Page 65 - The Creative Training Idea Book Inspired Tips and Techniques for Engaging and Effective Learning

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54 The Creative Training Idea Book
from the customer’s perspective (e.g., Why was he upset?, How did he feel about the way
he was being treated?, and so on).
Visualization activities are an excellent way to allow participants to examine an issue
to which they can directly relate and apply what they have learned. It also allows learners
to get in touch with their own feelings about an event and better see it from someone
else’s point of view.

Role Play

Role play is an interactive technique for allowing participants to be involved in acting
out real-life situations. Such activities provide a safe way for participants to practice
skills such as communication, feedback, questioning, and problem-solving learned and
get feedback on their performance from you and their peers in a safe, risk-free environ-
ment. The challenge is often getting people to take the practices seriously or to actively
participate.
The key to overcoming such hesitancy is for you to effectively design the activity,
building in real-world objectives, then to communicate expectations and potential learn-
ing outcomes to participants before they begin. Also, at the end of the role play, you
must effectively debrief the activity by having the individuals practicing tell what they
did well, what they could have improved upon, and how they would do it differently
if they could repeat the process. Once the practicing learner has shared thoughts, repeat
the same debriefing process with those with whom they interacted and any observers
before offering your own feedback and observations.

Some questions to ask each participant following a role play include:
What did the role players do well?
What did the role players do that was ineffective?
If they could do the scenario over, what should they do differently?

If participants do not know each other well, it is often better to postpone role plays
until later in a session or on subsequent meeting days when trust and relationships have
been better established. This often leads to more realistic practice sessions.

Simulation
Simulations provide a reality-based activity in which participants have a chance to expe-
rience some real-world event or function. The activity is based on some actual process or
situation. For example, an assembly line format might be used to teach the importance
of having an effective workflow, communication within work teams, decision-making,
quality improvement time and resource management, and effective supervision or
team work. Simulations are typically fast moving, timed, use props (e.g., simulated or
actual equipment or workplace items), and require you or someone else to coordinate