Page 41 - The Creative Training Idea Book Inspired Tips and Techniques for Engaging and Effective Learning

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30 The Creative Training Idea Book
how former U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt responded to boredom and dis-
traction at an official State function receiving line.
Supposedly, at some point, he recognized that people moving through the line were
not really focusing as introductions were being made and were just going through the
motions of listening. To prove his hypothesis, as people came up to him and greeted,
“Good evening Mr. President. How are you this evening?,” he replied with a smile, “Good
evening. I’m fine. I’ve just killed my mother. She’s upstairs in the bedroom.” No one
reacted to his comment. One person even replied, “That’s wonderful. Have a good
evening, sir.” If the President of the United States could not command attention in a
face-to-face setting, you can imagine your challenge in a group situation in which some
people do not want to be there.
Because the brain is conditioned to move on to other focuses when the average
human attention span is exceeded, it is crucial that you consciously help learners stay
focused. If you fail to do so, or if other stimuli distract your participants, there could be
a breakdown in the learning cycle. This fact is justification for providing a mental break
during your sessions and for using techniques described throughout this book.
Another way to help participants focus is to use movement, novelty, curiosity, and
fun activities. Something as simple as moving to different locations in the room through-
out your presentation can help stimulate interest. By repositioning yourself, and using
planned gestures during a session, you can attract attention toward yourself and build
rapport by closing the distance between you and participants in various parts of the
room. You can also use learner movement to hold attention by regularly repositioning
people to participate in activities during a session. This stimulates their interest, energizes
them, and provides opportunities to network with a variety of different people, which
can encourage idea and information exchange.
If you do decide to have people move, keep in mind that, because of disabilities that
may not be known to you or others, some people intentionally position themselves in
specific locations when they arrive in order to help their own learning. For example,
someone with a sight impairment may sit directly under a light source, someone with
a hearing impairment may sit near the front of the room to better hear what you have
to say, or someone with a mobility impairment may take a position near the exit or
refreshments and restroom. Because of these possibilities, if you move people around,
you may want to allow them the option of returning to their original place if they desire
to do so at the end of an activity.
To assist in identifying ways to gain and hold participant attention, try doing a quick
check of planned program activities. Ask yourself the questions in Table 1-6, then en-
sure that you build responses to them into your program as necessary.

Controlling Mental Side Trips

Because the human brain loses focus periodically, it is perfectly normal for participants
to daydream or to take mental side trips away from your training. As a facilitator, your
challenge is to recognize this fact and work to identify and minimize the number of