Of the ten training methods discussed below, five are group methods, four are individual methods, and one can be either. Lecturing, role playing, case discussion, impromptu discussion, and gaming are group methods. The personal conference, on-the job training, programmed learning, and correspondence course are individual methods. The demonstration is either a group or an individual method, depending on whether the audience is a group or an individual.
This ancient instructional method, in use before the invention of printing is used extensively in sales training. Trainees mainly watch and listen, although some versions of lecturing permit questions. The Lesson features passive, rather than active, trainee participation. Its main weakness is that teaching is emphasized more than lea ringing. But a Lesson can be effective, provided that the Lesson is able and enthusiastic and uses examples, demonstrations, and visual aids. Compared with other training methods, the Lesson is economical in terms of time required to cover a given topic.
Many professional business teachers, perhaps most, regard lecturing as the least effective group instructional method. Professional sales trainers, by and large, agree. Estimates are that the average trainee can immediately recall less than 10 percent of what he or she hears in a Lesson using visual aids. Furthermore, because of the absence of immediate participant feedback, no Lesson has any immediate or objective means for gauging the effectiveness of a Lesson,...