Ruben Opstal | Writer, Trainer & Founder
Join fellow experts on 'The Weekly Whiteboard' for insights on turning your subject-matter expertise into training.
Hi, I'm Ruben:
Writer, Trainer & Founder
For more than 15 years I’ve worked at the intersection of information management, process improvement, and organizational change.
Throughout my career, I’ve helped professionals bring structure to complexity. I’ve worked in environments where systems, processes, stakeholders, and competing priorities all demanded attention at the same time. My role was often to make sense of that complexity, clarify decisions, improve ways of working, and help people perform more effectively.
Over the years, I noticed something interesting: subject-matter experts possess an incredible amount of valuable knowledge, but struggle to transfer that knowledge to others in a structured and practical way. They know their craft inside out, yet often lack the tools, methods, and confidence to turn that expertise into effective training programs.
A clear, practical training can do more than transfer knowledge. It can become a serious business asset. A well-designed three-day training with 15 participants can realistically generate 20k+ while strengthening reputation, positioning, and long-term opportunities at the same time.
What former trainees say:
"Ruben teaches as you hope every trainer does." - Jacqueline Plender, Business Information Manager
"I could not have wished for a better trainer." - Désire ter Bruggen, Senior Advisor business information
"A highly professional individual who knows exactly what he is doing." - Maurice Ummels, IT Manager
How my writing will help you
I write for subject-matter experts who want to become confident trainers so they can transfer knowledge clearly and practically.
So, I write about these six topics:
- Training Mistakes: to help you recognize the small mistakes that quietly weaken learning, facilitation and knowledge transfer long before they become visible problems in the training room,
- Knowledge Transfer: to help you understand how knowledge transfer actually works in practice, so critical expertise becomes clearer, more transferable and less dependent on individual people,
- Practical Facilitation: to help you run practical sessions that keep participants engaged, psychologically present and able to apply what they learn in real work situations,
- Trainer Psychology: to help you understand the psychological side of facilitation, from confidence and overpreparing to group dynamics, pressure and the emotional energy required to guide learning effectively,
- Training Systems: to help you build sustainable training systems that make learning repeatable, scalable and less dependent on individual experts or one-off sessions,
- Training Preparation: to help you prepare sessions more clearly and intentionally, so the learning experience becomes structured, practical and easier for participants to follow and apply.
I write about these topics because they helped me throughout my career as a trainer, but I had to discover it myself. Now, I can make it easier for you by sharing my knowledge about them.