A telepathic trick that gets participants involved and interacting in review
Sometimes you’re lucky, and your trainees are all strangers to one another. That’s not often the case. Most times, everyone in the group comes from a single department or work site except, perhaps, one or two participants, who don’t know another soul in the room. And what about those situations where one person just doesn’t seem to fit in? How do you help a participant who might be on the outside of the group feel more a part of what’s going on?
One technique I’ve used is to involve the outside person in one of my review activities, serving as a “secret assistant.” I call this The Flu Review for reasons that will soon be apparent.
After listing key content emphases on a flipchart, I tell the group that I will now do a little mind reading. I have their interest immediately.
I tell them I will turn my back while they silently decide as a group which content item on the flip chart to select as the “target item.” After turning around, I will attempt to identify the item they select.
One of the participants volunteers to come to the front and serve as a silent facilitator during the selection process. I turn my back. The group silently selects one item. When I turn around, I ask participants to mentally think “stop” whenever my index finger touches the content item they selected.
As I move my index finger over the surface of the flipchart, I suddenly stop and confidently state that I’m now touching their selected content area. If they can’t figure out how I do it, I might even do it several times during the day. I never miss and it drives them crazy. And each time, we then review the item the group selects.
The secret takes us back to our initial question. During a break, I secretly ask the person who feels on the outside of the group to help me in a little demonstration. I explain the upcoming exercise, and ask this participant to simply sniff when my finger touches the item the group selects. This sniff doesn’t need to be loud at all. When you’re listening for it, you’ll hear it every time.
The person who helps you feels like he’s “in the know,” and when you finally explain to your group how you did it, he becomes an instant star. And you reviewed content, too—not a bad combination!
From Dave Arch’s All New Tricks for Trainers available from The Bob Pike Group. Used with permission.
