Training: The Personal Touch

In-person software training is better than online resources

Microsoft Word is a key tool for lawyers. With its editing, reviewing, and formatting capabilities, Word enables lawyers to efficiently draft legal files like contracts and documents. 

The assumption for most people is that “everyone knows how to use Microsoft Word”.  Making time for brushing up skills or learning new ones is at the bottom of the list of priorities for busy lawyers.  To counter this, law firms have developed a library of online resources for people to learn about Microsoft Word tools from their desks.  

But is this effective?

I have a ton of anecdotal evidence which says that it is not.  Maybe these sound familiar to you:

• I don’t know where the online materials are 

• I don’t have time to search for what I want

• I don’t know what the Word document is doing, so I don’t know what to look for

• As soon as I start, the phone rings 

If this resonates, the learning is not certainly effective and of little productive use for a busy law firm.  This is particularly true if no one knows if lawyers are even watching the online resources, let alone learning from them.

Historically, training was personal

In the early days of Microsoft Word, rolling out a new version of Microsoft Word was a big deal with planning, scheduling and preparation of quality materials.  Importantly, the sessions were “hands-on” and the training required interaction and motor skills as participants followed every click as the trainer clicked.

Additionally, the training was in-house and was specifically designed and prepared for participants working for the law firm, following that firm’s protocols and principles of best practice.

It is important that training sessions are effective and beneficial to the productivity of the lawyer and the law firm.  Participants should come away from the session, ready to use the skills learned.  

What are the benefits of in-person, hands-on training?

Interaction between trainer and participants

A good trainer will engage their audience immediately and participants see that the presenter not only knows their stuff but really wants to share it with them.  Demonstrating genuine understanding of the issues lawyers experience using Microsoft Word in everyday tasks, is key to this engagement.

Lawyers are often reluctant to admit that they don’t understand something and may not want to say so in a training session.  This is easy for a trainer to spot and they can either slow down a little, repeat a skill or simply ask if someone is ok, to easily reintegrate them to the pace of the session.

This direct interaction enhances the learning experience because it allows immediate feedback, correction and guidance in real time to ensure everyone is on the right track. 

Interaction between participants 

Participants may feel nervous that they might embarrass themselves in not understanding or asking a “stupid question” (there are no stupid questions in training).  

Discussing “real-life” scenarios is common once participants start to relax and realise they are not being judged and, more importantly, that they are not alone in having a particular issue with a particular task.

There are often several ways of undertaking a task in Microsoft Word and the interaction between participants will often allow a trainer to expand a little more or provide another way of achieving the end result in a way that is more easily understood. 

Collaboration is a feature in law firms and creating a knowledge-sharing environment in a training room enhances confidence, allowing participants to feel that they are as conversant as their peers when working on large complex documentation.

Hands-on learning encourages muscle memory

Muscle memory involves committing a task to memory via physical repetition.  Muscle memory is also a feature of the old habits, however, and the workarounds that people learn from each other in “emergency” situations where a document must go out urgently. 

Undoing those old habits is rewiring muscle memory, and it is surprising how quickly this can happen.  Following a trainer click-for-click allows the user to see the skill in action and how it feels on the keyboard using shortcuts with CTRL, ALT and Shift combinations.  

Simply observing tasks being carried out on a computer screen does not embed the skill as effectively as doing it yourself with the guidance and correction of a trainer.  Participants are able to see immediately how to solve formerly troublesome issues with very little conscious effort.  

Bespoke approach 

A key benefit of training the “old way” described above was that the trainer worked for the firm and the materials were designed around the workings of that firm and its staff.  The use of online resources has resulted in the loss of that level of identification and rapport.

The next best thing is an external trainer with a solid working knowledge and experience working in law firms.  Within a couple of days, a good trainer can be familiar with how any law firm manages documents, quickly identifying inefficiencies and areas for improvement in best practice.

Creating training materials with documents that are familiar to participants means they are more likely to engage collaboratively in the session, and get the muscle memory working more quickly.  

Training for lawyers is best presented in person, encouraging engagement and collaboration among teams.  Using materials that are familiar inspires confidence that tasks that were once time-consuming to do or to fix can now be resolved through a set of keystrokes that come naturally. 

A good trainer who is knowledgeable and engaging will always provide a more effective learning environment than sitting in an office trying to focus on recorded guidelines without the ability to ask questions or to pause and revisit a skill.  

So while it might take an hour out of your day, the benefits can save many hours of work.  Delivering personalised and tailored training brings an enjoyable session that fosters skills development, knowledge retention and professional growth.

If you want to find out how WonderWord’s hands-on training can help your teams, get in contact with me at Leanne@wonderwordtraining.co.uk and I’d be happy to have a chat.