Monkey Journal for Trainers: Effective training with Positive Reflection & Action

Monkey Journal for Trainers: Effective training with Positive Reflection & Action

If you want to strengthen your engagement skills, build confidence as a trainer, and improve how you respond in the training room, keep reading. Every trainer knows that engagement is one of the most powerful tools in learning , yet it is also the tool we use the least when pressure hits. We rush to give answers, fill silence, solve problems or move the session on. That’s where the Monkey Throwing method comes in. This Monkey Journal for Trainers is designed for anyone who wants to develop deeper, more effective engagement skills in the training room. This journal helps you explore your monkey throwing and promotes reflections on key areas: Open questions - How much telling instead of exploring - How you respond when the “monkey” lands on you - What patterns appear in your questioning style - Focus on shifting from directing to facilitating This journal supports learning transfer , behaviour change , and professional development , helping you refine your engagement skills one session at a time. Inside, you’ll discover ways to: Reflect on your use of open, probing and reasoning questions - Recognise the moments you avoid engaging and why - Identify your triggers, pressure, silence, urgency, uncertainty - Strengthen your facilitation skills through session awareness - Understand what monkeys have worked and how many you use - Build confidence in holding space rather than filling it - Improve learner engagement - Use reflection to shift unhelpful habits into effective techniques This isn’t just a notebook, it’s a practical training and facilitation journal that helps you understand your reactions, challenge your habits and refine your trainer behaviour. Whether you’re a trainer, facilitator, coach or someone learning how to use effective engagement, the Monkey Journal for Trainers will help you think more deeply about your choices in the room and build the confidence to use engagement that is effective. Interview with the Authors: Q – Why create a engagement-focused Monkey Throwing Journal? In the training room, trainers often default to telling instead of asking, not always because they don’t know how to engage, but because pressure, time and expectation take over. Mastering Monkey Throwing takes time, this journal turns those areas and moments into powerful learning through reflection and awareness. Q – What makes this journal different? It blends the simplicity of Monkey Throwing with the depth of engaging individuals. Through activities, prompts and reflection, it helps trainers understand the psychology behind their engagement choices, identify what gets in the way, and build new habits that create better learning experiences. Our aim is simple: to help trainers to engage better, think more clearly, and deliver training that truly transforms behaviour. It follows our courses available at https://targettrg.co.uk/courses/train-the-trainer-courses