Last month, we told you how to design and facilitate a group activity that empowers your learners to perform better back on the job. Now that you’ve got that down, it’s time to give your team exercises a little extra kick. Here are four tips that lead to powerful group exercises.
- During group activities, you not only have to know the ins and outs of the content you’re teaching, but you also have to be a master observer. As you look around at the group, you should be able to recognize any tension in the room, who is talking to who, the interest level of the group, how each person is feeling and if anyone is being left out. By paying attention to these small but mighty nuances, you can use your training skills to intervene appropriately when you recognize the end result is not being achieved.
- People need time to digest the information you presented and to think about how they will apply it on the job. The best way to transfer your messages is to give them a few minutes during the activity for reflection. Then, after your participants have had time to think about real world application, bring the group back together for a debrief where they can exchange their ideas.
- The worst thing you can do with a group activity is to ignore the different learning styles of your participants. Always consider the visual, auditory and physical learning styles of the group. For instance, visual people need to see instructions, auditory people need to hear instructions and physical people need to be involved and use their hands.
- Finally, make sure to involve every participant and do it in a way other than just having them watch and listen. If you ask only one or two people to play the game or demonstrate the concept, you will lose out on valuable learning opportunities for your remaining participants; you cannot expect each person in a group of two or 3,000 to hang on to your every word if they are not being actively engaged.
A final note: just like with any good training program, you group activity should be a participant – not instructor – centered learning experience.
