As I was writing some feedback for a trainer we are certifying to deliver one of our workshops, the words I wrote felt very familiar. Those words were - take the time to facilitate more deeply; especially during the debriefs. I'm pretty sure it's been the suggestion I've given every trainer I've come across; including myself.
By being a more facilitative trainer and recognising that there are huge benefits to inviting participants to expand on their initial responses, we help put them at source of the learning. And it's super simple, just ask some follow up questions (why was that important, how could you apply that to the work you do?) rather than launch into your own take on their thinking.
Facilitation is a strengths-based process that allows participants to recognise their own existing knowledge and experience as valid, which is a basic tenet of working with adult learners. They discover what they already know, and they can then easily connect to and "test" the new material against it. It makes it easier for them to integrate the new knowledge, and they become more likely to carry out the new skills or behaviours as it has already been affirmed as fitting with what they already know or do. And it's easier for the trainer too; we share the workload, and don't have to have all the answers. It becomes a shared learning experience where there is equal responsibility for achieving the workshop outcomes.