Since what a personal trainer gives us in encouragement and moral support is really important in our journey to reach goals, it helps us strengthen our will, renew our determination, and keep going, It was necessary to highlight all about motivating trainees and the trainer’s important role in this article.
People have different kinds of motives, which we can sum up as follows:
- Professional motives/ the desire to learn work skills and prove oneself.
- Self-development motives meaning learning new skills to improve life quality.
- Social motives for example: making new friends and acquaintances.
There are two types of assumptions:
First:
- A drive to meet basic human needs like hunger, thirst, sleep, sex, avoiding pain, anxiety, and discomfort.
- A person also needs to strengthen social ties and achieve self-fulfillment.
Second:
Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory says human needs are a series starting from basic to complex:
- Physical needs - physiological needs like drinking, eating, resting, shelter, clothes, and so on.
- Safety needs like personal safety, security from anxiety, want, physical harm, and desire to own things.
- Social needs like love, affection, belonging, acceptance, and group identity.
- Self-actualization, like achieving more personal potential, meaning striving for excellence and creativity.
Motivation Methods:
- Firmness (using threats)
- Motivation by enticement
- Pushing by defining identity or sharing the ego
Needs often relate to the group and often overlap.
The importance of motivation in learning:
Trainees learn better when they realize the need and want to learn. This happens through motivation. Motivation drives trainees to think, focus, and learn effectively. Learning is active and requires participation. When a trainee lacks a clear goal or good motivation, they learn little and with difficulty because they don't see the need to learn.
Main features of learning:
(A) Learning cannot be observed directly.
(B) There must be a behavior change after learning.
(C) Learning is the practical application of knowledge, attitudes, and skills.
(D) Learning is transferable.
(E) Learning is relatively permanent.
Ways to motivate trainees:
- Show the need for learning:
Don't assume learners know why lessons matter. show the lesson's benefits to meet their needs.
- Grab attention and keep it:
Be fun when teaching. Be excited, clear, and good. Use effective teaching tools and be reasonably playful. But your job is also to teach not to cheat.
- Boost chances for early success:
Encourage learners early on to stick to plans they can finish well. Success motivates and pushes trainees to try harder to reach goals. Achieving feels good and builds confidence and drive. Early failure kills motivation.
- Give credit and thanks when deserved:
Show thanks when learners do well. People usually want motivation and praise. When earned, praise them well with correct, good feedback. Let trainees show what they know, and don't embarrass slow learners.
- Thanks, and avoid blame:
Praise is a strong reward and a motivator for good work, while blame is destructive. So give constructive criticism in a positive, diplomatic way. Start with the trainee's good points before mentioning suggestions and changes.
- Avoid emotional reactions:
Emotional reactions to trainees upset and scare them. This distracts them from the topic being taught and weakens your motivation.
- Be professional:
Be a role model for trainees and be enthusiastic about teaching. Encourage them to learn naturally.
Note: Poor teaching style or bad personal relationships both lower the motivation of learners.
- Set clear goals:
Make sure trainees understand what you're teaching, what they need to know, and what to do next.
- Providing facilities/resources needed, assigning responsibilities:
Making sure trainees get the chance to do what’s expected on their own builds confidence and boosts motivation.
- Treating trainees like special individuals:
Give each trainee the respect they deserve, get to know their personal skills, work on boosting them, and pay attention to their personal needs.
- Giving the right guidance:
Offer proper, good support when needed especially during tough times like illness, hunger, slow learning, and so on.
