Memory Test
Here's a quick jolt that helps participants discover basic psychological facts about our memory.
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Methods (117)
Missing Step
Many training topics involve procedures or processes (e.g. Team formation process; a product launching process, etc.). Here's an interactive lecture design that encourages the participants to go beyond the content of the presentation and critically examine the steps of the procedure or phases of the process.
Use This Strategy When:
* The training content is a procedure with different steps or a process with different phases.
* The participants know something about the procedure or process and can conduct a group discussion.
Mixed-Up Sentences
The use of lectures for training adults has several advantages and several disadvantages. So does the use of training games. What if we combine these two approaches in a complementary fashion? That is the idea behind interactive lectures.
Interactive lectures involve participants in the learning process while providing complete control to the instructor. These activities enable a quick and easy conversion of a passive presentation into an interactive experience. Different types of interactive lectures incorporate built-in quizzes, interspersed tasks, teamwork interludes, and participant control of the presentation.
One effective approach to adding interactivity to lectures involves requiring participants to review what they heard and summarize the key points. This approach reinforces learning and improves recall.
Missing Sentence provides an intriguing twist to an interactive lecture that is based on the review-and-summary strategy.
My Favourite Manager
Participants work individually, assuming the roles of three different people and brainstorming their perceptions of three most favourite managers and three least favourite managers. Later, they work with a partner (and still later, in teams) to prepare a list of dos and don't-s for improving employees' perception of a manager's style.
Name That Tune
In his book, You Are Not So Smart, David McRaney describes an experiment by Elizabeth Newton that explains the illusion of transparency. This happens during the communication process when others are not privy to same information as we are. While we may think all of our thoughts and feelings are visible to others, we often overestimate the actual transfer of information.
The participants pair up and one partner taps out a familiar song with fingertips. The finger-tapping partner predicts the listener will be able to guess the tune. These partners are surprised to discover that while the tune is obvious to them, their listening partner is unable to guess it.
Near and Far
Near and Far is a wonderful warm up game that provides excellent avenues to build connections and to discuss various issues of corporate culture and dynamics. I have used it in conferences and it is suitable for small, medium, and large groups.
Novice or Expert?
Trainers have difficulty imagining how people feel when they are forced to learn through their weak learning styles. This activity enables them to experience the frustrations of working though a weak learning style—and the positive feelings of using their strong learning styles.
One, Two and More
One, Two, And More is a flexible structured sharing activity for exploring different topics using different sets of questions. A unique feature of this activity is answering each question in three different modes: individual, pairs, and in teams.
One - Two - Four Dialogue
This is a structured discussion activity for exploring a topic by answering questions in three different set-ups: individually, in pairs and in teams.
Open Book
Open Book is a quiz game that helps participants become familiar with the structure and organization of a reference manual. During the first phase of the game, individual participants review the manual and prepare 10 questions. During the second phase, participants form into teams and select their five best questions. During the third phase, you conduct a quiz program using these questions and some others that you have prepared earlier.
Open Fist
Teams work better when they find things in common. Stronger teams reduce turnover, increase pleasant interactions, and improve productivity.
Participants from Hell
This is a structured sharing activity that enables us to explore techniques for handling participants who disrupt interactive training sessions.
Different teams receive envelopes labeled with different types of disruptive participants. Participants brainstorm guidelines for handling disruptive behaviours, record the guidelines on a card, and place the card inside the envelope.
Teams rotate the envelopes and generate guideline cards for handling other types of disruptive participants. During the evaluation round, team members review the guideline cards generated by other teams and identify the top five suggestions.