Format Facilitator Guides Like a Pro
Effective training materials play a crucial role in imparting knowledge and skills to learners. While we can all agree the content of training materials is undoubtedly important, the way they are presented is equally vital. The choices we make when formatting can enhance the overall impact of your facilitator guide, making them visually appealing, organized, easy to understand, and to deliver.
Remember, facilitator guides are at-a-glance documents. Our goal is to have facilitators “eyes up” to the class or to the camera as much as possible.
In this blog post, we explore six elements of professional formatting for training materials, enabling you to create effective resources that will allow your facilitators to shine in person or virtually.
Consistent Visual Identity
Consistency is paramount when it comes to professional formatting. Ensuring that there is a cohesive visual identity throughout your facilitator guide helps create a professional and polished impression. It also makes it easier for facilitating multiple courses. They know what to expect because there is a standardized look and feel.
Use a consistent color scheme, typography, and formatting styles for headings, subheadings, and body text.
Use your organization's branding elements, such as logo, fonts, and color palette to maintain brand recognition.
Consistency fosters familiarity, making it easier for the facilitator to navigate through the materials.
2. Clear Structure and Organization
Organizing your training materials in a logical and coherent manner is crucial for effective learning. Creating a Table of Contents is a great starting point. It serves as an outline of the material being covered. Breaking down the content into manageable sections makes it easier to scan and digest.
Use headings for terminal objectives and subheadings for enabling objectives.
Write the material clearly and concisely. Structure enhances deliverability and comprehension.
Use bullet points, numbering, or indents to highlight key points and create a visual hierarchy.
Stay away from scripting what needs to be said word for word.
3. Visual Enhancements or Cues
Integrating visuals into your training materials can significantly enhance the facilitator’s ability to quickly disseminate what they need to be doing. Use visuals that are distinct, visually appealing, and in line with your visual identity.
The consistent use of icons or visual cues for specific actions allows a facilitator to glance at the guidebook and know that they are saying something or running an activity or any other action that is represented by a visual cue.
Be mindful of copyright restrictions and always provide proper attribution when using external images or graphics.
4. Readable Typography
The choice of typography can greatly impact the readability of your training materials. Select fonts that are clear, legible, and easy on the eyes. Consider the font size, line spacing, and paragraph alignment to ensure comfortable reading experiences.
Sans-serif fonts like Arial or Calibri are often preferred for body text, as they offer a clean and modern appearance.
Reserve decorative fonts for titles or headers to maintain readability.
5. Effective Use of White Space
White space, or negative space, refers to the areas between text, images, and other elements. It is a powerful design element that helps create balance and clarity in your training materials.
Avoid cluttering the pages with excessive content or visuals.
White space gives your materials a clean and organized look.
Ample white space also improves glance-ability and enables the facilitator to focus quickly on the information. Remember, we want “eyes up” from our facilitators.
6. Consistent Formatting
Consistency in formatting not only improves the visual appeal but also provides clarity and professionalism to your training materials.
Employ a uniform color scheme and font style for captions, labels, or annotations. Use templates, style guides and your brand identity to stay on track.
One of the easiest ways to maintain a consistent formatting style is to use a table.
The grid lines and consistent spacing to ensure the elements align properly.
The easiest way to ensure consistent formatting?
Use a tool designed specifically for building facilitator guides.
Summary
Professional formatting is a key component of creating impactful training materials.
You can elevate the quality and effectiveness of your training materials by employing:
consistent visual identity
clear structure
engaging visuals
readable typography
effective use of white space, and
consistent formatting.
Remember, a well-formatted resource not only captures all the relevant information for the training program but also enhances the facilitator’s ability to deliver the material consistently, resulting in a more successful and productive training experience for your audience.