Training session plan template
A two-hour skills room, written as a plan you can run.
A training session plan is not a slide outline. It is the contract with the clock: what they can do at minute 120 that they could not do at minute 0, the practice that produces it, and the proof you photograph before they stand up.
Outcome is a verb they perform. “Give a 90-second status without burying the ask.” Not “understand stakeholder management.”
Practice is the middle of the room. If they only listen, it is a briefing. If they try it twice, it is training.
Proof is what you can point at: a written ask, a recorded round, a checklist they used on a real case. If you cannot name the proof, the outcome is still a wish.
The header you fill before the table
| Field | Write this | Kill this |
|---|---|---|
| Room | Who, how many, what they already do at work | “Mixed seniority, all functions” |
| Skill | One skill. A sentence they can fail at in public. | A stack of models. A “toolkit.” |
| Outcome | By 11:00 they can ___ on a live case, once, out loud. | “Feel more confident.” “Have exposure.” |
| Proof | The artifact or the round you will photograph / hear | A survey. A parking lot. Applause. |
| Materials | One case, one page, a timer, paper | A 40-slide deck they cannot use after lunch |
Filled example — 120-minute “status that has an ask”
Eight to twelve ICs or new managers. They already send updates. The room exists because those updates bury the decision. Print this. Do not add a theory block.
| Time | Block | They do | You do |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00 10m |
Contract | 15-second round: the last status that failed, in one line. | Write OUTCOME / PROOF on the board. Timer visible. Phones down. No bios. |
| 9:10 12m |
The bar | Listen once. Then write the three-beat shape: context, status, ask. | Demo a 90-second status. Name the ask in the last twenty seconds. Do not lecture the model. |
| 9:22 18m |
Draft 1, silent | Write a 90-second status on their real work. Ask must be a yes/no or a date. | Stop talking. Walk. Star buried asks. Do not “circulate wisdom.” |
| 9:40 8m |
Break | Stand. Back at 9:48. | Keep it a row on the plan. Return on the minute. |
| 9:48 28m |
Round 1 | Three people deliver. Room writes: where was the ask? What would you cut? | Timer at 1:30. No fixing mid-sentence. One piece of feedback, then next body. |
| 10:16 16m |
Draft 2 | Rewrite. Cut half. Put the ask in the last sentence. | Silent. If they ask “is this good,” point at the three beats. |
| 10:32 20m |
Round 2 · proof | Everyone delivers to a partner. Partner writes the ask they heard. Swap. | Photograph two written asks. That is the product of the morning. |
| 10:52 8m |
Close | Write the next real meeting where they will use this, and the date. | Read two dates out loud. Send the follow-up tonight. End on time. |
120 minutes. Practice twice. Proof is the written ask, not the recap slide.
Blank plan
Fill this for the next room. If a row has no “they do,” delete the row.
| Time | Block | They do | You do |
|---|---|---|---|
If you need the clock to hold the room while you look up, run the two-hour kickoff live: Start live · print their pages. The plan on this page is the paper version. The console is the live version. See also the workshop run of show and how to time a workshop.