No practical transfer occurs without practice! In our modern work environment, information becomes outdated faster than ever before. For this reason, employees are under constant pressure to update. The good news: Information can be refreshed relatively quickly.
Employees can link new information to their existing knowledge. Behavior does not change that quickly. Learning and mastering new actions and behaviors involves not only a learning process. The new behavior must be practiced and transferred into practice. The practical transfer of a training measure largely depends on practice. Because changes in the workplace only occur when thinking is done in a new way and, consequently, actions are taken accordingly. The newly learned information must be applied and tested. In this way, new skills are developed.
To illustrate this connection with an example: A sales representative may know all the sales arguments and product features by heart. He learned the content in a training session. However, mere knowledge has only a small influence on his ability to convince new customers of the product. To master this ability, he must correctly understand the customer's needs, choose the appropriate arguments, and communicate the offer. In training, the employee learned a lot about formulating offers. If he doesn't practice this content and methods in a real sales conversation, no practical transfer occurs.
Information and knowledge are the foundation for skills and qualifications. Skills can only be sharpened through practice. Therefore, the implementation of practice should be integrated into every training to ensure practical transfer after the training. Have you considered in what situations your training participants will test your training content? Competency development goes a step further. One can speak of competencies when skills can be generalized to new, complex, and dynamic situations.
The difference between information transfer and learning skills
How do you find out whether you are conveying information or a skill to a participant? Quite simply: Ask the question: “Can the person succeed or be competent without practice?” If the answer is “Yes”, then you are conveying information. If the answer is “No”, then it is a skill.
This distinction is crucial for the design of trainings. While information can often be conveyed through reading, videos, or short learning impulses, skills require repeated application in daily life. Only through repeated practice does real action confidence emerge.
How can you support your participants in practicing new skills?
When you are imparting skills in your training, your participants need two things from you: Practice and Feedback.
Creating practice opportunities
Ensure that your training participants discover and utilize practice opportunities. The better you know your participants' workday, the more accurately you can align your tasks accordingly. As an external trainer, sometimes your hands are tied. In such cases, it helps to discuss possible practice scenarios with your participants at the workplace.
The right challenge is essential for practical transfer
Exercises should be tailored to the current level of skills. The better the match between skill level and challenge, the more effective the exercise. Simple exercises will be abandoned; overwhelming tasks discourage the practitioner. To master a skill, deliberate practice is necessary. The Harvard Business Review beautifully explains in this article why practice is so important to excel in something. If participants are curious, you can provide them with the link (https://hbr.org/2007/07/the-making-of-an-expert).
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It is important to spread out exercises over a longer period. Here, an online support tool for your training can help. Many training participants simply forget to practice during their daily business. Automated reminders from the online support tool can help ensure that the implementation of practice does not fall off the radar. If you send these practice prompts to your participants via video, they are even more motivated to implement the exercises.
Offer feedback and promote reflection
The transfer of training usually begins after the training has concluded. For successful practical transfer, your participants depend on feedback. Feedback is important to ensure that the right behavior is learned. When the practitioner is accompanied by an experienced manager, the manager can provide very behavior-related feedback, and the practitioner can refine and correct their practice application.
If you are not on-site as a trainer, you can support your participants online. You can answer questions or assist the action process using reflection questions. Typical reflection questions are: “Can you think of a situation in which you acted differently than before the training?” or “Did you successfully apply a method from the training this week? In which situation was that? How did you notice it was successful?”.
How are you currently supporting practical transfer? Have you ever considered online support? We would be happy to show you how online support can sustainably assist the practical transfer of your training.
Conclusion
Practical transfer occurs not merely through knowledge alone but through repeated practice, feedback, and the conscious application of new skills in daily work.
Training initially imparts information and methods. However, true competence only arises when participants regularly try out what they have learned and reflect on their experiences. Without these practice phases, further education often remains at the level of theory and good intentions.
Therefore, trainings should always be designed in such a way that participants receive concrete opportunities to practice. Tasks from the workday, regular reminders, and accompanying feedback help to solidify new behaviors step by step.
Those who consistently connect learning and practice create the foundation for sustainable competency development and real practical transfer after further education.
Updated on 03.09.2026
