At Corona Consulting, we love developing and delivering training. We do all we can to create experiences that are engaging, with content that is of the highest quality. We learn and research continually, so that we always have the most up to date information to share with training participants.

Even with our best efforts, there is likely to be repetition. It’s statistically improbable that every single thing we share will be new to every single member of the audience. Additionally, humans learn through repetition. They need to hear a message several times (at minimum) for it to sink in and produce some deep thinking, much less act as a catalyst for change.

Today, I want to share why we think limited repetition is not only okay, but actually beneficial: particularly for managers.

Here are some questions to consider when you are hearing information for the second time or beyond.

1. Are you doing what is being taught? Presumably, the skills being shared are ones that are useful, so are you using them?
2. Are you doing what is being taught consistently? Have you integrated the skills into your repertoire and use them on a regular basis?
3. Are you at mastery of the skills being taught? Could you teach and coach others to learn and use these skills?
4. Are you teaching and coaching others to use these skills? A favorite quote by Dr. Maya Angelou is “When you get, give. When you learn, teach.” Being the best employee/colleague/manager/leader means sharing your knowledge with others, so they can grow and get better too.

What we know, from our own experiences attending training is that we change between each time we hear a message. And when I am different, I filter information differently, making new connections between what I already know and how the content is being presented. Additionally, someone may say something that I have heard before but do so in a new way. That “new way” may spark new thinking in me and result in new application.

So the next time you are tempted to share that you have “heard it all before” do a quick check in with yourself and see where you stand with assimilation and application of the skills being taught.

Remember that everyone needs repetition.

Everyone.