Show & Share: Open Give & Get

Format: There was no guest presenter this time. Sue opened the floor for attendees to share (“gives”) tips, conference takeaways and favorite activities, and to ask the group for help (“gets”). Following is a list of ideas that came from the discussion. 

1. Activities shared

Trivial Pursuit pie challenge (from Matt Ames)

• Matt used this to liven up some dry material. It's active, fun, tied to the content, and easy for any trainer to recreate.
• Each table had a colored envelope with a question.
• Teams worked out the answer together and checked it with the facilitator. A correct answer earned the matching colored pie piece.
• Teams rotated from table to table, and the first to fill their pie won.
  
• The same idea works with colored LEGO pieces, which teams then use to build something together. (Nora)

“Build a duck” / “draw a ___” activities

• Build a Duck: Simple instructions get interpreted very differently, which makes it a strong lesson about communication. And, one word can really change the exercise, like if you say, Build a Wacky Duck!" By adding 1 word, "wacky," to your instructions, you instantly invite groups to exaggerate, experiment, and create something unexpected. A strange duck becomes something to celebrate, not apologise for. [Idea from Miriam O'Donoghue]
• The key (Nora): Personalization. It isn’t just a duck, it’s my duck.
• Inclusion angle: A participant who has run “What the Duck” many times uses it for DEIB sessions, since everyone’s six-block duck is different and every duck is amazing.
• Draw a sunset (Sheila): Everyone’s drawing looks about the same. Change one word (“draw the best sunset you’ve seen”) and everyone draws something different, because it brings up a personal memory.
• Draw a present (from Kerri Price): “Draw a present” gets boxes with bows. “Draw your favorite present” gets a ring, a bottle of wine, a bicycle.

“Where can I get one of those?” (Ken)

• Ken used this with sales teams. Each table gets an item (a laptop, a speedboat) and has to get the facilitator to say, “Where can I get one of those?”
• The only way to get there is good questions and follow-up questions.
• The twist is that the item usually isn’t for the facilitator. The laptop is for a relative, for example.
• It shows how quickly people make assumptions and head down the wrong path.

2. Discussion: Fun vs. purpose

Ken’s question: Ken is new to ATD, UK-based, and a retired trainer of technical pre-sales teams. He asked how these activities add value beyond fun, especially with technical audiences.

The debrief is everything (Sue)

• Start with the takeaways you want people to leave with, then pick the experience that gets them there.
• Always have a specific reason for the activity.

Don’t throw away the fun (Nora)

• An enjoyable start tells people this training won’t be torture.
• It builds safety and connection before you get to the content.
• Be explicit about why you’re doing it. People are tortured enough at work.

Desirable difficulty (Ken)

• Struggle helps learning stick. When people finally get it, they can’t un-understand it.
• It’s a combination of fun and challenge, not one or the other.
• Ken disagrees with handing out photocopies of all your notes. It gives learners everything on a plate, and most never look at them.

3. WIDGET Gears - an easy assessment to determine your "Working Genius" (Renee)

• Renee introduced the "Working Genius type" before taking the assessment.
  • The six types spell WIDGET: Wonder, Invention, Discernment, Galvanizing, Enablement, Tenacity.
  • The framework is Patrick Lencioni’s. He also wrote The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and The Ideal Team Player.
  • She uses cogged gears to make the framework visual, as well.
• In addition to the W.I.D.G.E.T. Model, her give is: When your activities are memorable, people take them back to their own teams.

4. Conference & networking takeaways

Conferences mentioned

• ATD Core 4
• SHRM (Renee and Laurel attended)
• Great Game of Business
• CultureCon (Madison, WI)
• The New England ATD conference
• The Training conference in Orlando each February. Sue spoke there last year, and both Sue and Sheila missed this year’s call for proposals.

TQ, or “tech quotient” (Sue, from the New England ATD conference)

• Being comfortable with technology, rather than scared of it, is now a competitive skill.

Go to the after-hours events (Renee)

• One contact from a happy hour at CultureCon introduced Renee to Monica at the NEA.
• That led to a two-day engagement with Monica’s team in DC.
• The side events, not just the breakouts and main stage, are where lasting connections form.

Get involved locally (Sue)

• Joining an ATD chapter, and especially serving on a board, has been Sue’s biggest networking eye-opener this year.

5. People worth following

• Kerri Price (New Zealand/Australia)
• Kassy LaBorie
• Patrick Lencioni
• Chad Littlefield
• Amy Climer
• Becky Pike Pluth (The Bob Pike Group / Creative Training Techniques)
• Michelle Courtney Berry. She spoke on leadership and signals of disengagement and is an upcoming Show & Share guest.
• Artrell Williams and Jasmine Webster, who are active in local ATD chapters