Using the Close to Maximize Transfer

What’s wrong with the way many training programs close? There may be no close; people are asked to give a hurried evaluation of the program; and nothing happens to reinforce the key ideas of the program. Any good presentation has an effective opening, a relevant middle, and a strong close. Too often a training presentation has no close at all. The presenter simply runs out of time!

A major issue for trainers involves transfer of the learning or skill back to the work place. In Bob Pike’s Creative Training Techniques Handbook, Pike lists the six components of memory—including primacy (that which came first—the opener) and recency (that which came last—the closer). People remember beginnings and endings.

Closers are important not just because people remember endings. Pike recommends that every closer serve one of three purposes: to tie things together (revisit content); to form a basis for making action plans; or to celebrate the close of the training event. Additionally, closers often motivate participants to practice what they have learned when they return to the work place.

A to Z Review

Following is a closer, tried and true, from 50 Creative Training Closers by Bob Pike and Lynn Solem. The objective is to have a fun and energizing revisit of the content and celebrate the completion of training.

Class Length: One-half day to one day

Audience: any group

Group size: teams of five to seven participants; teams as small as three will work

Time: 8-10 minutes

Equipment: newsprint sheets or flipchart paper, masking tape, markers

Process:

It is essential to begin with the announcement that this is NOT a competition. Each group chooses a scribe who hangs the group’s newsprint sheet on the wall. The scribe draws a vertical line down the middle of the sheet and prints the letters A to M down the left margin and N to Z at about midpoint on the sheet. Teams gather around the flipchart or newsprint and write a word or phrase from the training course that corresponds to each letter of the alphabet. If time allows, have groups debrief by having scribes call out what they have written for each letter. (Note: Be flexible—“X” can be used for something “x-tra….)

If you are interested in more closers like this, click the following links: 50 Creative Training Closers or its companion 50 Creative Training Openers and Energizers.

This article was re-uploaded from our internal archive.

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