Page 157 - The Creative Training Idea Book Inspired Tips and Techniques for Engaging and Effective Learning

lucas chap 04 11/20/02 12:00 PM Page 146
146 The Creative Training Idea Book
As I travel around the country, I have caricature artists create images of me in different
postures along with flip charts, projectors, lecterns, or other training related equipment.
I turn these images into transparencies, flip chart pages, or handouts to add a humorous
personal touch (see my caricature in Figure 4-3).

Greet Participants

Having all your pre-session preparation (e.g., equipment and facilities checks and hand-
outs distributed) done prior to the actual arrival of participants allows you to be avail-
able to greet participants at the door as they arrive. As they do so, greet them with a smile
and friendly welcome, shake hands, and give any necessary instructions, such as seating,
activity assignments, name tag preparation, and refreshment information. By physically
making contact with each person and using his or her name, you subconsciously form
a psychological bond with them.

Encourage Networking
If you have ever attended a training session in which there was silence as people arrived,
because there was no background music or talking and the instructor was busy going
through a checklist and ignoring participants, you probably recognize how awkward,
sterile, and boring such a setting can be.
To help alleviate the possibility of your sessions feeling this way, get participants
involved with one another as soon as possible. You can do this by having a statement
on your welcome flip chart or projected visual that humorously states, “It’s okay to talk
to each other.” Another way to accomplish interaction is through an assigned activity.
For example, if you have a group of 20 or fewer participants, greet them at the door and
hand them a playing card, colored balloon, or strip of colored paper. Tell them to find
someone who has a matching item, get to know the person, and determine a strength
the person has related to the session topic. During your introductory remarks, have each
person do a brief introduction, then tell the strength they found in the room and to
whom it belonged. As the strengths are revealed, capture them on a flip chart for later
reference and program relationship.
Through such an activity, people get to know each other, silence is broken, and you
identify potential resources within the room. You can also determine areas that you
do not need to spend much time covering because many people share a strong skill or
knowledge area. Using such an approach can encourage networking by stressing that
participants should get to know one another during breaks, rather than returning to
their offices to check e-mail and voice messages. This latter approach can also help ensure
that everyone returns from breaks on time so that you can remain on schedule.

Conduct “I Hope” Exercise

As adults, participants generally arrive at sessions with expectations and needs based on
prior experiences. Use their previous encounters to your advantage by having them share
one thing that they hope will or will not happen in your session.