Page 258 - The Creative Training Idea Book Inspired Tips and Techniques for Engaging and Effective Learning

lucas chap 07 11/20/02 12:29 PM Page 247
Engaging and Energizing Learners 247
personal communication, interviewing skills, customer service, or team-building ses-
sions where better communication or effective questioning is an objective. Instead of
zoo animals, you can substitute countries, flowers, states, or other categories. Just keep
in mind the demographic makeup of your audience and choose things that everyone is
likely to know.

Remember Me?

Here is a fun activity that can help participants learn each other’s names as well as a
detail about one another. I often use this activity when I teach sessions involving mem-
ory. To conduct the activity, have participants form circles of no more than nine people.
Remember what you read about memory in an earlier chapter related to the brain’s
ability to retain approximately seven bits of information, plus or minus two?
Once in a circle, explain that each person will do a self-introduction by giving his or
her first name and the name of one flower (or car, vegetable, tree, country, state, or what-
ever you designate) that she likes. The item she chooses must start with the same letter
as her first name. For example, someone with the name of Lisa might choose a lily as her
flower. After the first person has self-introduced, subsequent participants must repeat
the names and flowers of each person before them, starting with the first person and
going in order of previous introductions. For example, if I were the third person in a
circle following Tom and Michelle, my introduction would be. (Gesturing toward Tom)
Hello, this is Tom and he likes tulips; (gesturing to Michelle), this is Michelle and she
likes mums; I’m Bob and I like babies’ breath. When it gets back to Tom, he must name
everyone starting with the person to his right or left (depending on the direction in
which introductions went).
This activity builds on the concept of repetition and is helpful in getting people to
know one another in a fun manner.

PUTTING YOUR BRAIN TO WORK: ACTIVITY

What are some additional techniques you know of to help participants get to know one another?

BRING ’EM BACK FROM BREAK ON TIME

A major frustration for many facilitators and trainers is having participants come back
late from breaks and lunch. Rather than spending precious classroom time delaying
getting restarted or chastising tardy learners, build in some creative activities that can
help motivate participants to return on time. Being late is often a sign that a participant