What do you do when your client asks you to prepare a half-day course covering every aspect of communication? What do you do when you find yourself arriving two hours late for your time management seminar? How do you deal with the participant who never participates? Or the one who won’t stop talking?

Lucy Seifert and Mary Stacey confront these and many other monsters in this entertaining trek through the training jungle. To supplement their own extensive experience they invited numerous colleagues to share their tales of the good, the bad and the unexpected. The result is a book that covers all the key elements of the training process, from handling the client/sponsor before the course to reflecting on the lessons to be learned afterwards. There are chapters on being a new trainer; on the various types of troublesome trainee; on coping with treacherous hardware; on group dynamics. As with any other human activity, training involves highs as well as lows, and the authors celebrate success and satisfaction, with stories that reflect what they call ‘the magic of training’. And they pay particular attention to looking after your own needs both as an individual and a professional.

For each topic they describe the problem, give examples and present a range of possible solutions. They take the view that there is rarely one ‘right answer’: choose the response that best fits your own style and circumstances.

Troubleshooting for Trainers is destined to become a standard text for training professionals everywhere.

Contents: Introduction; What is a Trainer; Asking for Trouble; The New Trainer; Who's Directing?; The Fragile Trainer; The Weary Trainer; Piggy in the Middle; Hello and Action; The Reluctant Trainee; The Troublesome Trainee; Dynamic and Conflict; A Question of Balance; Tales of the Unexpected; Stage Management; The Oscars; Epilogue: The Magic of Training; Sources and Resources; Index.

About the Author: Lucy Seifert is principal of Lucy Seifert Associates, a consultancy offering a range of courses, including assertiveness, dealing with difficult people and managing time. Her clients are mainly in the public and private sectors. Before qualifying as a trainer, she worked as an administrator and a public relations officer. She is an associate member of the British Association for Counselling and is approved by UCoSDA, the universities’ staff training body. She is the author of Training for Assertiveness and 40 Activities for Training in Self-Empowerment, both published by Gower.

Mary Stacey founded her own training consultancy, specializing in staff development, communication and writing skills, in 1988. She works primarily in the public and voluntary sectors. She has been a teacher, a training officer and has set up and managed a community centre. She is the author of Parents and Teachers Together.

Both Lucy Seifert and Mary Stacey offer training and advice on troubleshooting for trainers.

Reviews: '... an extremely useable book, whether you are a new or very experienced trainer, with easy reference and clear and readable text. Recommended without reservation.' Training Officer

'... a thorough, professional text book which addresses all the major elements contained in the training process.' British Journal of Administrative Management

'Wherever I left the book, I found someone would pick it up and flick through or ask whether it was useful ... I felt able to reply that it was useful and readable too ... it is excellent for new trainers ... a good book to have handy for browsing and getting ideas, invaluable for the new trainer and useful for the experienced trainer.' 't' Magazine

'... designed to inform, stimulate and influence the wide field of the trainer.' Manager