Page 43 - The Creative Training Idea Book Inspired Tips and Techniques for Engaging and Effective Learning

lucas chap 01 11/20/02 11:27 AM Page 32
32 The Creative Training Idea Book
In addition, part of giving participants a feeling of safety is assure them through your
words and actions that they will not be ridiculed or singled out for criticism.
Empowerment of participants is crucial in getting their buy-in. You can accomplish
this early in your introduction by communicating your expectations of participants and
the session and eliciting their expectations. Flip chart what participants offer or provide
handouts to make them visual, such as a Training Agreement (see Tools for Trainers
in the appendices). Refer to these expectations throughout the session as necessary and
appropriate.
During the program, you can further empower participants by encouraging feedback
and positively acknowledging points made. This ties to the Principle of Adult Learning
that each attendee has valuable knowledge and experiences to share and on which you
can build.
Facilitator attentiveness to signs of participant disinterest or distraction. Skilled
trainers and educators have learned to master the art of reading participants’ nonverbal
signals. Such activities as doodling (drawing pictures), checking personal calendars or
other items unrelated to course content, looking elsewhere, side conversations, manip-
ulating toys that have been placed on tables, or similar actions are typical signs that you
have lost a participant’s attention.
Creation of a feeling of personal ownership of program content and process is im-
portant. This can be accomplished by designing activities in which participants actively
get involved in the exchange of information and in problem-solving, for example, use of
question-and-answer sessions and small group discussions in which several participants
have been assigned roles as group leader/spokesperson and notetaker/scribe. You might
also ask people to form pairs and give them a time limit in which they must identify ideas,
solutions, suggestions, or whatever you indicate to present to the other participant groups.

BRIGHT I DEA
Gaining and Holding Participant Attention
o gain participant attention, learn some basic magic or card tricks to help arouse
Tcuriosity. In selecting what you will do, figure a way to connect your activity to
the content or topic of your session. For example, a card trick in which participants
have to anonymously select a card that you later find in the deck could be tied to
creativity, problem-solving, observation skills, decision-making, and many other
aspects of learning. You could accomplish this by stressing discovery.

To hold attention throughout your programs, include plenty of activities in which
participants process information learned every 15–20 minutes. This can be accom-
plished through small group discussions, journal writing, role play practices, partner
activities, action planning sheets, mindmapping, or problem-solving using concepts
learned.