Despite the injection of e-learning, plus other technologies and self-learning initiatives, classroom training is the most widely known, broadly preferred, and commonly used method of training for many of us. And training employees across the globe is an enormous challenge, marked by an abundance of ambiguity and cultural differences.

The following might be a common inner dialogue for a global learning facilitator: “I have to train tomorrow. Who is my audience? What are their expectations? What are the ‘what not to dos,’ and how will the learners react to my words, ideas, jokes, and stories?” In the words of Confucius, “Learning without thought is labor lost. Thought without learning is intellectual death.”

Many times, trainers enter the classroom with full confidence, carrying years of knowledge and experience. Yet the training fails. According to Warren Buffet, it takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. The lesson for the global, cross-cultural classroom especially, is to get the training right in the beginning, start with a positive end in mind, and maintain positivity throughout. First and foremost, focus on getting the right participants in the right course. Achieving the right mix of competency levels, skills to be taught, and participants is key.

A challenge here is making your mix of participants aware of why they are in the classroom in the first place. You must clearly draw out the purpose of the training and the learning outcomes right in the beginning, with a refresh in the middle and recap at the end. Be sure you are delivering what they want and expect to learn instead of what you think they need to learn. Allow them to drive the learning experience. To champion this technique, use the “3F” approach: facilitate, focus, and feel.

Facilitate. Simplify, ease, and support the actions and processes involved in the classroom. Act as a facilitator rather than a trainer by being part of the training instead of creating a gap. Express the idea of knowledge-sharing, and ask questions that trigger their thoughts and lead them to answers. Indulge, immerse yourself, and assist in discovery.

Focus. Grab 100% of the audience’s attention. Do a hidden pause, and check whether participants are energized and engaged? Are you allowing a lively, active atmosphere within the session? To paraphrase Confucius again: What I hear, I forget; what I see, I remember; what I do, I understand.

Feel. Are you able to sense the involvement and engagement of the participants? If so, keep marching. If you don’t see excited, smiling, enthusiastic faces, change your approach.

Winning diverse audiences’ hearts can be a big challenge. Here are a few more tips to get the job done:

• Be genuine and passionate with what you are delivering. Avoid, as the Arabic proverb states, “a mouth that praises and a hand that kills.” Own what you speak.

• Participants love to be engaged. Testing new techniques to engage participants reflects the creativity and passion of the trainer, and builds her credibility.

• Be mindful. Tactics free of religious, political, gender, and cultural biases are crucial to a global classroom environment. Well-mixed and balanced ice breakers and energizers can help target training objectives.

• Ask probing questions that generate answers.

• Most importantly, if the variety of languages and cultures are your biggest fear, incorporate local cultural practices and terms. As Nelson Mandela has stated, if you talk to a man in his language, it reaches his heart. For example, adding elements of “sanuk” is a recommended formula for getting the training to the peak in Thailand. “Sanuk” means “joy”—a highly preferred approach in Thai daily life. Getting this right guarantees great buy in. “Uno, dos, tres,” to start a Samba energizer during training in Sao Paolo is a great example of cultural fit for training in Brazil.

Don’t expect too much immediately after training. Participants have spent an entire day in the classroom after all. Global trainers can feel successful however, knowing that they have packaged the learning contents in an understandable, easy to absorb, and applicable manner.