7 actionable strategies to enhance the clarity and impact of your training handouts

If you are a TAE40116 or TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment student, you will be required to find, customise and use learning resources. A common learning resource is the training handout.

Creating professional and effective training handouts is crucial for ensuring that your learners grasps and retains the information you’re presenting. Here are seven strategies to help you develop high-quality training handouts.

1. Consistent formatting
2. Visual appeal
3. Organised structure
4. Engaging content
5. Clarity and simplicity
6. Include practical exercises
7. Headers and footers

1. Consistent formatting

Maintain a consistent and professional layout throughout the handout. Use a clean and readable font, appropriate font size, and consistent formatting for headings, subheadings, and bullet points.

The following illustrates the differences between three font types.

Usually, Microsoft Word uses the Calibri font and 11-point font size as the default settings. This is a clean and readable font, and the 11-point font size is likely to be appropriate for most situations.

Here are three general rules to enhance a handout’s readability:

• Avoid the overuse of bold text, italic text, and underlined text
• Use ‘left alignment’ for all headings and text
• Don’t ‘justify’ the text.

The following are my recommendations for font type and size of headings, sub-headings and text.

2. Visual appeal

Incorporate visuals like charts, graphs, and images to enhance understanding. Ensure that visuals are relevant, high-quality, and contribute to the overall clarity of the content.

Don’t breach copyright.

Don’t use irrelevant images.

Don’t ‘decorate’ your handout.

Do use ‘white space’ to enhance the visual appeal and readability.

3. Organised structure

Organise information logically, following a clear structure. Use headings, subheadings, and bullet points to break down content into easily digestible sections. Consider a chronological order or a step-by-step approach.

4. Engaging content

Keep the content engaging by using a conversational tone and avoiding overly technical jargon. Include examples and real-life scenarios to illustrate key points and make the material relatable.

5. Clarity and simplicity

Ensure that your language is clear and concise. Avoid unnecessary complexity and use simple language to convey your message. Be mindful of the reading comprehension level of your learners.

6. Include practical exercises

Integrate practical exercises or activities within the handout. This encourages active participation and helps reinforce learning. Include space for participants to jot down their thoughts or answers.

7. Headers and footers

Use headers and footer for recording information about the handout, such as:

• Title of handout
• Unit code and title (if applicable)
• Copyright or organisation’s details
• Version number
• Page number.

In conclusion

By adhering to these guidelines, you can create training handouts that are not only professional but also effective in facilitating a successful learning experience for your learners.

It is highly likely that a TAE40116 or TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment student will be encouraged to develop training handouts using a word processing application, such as, Microsoft’s Word. I acknowledge that Word is not the only word processing application, but it is commonly used. You will likely need the ability to use key features and functions of Microsoft Word, such as:

• Use ‘copy and paste’
• Change font type and size
• Use ‘Format Painter’
• Create bullet points and numbered lists
• Insert and format tables
• Insert headers and footers
• Insert images (pictures, icons, graphs, etc.)
• Change page orientation (portrait, landscape)
• Use spell check.

After reading this article, you may like to read another relevant article that I have recently published. It is titled, ‘Finding, customising and using learning resources‘.

Do you need help with your TAE studies?

Are you a doing the TAE40116 or TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, and are you struggling with your studies? Do you want help with your TAE studies?

Ring Alan Maguire on 0493 065 396 to discuss.

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Training trainers since 1986