Online opinion

Training Journal, Nov, 2008

The language used by learning and development professionals came under the spotlight recently, when Barry Johnson asked Digest members for

their views on the words that should be used to describe people who undergo training.

He said: "Many years ago, when joined a very large corporation as a site training manager, I was using the word 'delegates' to describe people attending courses. I notice this is common practice in the responses to various discussions.

"The corporate training and development director asked me whether I really wanted 'delegates' or 'participants'. I must admit that had, on occasions, used the word attendees'.

"Delegate: a person who is delegated, chosen to represent or given authority to act on behalf of another person, group or organisation.

"Participant: a person who takes part in something.

"Over the years, I have aimed to have participants, although on some occasions I have literally had delegates, and I have sometimes wondered at the words that I use. Just to be clear, I always use the word 'participants' for the attendees at learning events, whatever else those events are called.

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"I wonder what your views are." Kimberley Hare agreed with Johnson, and said she always aimed to have "participants" or "learners" on her courses, never "delegates".

She added: "I think the words we choose to use--with ourselves as well as others--really do set the frame for how we think about them."

Similarly, Gill Coombs said she used the word "participants" rather than "delegates".

She also agreed with Johnson and Hare about the power of words but felt that that power was sometimes trumped by the power of change: "At my last job I changed 'appraisal' to 'performance and development review' which was met with a chorus of rolling eyes, if you can imagine such a thing, despite my explaining the implications of the words.

"It wasn't that they didn't like the new title, they explained, but wouldn't it have been simpler to just leave it as it was?

"Perhaps we stop really 'hearing' words after a while, in the same way that we stop 'seeing' a picture on our living room wall."

Brenda Klug said she had been thinking about the significance of words just as Johnson was posting his question and added: "I somehow picked up using the word 'delegates' in my last company, and I can remember thinking it strange at the time. I could see how people may have thought it was a respectful term however, even as I was writing the word earlier this week, the little voice at the back of my head was still querying it!"

And Kathey Bailey said: "This theme came up on the forum a few years ago and, as a result, I changed from 'delegates' to 'participants'."