etc.)
  4. Structure experiences to apply to life.
  5. Give praise, encouragement, and approval.
  6. Foster wholesome competition.
  7. Get excited yourself.
  8. Establish long range goals.
  9. See the value of internal motives.
  10. Intensify inter-personal relationships.
  11. Give them a choice.

This information is from the recently re-designed Boot Camp which now has more up-to-date information on generational training, instructional design, and CORE (closers, openers, revisit techniques and energizers) and more. For more information or to register for Boot Camp with our buy-one, get-one half-off offer for January and February, call Cindy at 800-383-9210 or 952-829-1954.


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