WorkSMART Blog

Emotional intelligence is one of the most challenging leadership skills to develop. Coaches and trainers appreciate the importance of developing Emotional Intelligence (EQ or EI), but struggle with the best ways to do it. Drawing on the tools and expertise of EQ specialists, a wide range of emotional intelligence activities and emotional intelligence exercises are now available. We’ve curated the best tools we could find, so the only challenge now is selecting and adapting these tools to your needs. Daniel Goleman: The father of EQ Most emotional intelligence group exercises conducted today are built upon Daniel Goleman’s groundbreaking work in the 1990s. He explained the importance of EQ and defined its framework in terms of these five components: Self-Awareness Self-Regulation Social Skills Empathy Motivation To develop your team’s Emotional Intelligence, consider this range of five types of emotional intelligence activities, and find options for each below: Self-Assessment Tests Conversation Starters Photo IDs Role Plays Skill Development Games Developing a Vocabulary of Emotions 1. EI/EQ Self-Assessment Tests An assessment is a great way to start all types of emotional intelligence games, exercises, and activities. Several self-assessment tests are available for purchase: Emotional Intelligence Skills Assessment Facilitator’s Set (EiSA): This EiSA set includes everything a trainer, facilitator, or team manager will need to conduct EI assessments with their groups: Facilitator Guide PowerPoint Presentation on Flash Drive Sample Self-Assessment Sample Participant Workbook BlueEQ: The BlueEQ was developed by social and behavioral scientists, instructional psychologists, and psychometricians for use by organizations and individuals. It is comprehensive and very well regarded. 2. Conversation Starters Thumballs – During these emotional intelligence activities, participants toss a ball imprinted with conversation prompts and ask recipients to respond to the prompt under their thumb. Emotional Intelligence starts with understanding and listening to those around you. Use the balls to initiate get-to-know-you discussions, or talk more deeply about trust, change management, and common ground. After listening to a player’s response, discuss the unspoken emotions they expressed as they spoke. The EQ Thumball Set has an assortment of 5 balls to promote discussion through your emotional intelligence workshop. If you prefer a deck, the UNZiP-IT! Decks offer similar prompts but are conducive to a quieter activity. And, if you’re working remotely, try the convenient PowerPoint-base UNZiP-IT! Remote Sets, an online conversation-starter experience. Emotional Intelligence Thumball: Each conversation prompt on the Emotional Intelligence Thumball indicates the skill with which it is associated. Use the two-letter EQ skill codes (MO, SA, SR, EM, and SS), to build awareness of the skills while building the skills themselves! For example: “What contributes to distrust?” is followed by for Empathy “How could someone regain composure after snapping?” lists for Self-Regulation “What holds you back from being your best YOU?” has for Self-Awareness 3. Photo IDs for Emotional Intelligence Activities Conversation Decks – Photo Decks offer loads of images that evoke emotion. To build an EQ vocabulary, have players select a card and discuss the emotions that it suggests. Feelings Decks – Innovative Resources has a bundle of card decks, such as Stones Have Feeling Too, The Bears, and Funky Fish Feelings, that illustrate a range of emotions. Choose a card and discuss the emotions it reflects. Alternatively, ask players to choose a card that illustrates how they feel now or how they felt when they woke up this morning. Assertive – Passive – or Aggressive? – One of our LinkedIn group members suggests the following emotional intelligence activities: “If you are exploring emotional intelligence in customer service, I have designed an activity of placing images of individuals displaying various emotions and ask the learners in groups to determine whether the image is assertive, passive or aggressive. This social learning activity on emotional intelligence can then be developed for customer service agents by asking how that customer would sound via phone, and how they would deal with those particular behaviours. It always creates a starting point for looking at customer experience.” ~ Katrina Felgate 4. Role Play Dealing with Impulsive Reactions One trigger of emotional intelligence issues involves the ability to control impulsive reactions. One LinkedIn writer suggested these easy role-play scenarios, which we’ve embellished a little bit. For these emotional intelligence activities, feel free to use a scenario below or customize one based on your own experiences. First, have participants discuss in groups of 2 or 3, then open the discussion up to the larger group: Hassan brings a Tomato. Toni bangs on the tomato, getting herself (and Hassan) dirty. How might Toni respond? Tanisia rides her bike on the wrong side of the street. To avoid a collision, she abruptly stops in front of Roberto’s car. Roberto stops short in front of her, spilling hot coffee and papers all over the car. How might Roberto react? Carson attends his performance review meeting. His boss brings up a past incident of insubordination that was never previously mentioned or addressed. Still, the boss presents Carson with a formal notice that will go in his personnel file and prevent him from getting a year-end bonus. ~ Santhanam Chakravarti 5. Emotional Intelligence Activities & Games EQ GAME – This amazing emotional intelligence group exercise lets players practice emotional intelligence skills! Players pick an EQ Game Situation Card and read it aloud (the game includes 50 of these Situation Cards). Next, players choose a Self-Awareness Card that describes how they’re feeling. They also play a few EQ Skills Cards (Self-Management, Social Awareness, or Relationship Skills), which might help them deal with the sticky situation. The goal of the EQ game is to provide practice in emotional intelligence skills. The Deck includes: Situation Cards (50): Self-Awareness/Self-Management focused situation, followed by 2 questions; Social Awareness / Relationship Skills situation, followed by 4 questions. Response Cards (54): Self-Awareness Cards and EQ Skills Cards (60 color-coded cards for Self-Management, Social Awareness, and Relationship Skills) In addition, trainers who may want quick emotional intelligence activities for a larger group of up to 25 participants can use the Situation Cards can be used by themselves. The game has enough Situation Cards for up to 25 people, who can work in groups of 4-6 to discuss the situations described on the cards and figure out the emotionally intelligent way to respond. Developing Emotional Intelligence Coaching Cards – The Developing Emotional Intelligence Coaching Card Deck encourages reflection and discussion of self-awareness and self-development. Use the deck to effectively develop your team’s emotional intelligence during training courses and workshops. This deck, specifically designed for emotional intelligence exercises, includes: 48 cards arranged in 4 colored suits to correspond to the emotional intelligence model. 4 summary cards unique to this product range. 3 set-up and suggested use cards to get you started with the emotional intelligence activity. A unique emotional intelligence matrix direction picture card to illustrate the EQ journey. Pocket-sized deck in a protective case to go everywhere with you Create emotional discomfort in team games – You may be able to convert a familiar team-building game into an EQ development game by building in limitations that will add challenge or stress. Then, when debriefing the exercise, you can discuss the emotions or frustrations they may have experienced, and develop a vocabulary for those feelings. For instance, you might: Blindfold some of the players during a game See if they can complete a task with only non-verbal communication Limit the time they have to complete a task 6. Developing a Vocabulary of Emotions (EQ Wheel of Emotions – source unknown) One of the top challenges is to develop a vocabulary of emotions and feelings. Two models for understanding emotional intelligence are the Wheel of Emotions and the Emotions Grid. Wheel: Ask “How are you feeling?” – See how many people instinctively reply, “fine.” Then show them an adaptation of the Robert Plutchik Wheel of Emotions and ask how they REALLY FEEL. We have so many words to describe feelings; encourage your group to find the words that reflect their true emotions. Matrix: On an emotional Mood Matrix, you find Intensity or Energy on one axis, and Pleasantness on the other. Emotions are sorted in this manner. Several card decks of emotions identify emotions according to these quadrants including Playmeo’s Emoji Deck and the Emotions Card Deck. Building EQ Remember, any effort you put into developing Emotional Intelligence will be well worth your time. According to Dan Goleman’s book, Emotional Intelligence: Why It CanMatter More than IQ, high “EQ” is associated with better decision-making and greater profitability. Decision Making – High EQ leaders engage their teams more effectively, improve the culture and communication in their workplace, and achieve better results. EQ Pays – A study of 186 executives compared their EQ scores with their company’s profitability; the two were found to be directly correlated!   Read More about Emotional Intelligence Activities PositivePsychology.com – tons of articles and activities for Emotional Intelligence Conversation Decks – oodles of uses for photo decks Why Emotional Wheels are Helpful – explore different wheels and ways to use them

A handful of online learning sessions with expert facilitators Amy Climer and Chad Littlefield added a few more tricks to my repertoire. The two modeled a handful of get ‘em talking techniques and conversation starters that I’ll be happy to replicate at my next session, live or online! Hopefully, they’ll do the trick for you too. First Words: The Sooner the Better Chad credited Priya Parker, author of The Art of Gathering with saying, “If you can get people to use their larynx in the first 5-7% of the gathering, they’re more likely to use it in the rest of the 95% of the event.” The challenge for facilitators, therefore, is to get people to speak as quickly as possible in any meeting or gathering where participation is essential. Here are a few tips to help make it happen: Get Vocal Tell the group you’re all going to try to “break Zoom.” Invite everyone to unmute themselves. Then, when you say, “go,” ask everyone to say hello at the same time, in whatever language you prefer. 3-2-1-GO. If you’re meeting in person, you can try the same thing. Say “hello” to the group and insist on a greeting back from everyone. If the group is too quiet, say “That was lame, let’s try it again!” Alternatively, make it a game, performance-style: “When I say ‘hey’ you say ‘ho.’ Hey … Ho… Hey … Ho.” Opening Poll Polling tools can make it super easy for every person to engage. Additionally, the facilitator and participants get a snapshot of the whole group. For further give and take later in the session, the facilitator can refer back to the survey/polling results or ask the participants to reflect on the results. Chats and Chat Storms Ask participants to find and open the Chat field. Start with an easy question in Chat. For example, you might ask, “What is one of your favorite topics of conversation.” NOTE: any time you ask for a “favorite,” be sure to say “one of your favorites,” as that makes questions much easier to answer. Regular Chat Either, have everyone respond and “send” their response when they’re ready. Chat Storm Instead of sending responses when each person is ready, try a “chat storm” instead: Set-up: Tell participants NOT to send their replies immediately. Rather, request that they write their answer to the questions, but don’t hit “send” until you give the go-ahead. Pause, then say, “3-2-1-GO!” When responses are in, ask everyone to review the Chat and identify another person’s response that they are naturally curious about. Ask one participant to unmute and ask that person a question about their response. Why storm?: The advantages of a chat storm include: 1) its fun factor; 2) the lack of distraction when thinking about your own reply; and 3) an opportunity for participants to interact with one another. Chat Networking If, at some point during the session, you invited participants to type in their title and organization. Later on, you might encourage them to take a moment to look up and down the chat for someone whose profile intrigues them. Welcome them to consider that person a secret buddy. Moreover, at the end of the session, suggest that participants share their LinkedIn profiles, in case they want to connect with those buddies down the road. Going Deeper: Diving into More Meaningful Conversation After getting folks to utter their first words and make basic connections, you might look for ways to deepen the conversation — online or face-to-face. You can accomplish this with a thoughtful question, image, or quotation. Because the success of your effort may lie in the prompt that you use, take time to consider it fully or draw from a deck of carefully curated questions such as the UNZIP-it! Decks or WeConnect Cards. Use Images Images, photographic or illustrated like Climer Cards, can also lead to wonderfully rich conversations. As Daniel Pink, NYT best-selling author, said, “If a picture is worth a thousand words, a metaphor is worth a thousand pictures.” Indeed, images and metaphors – comparisons between two things that aren’t alike but have some things in common – are incredibly powerful because they allow speakers to: Weave several different ideas together Engage creative thinking Bring more nuance to an idea Go deeper more quickly Poignant Prompts for Image-based Conversation Starters While a good selection of images will do most of the work, these prompts will help participants draw the most out of them: For Team Development: Pick a card that represents… (or is a symbol or a metaphor for…) … a change you want to make Your definition of… (conflict, teamwork, etc.) A wish you have for our team A hope you have for our company’s future Where we are in our project How you feel when you’re on your way to a team meeting Who you are in our team For Evaluations: Choose an image that reflects how you feel you’re doing in your job; a career aspiration; a change you want to make professionally For Icebreakers: Pick an image that represents… A quality you’re proud of Something you recently learned about yourself A quality or experience that will help you succeed in the session For Connections: Pick an image that represents… Your connection to the content… A question you want to ask someone else For Session Reviews… Find an image that relates to one idea you’d like to hold on to a month from now or year from now Facilitation Tips and Tricks A few more quick reminders, to enhance your gathering and promote the exchange of ideas: Be clear with instructions: Say, for instance, “In 1 minute, share your name, which image you selected and why (watch the time and use the whole time, not just a quick one-word answer)” Make starting easier: Suggest an easy way to determine who should speak first (i.e. person with the shortest hair) Add context: For any prompt or question, remember you can always add a context (i.e. If asking about goals, feel free to specify … at work; …at home; …during this session) Get creative: If you have a set of questions you love and a set of images, pair the two together. Give People an “Out” Before launching into a conversation starter exercise, with the hope of deep conversation, be sure to set expectations and remind them that they always have complete agency in terms of how they answer a question. Explain, “You have 100% choice in how you answer a question. When you see a question or prompt, you can reply in any way that feels safe: Share “lite” or frivolous answers Delve into deeper, self-reflective answers, or stories Take a pass Choose a different question Form Small Groups Many feel more comfortable sharing in small, more private, and intimate groups. Whether you’re gathering in person or online, it’s easy to structure activities to facilitate small-group sharing. Building Community With so much talk about the epidemic of loneliness and crises in mental health, the more we can do to share more honestly and more deeply with our fellow humans, the better. Let’s take time to use questions to build relationships, understanding, and community. Thanks to Amy Climer and Chad Littlefield for their inspiration! Read More on Conversation Starters How Deep Will You Go? 7 Tips for Formulating Great Questions Choosing What to Share  

Use your Halloween candy for training adults or teaching kids. Try these Halloween-inspired facilitation tricks and treats and make the most of the Halloween season in your training sessions: Icebreakers Favorites? Ask your group what their favorite Halloween candy is. Let them know that even though yours is “Candy Corn” you’ll try hard not to make any more “corny” jokes. Memory Test Ask your teams how many different types of Halloween candy they can remember. For the team that thinks up the most unique entries (that no other teams got), toss them a piece of candy. Chocolatey Treats: 100 Grand, 3 Musketeers Bars, Almond Joy, Baby Ruth Bars, and, Bit-o-honey, Butterfinger Bars, Charleston Chew, Chunky Bar, Clark Bars, CowTales, Fireballs, Junior Mints, Kit Kat, Krackle – Hershey, Life Saver, M&Ms, Malted Milk balls, Mars, Mentos, Mike & Ikes, Milky Way Bars, Milky Way Midnight Bars, Mounds, Mr. Goodbar – Hershey, Nestle Crunch, Oh Henry, PayDay, Reeses, Rolos, Snickers, Snickers Bars, Sugar Babies, Tootsie Rolls, Twix Bars, York Peppermint Patties. Fruity favorites: Air Heads, Blow pops, Bottle Caps, Gummi Bears, Jolly Rancher, Jujy Fruits, Laffy Taffy, Lemon Heads, Nerds, Now & Later, Skittles, Pez, Pop Rocks, Razzles, Sour Patch kids, Spree, Star Burst, Swedish Fish, Sweet Tarts, Tootsie Pops. Candy Slogans The website sporcle.com has a bunch of trivia-type games that challenge individuals or groups to come up with a series of answers to a category challenge. In this example, teams must look at the “Slogan” below and come up with the Candy it advertises. Melts in your mouth, not in your hand (M&M’s) Taste the rainbow (Skittles) Makes mouths happy (Twizzlers) Two for me, none for you (Twix) Hungry? Why wait? (Snickers) Sometimes you feel like a nut. Sometimes you don’t (Mounds and Almond Joy) Crispety, crunchety, peanut-buttery (Butterfinger) A lighter way to enjoy chocolate (3 Musketeers) Get the sensation (York Peppermint Patty) It’s more than a mouthful… (Whatchamacallit) Gimme a break (Kit-Kat) Share Something Juicy (Starburst) Comfort in every bar (Milky Way) For the Kid in You (Nestlé Crunch) That’s Rich! (100 Grand) Perfect (Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups) The Great American Chocolate Bar (Hershey Bar) How many licks does it take to get to the center of… (Tootsie Pop) Curiously strong … (Altoids) Stay fresh (Mentos) Thicker-er (Chunky by Nestle) Double your pleasure, double your fun (Doublemint gum) Smoking prohibited, PEZing allowed (Pez) Participation Hacks Candy Treats: Perhaps one of the easiest ways to use Halloween candy for training is to toss a miniature candy bar to the first participants to answer a question or share an idea. You’ll be sure to get lots of people raising their hands to contribute when they see the enticement! Non-Candy Treats: Of course, sweet treats are most popular at this time of year. However, for the calorie-conscious, try creating your own Scratch Tickets,and write in your own fun treats. Pipe-cleaners: Learning is inherently a creative process as our brains reform to absorb new information. Stimulate your learners’ creativity with Pipe Cleaners. They can either fiddle with the pipe cleaners during the learning event, or work with table-mates to form a topic-relevant structure. Develop Metaphors for Learning Points Okay, I realize some of these are a push, but maybe it will push all of us to think creatively! Now & Laters: For project and time management. And for encouraging people to get things done right away, rather than procrastinating. Good & Plenty: For strategic planning as well as hopeful thinking for the months and years to come. Smarties: For superlative learning and drawing the smarts out of every good brain in the room. Butterfingers: For excellent handiwork, fast fingers, and gracefully dealing with problems that arise. Charms: Charms lollipops, for mind-blowing customer service. $100,000 Bar: Identify winning actions and behaviors that yield results. M&Ms: What it takes to succeed is Methodology and Mastery. Snickers: The ability to laugh at oneself (and not laugh at others is key). Halloween-inspired Debriefs Fill an UNZIP-it! pocket with favorite Halloween candies. Then ask your group to share accordingly: Starburst – a big idea you learned Smarties – a smart way you’ll apply your learning M&Ms – a Memory that will lead to Mastery Dum Dum – ask a dum or not-so-dumb question 1,000,000 Bar – your one-in-a-million idea Almond JOY – a joyful learning moment Reeses – two ideas that came together for you Milky Way – an idea that expanded your thinking Snickers – something that makes you laugh Dots – a way you’ve “connected the dots” Twizzler – something that still twists your mind Bottle Caps: Don’t bottle up your potential. Discuss what you’ll share Snickers: Just for fun, tell a stupid joke and have a laugh Lifesavers: Share some “life-saving” info Whoppers: Identify huge learning moments Creative Kudos for Learning Get creative in sharing your appreciation and kudos. Jot a note and leave the treat at a colleague’s or learner’s workstation: Almond JOY – you put JOY into our day Baby Ruth – you “hit it out of the park” Milky Way – your work is outta this world! Kit Kat – you deserve a break today Mr. Goodbar – your GOOD work raises the BAR! Mounds – you deserve MOUNDS of appreciation Whoppers – you did a WHOPPER of a job! Junior Mints – celebrate Learning Mo-MINTS Reeses – you brought two new concepts together M&Ms – magnificent & marvelous accomplishments Skittles – you made our day colorful Swedish Fish – O-FISH-ally accomplished! HAPPY HALLOWEEN AND HAPPY TRAINING!

Here’s the problem with trust-building games, you don’t build trust by playing a game. You can play any number of blindfold games, trust falls, or team-building games, and you’ll likely end up just where you started. Why? That’s just not how people build trusting relationships. Sorry. Not sorry. Trust is developed in an iterative loop through communication, relationship building, and sharing vulnerability. While this might happen in a very well-structured game, I wouldn’t count on it. Instead, focus on how to have conversations that will build relationships and foster trust. How to Get Started? First, ditch the trust-building game. Mind your Ps and Qs during Trust-Building Conversations While there’s no single right answer about where, when, or how you have these conversations, these guidelines will help. If you plan to have a “mighty” conversation, be sure to mind your Ps and Qs: Private-ish: Respect that deeper conversations might be more welcome in a smaller, more private setting. Find a place that’s free from distractions. Pause: Don’t expect to dive right into the deepest topic on your list. Ease into it and build slowly to more thoughtful questions. Give participants time to consider their responses before speaking or sharing. Quiet -If participants need to yell over loud voices or music, they’re less likely to share intimate, vulnerable, or insightful thoughts and reflections. Questions: Ask respectful questions that enable those answering to share only what’s comfortable, not feeling put on the spot. Appreciate power dynamics, employer/employee relationships, and other factors that might inhibit full sharing. Quality, not quickness: Don’t rush through important conversations. Be sure you have enough time to confirm understanding, avoid misconceptions, and share empathy. Pick a Process Feel free to have a freestyle conversation. However, you can also spice it up and make it fun with conversation starter tools like Thumballs and Conversation Decks–each of which will feel like a custom-made trust-building game! An advantage of a Thumball is it brings a sense of fun to otherwise serious topics. Balls also make the experience more physical, engaging the mind and body. Card decks, similarly, create a fun and more physical experience. The randomness of questions can also make the experience of deep conversations less off-putting. Cards with images can also lend themselves to creative thinking, metaphorical responses, and unanticipated stories. Question Topics that Build Trust With a bit of practice, you’ll find it easier than you think to avoid conversations about the weather, favorite foods, how busy you are, or the traffic on the freeway. The following 9 topics are key to developing deeper, more meaningful, and more trusting relationships. Moreover, you can delve into the topics in ways that don’t feel inappropriate or intrusive. Rather, they open people up to reflection and sharing: Past experiences – how have your upbringing and history shaped who you are today Happiness – the places, things, or activities that bring happiness Accomplishments – what you’ve done that’s made you feel proud. Goals – identify those that inspire you and those you have yet to tackle Frustration – the challenges and obstacles that create frustration Causes – which causes are worth fighting for, or investing in Honesty – when it’s appropriate to bend the truth; the impact of dishonesty Values – discuss which values most drive you (this can be fun and easy with the help of a values card deck) People – who are the people who guide you, ground you, lead you, and have your back If you prefer to use a team-building or trust-building game–like Pipelines, TeamWriter, Square Rope, Trust Falls–prior to launching into the “real” conversations that build trust, carefully consider your debriefing questions. In any game, true learning comes from the discussion after the game. So, try to tie your debrief questions to some of the above themes. Making it Fun I think facilitators are drawn to trust-building games because they appreciate that fun experiences help break down barriers, reduce stress, foster friendship, and make players more open to sharing. While all this is true, developing deep, trusting relationships is hard work, which requires people to be vulnerable with one another. Vulnerability often feels inappropriate if you’re at work, leading a team, or projecting an image of power, capability, and self-control. Counter-intuitively, sharing vulnerability and building trust with others makes leaders and managers better at what they do. Read More on Building Trust From Team Bonding to Team Building Building Relationships through Shared Vulnerability The Pillar of Trust Building Relationships Through Better Communication

September seems to be “the” season for onboarding and orientation. Grade schools, universities, and corporations welcome new students and new employees. Those of us who celebrate Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, in the early Fall are also accustomed to celebrating the harvest and time of renewal. We have a tradition of dipping apples in honey, symbolizing hope for the sweet new year. We atone for any wrongdoings in the previous year, so we can start with a clean slate. And, we eat round challah loaves, symbolizing the continuity of the seasons (or some might say, the spiral of upward progress). As exciting as these new opportunities might be, however, stress and anxiety tend to surge. In an attempt to dissipate worries, teachers and trainers conduct loads of orientation games and onboarding activities to help their incomers become familiar with their new surroundings, build relationships, set expectations, and build a positive foundation upon which to grow. While many of the activities* listed here are designed to be conducted in person, many can be adapted for remote workers or learners. Orientation and Onboarding Activities and Tips The broad range of creative games, activities, and approaches to new hire orientation (curated from a variety of sources), fall into five basic categories: Introductions – getting to know who’s who through playful conversation prompts and games Greetings – make a splash when a new employee starts Culture – modeling and sharing the company culture with welcome greetings and surprises Environment – learning about the workspace and locale Job Training – specifics regarding job expectations and performance Let’s look at the plethora of ways to allay fears and enhance the onboarding experience through each of these approaches. 1. INTRODUCTIONS One common source of onboarding stress is the fear of not knowing anyone, uncertainty about where to go for help, and loneliness. Assist new hires and new students in meeting other newbies and fostering connections with the veterans who have been on campus for years (or decades) before them. Get Conversations Flowing M&M Intros –“Pass around a pack of M&Ms and ask all participants to take a random number of M&Ms (between 1 and 5). Once they all make their choice I tell them that each m&m stands for something they have to tell about themselves. For example, red – favorite vacation spot, green – favorite food, yellow – dream job, blue – favorite thing to do outside of work, brown – wild card (can talk about anything). You can modify the questions based on the purpose of the exercise. Posted by Mykola Soldatenko Thumball Conversation Prompts – Every Silver Series Thumball is pre-printed with 30-32 conversation starters. Just toss the ball, pre-printed with conversation starters, and let the fun and connections begin! You can choose to let everyone respond to the same prompt, asking if others might have a similar or different reply, or choose to toss the ball quickly from player to player. Feel free to welcome reluctant players to take a “pass” or answer any question they find on the ball. The purpose, of course, is to break down barriers, not raise defenses! However you choose to facilitate the experience, you’ll likely find a ball that suits the needs of your group: Common Ground Thumball – identify others with whom they share some common ground. Favorites – Share favorite pastimes, places, preferences, and more. What Makes You You – Discover fascinating facts about one another Which are You and Why – Discuss where you fall on a variety of spectrums. Shaped by Our Past – Share past experiences that have made you what you are today. Balloon Burst – Using darts and balloons, insert a simple question into the balloons, fill them with air, and have participants toss a dart to burst a balloon and answer the question (i.e., who was your best boss, what is your favorite fun activity, where was your first job, what did you like/hate about your first job, etc.). Tell participants in advance the types of questions to expect and also insert some gift cards to add some excitement and reward for participating. Make it fun! Bill Mars Discussion Topic Shuffle – Introduce a handful of icebreaker discussion topics found in a card deck to get folks talking. Two Truths And A Lie – This classic game calls on players to make three statements about themselves (one of which is a lie). See if others can guess which one it is. Where In The World – Learn something about the cities, towns, or countries that your new hires have called home. Puzzlers – Introduce puzzler questions that teams can try to solve together. Deeper Connections Team Experiences and Challenges – Create bonding opportunities among smaller teams by setting them up to experience a meaningful challenge together (i.e. ropes courses, cooking a meal, community service, song or artistic creation, etc.) DISC, Strengths Finder, or Color Assessments – Help people get to know each other at a deeper level, and understand which team members bring which skills. Meet Others Around the Office Guess the Baby Photo – gather colleagues’ childhood photos and current photos and have them match them up. Coffee or Lunch Dates – Pair new hires with veterans and tell them to visit a local coffee shop together or grab a bite for lunch. Or, if the pair is remote, they could meet for a virtual coffee. Trade-Up – In Trade-Up, each person tries to trade the low-valued item (i.e. pencil, pin, sticky note) they’ve been given for something of a higher value, by visiting others around the office. Once each person has completed this task within a time frame, all the teams/members will put an agreed value on each item that they have traded up to determine the highest value and the winner. The idea is to help new hires to step out of their comfort zone and get to know people within their new working environment. As they have to return the item(s) back to their owners, new hires would have to remember the person they got the item(s) from. This exercise also leaves lots of room for discussion. You might ask: Why did you choose that person to trade with? (First Impression) What did you do to allow a complete stranger to entrust you with a valuable item just for a Post-it? (Organisation Relationship) How did you approach others? (Body Language) Name Cards – Help out newcomers by posting name cards on doors, offices, or desks to help people remember who’s who. Email Announcement – Announce the new hire to the whole team so they can help, greet, or introduce themselves to the new addition. Org Chart Meet-up – Distribute an org chart to new hires with names, positions, and maybe even photos. Charge them with the task of meeting each person and learning a unique fact about them. This helps break down barriers and sends the message that they are welcome to introduce themselves to the higher-ups. Bingo – Create bingo sheets containing experiences or qualities. Have new hires locate colleagues who have had those experiences listed on the card and collect their signatures. Photo Wall – Include fun pictures of team members on a wall so that newcomers can get to know the names and personalities of who’s who. Buddy System – Match new employees with a veteran to show them around, take them to lunch, introduce them to others, and encourage them to attend meetings.. Activity Sign-up Sheet – Create sign-ups for a local walk, hike, restaurant visit, pick-up game, etc. This can help the newbies feel welcome to participate in an activity and know who else might be attending. Go To List – Distribute a list of who to turn to for answers to different questions Virtual Intros Show and tell about an interesting item found in your home and share its importance to you. Share your fridge – share a fridge photo and let the conversation flow. Trainers Exchange – pick from a variety of conversation prompts on the Trainers Exchange to help groups get to know each other Pick a Card – Try the Climer Cards experience for a creative icebreaker or conversation starter. 2. GREETINGS Address people by name – Call people by the name they prefer to be called. Need an assist, use name tents or name badges. Video Greeting – At a healthcare facility where I previously worked, we created personalized welcome videos for new hires from their supervisor. It was a good way for the candidates to put a face to a name and feel like part of the team even before they started their first day. —Ben Crenca, graduate student, University of Baltimore, former HR specialist Post Their Photo – Prior to new employees starting, we ask them to send us a photo and write a paragraph about their background so we can post those on our intranet site. It shows up in the “featured news” section so everyone sees it when they log in. In addition, we give the new workers a tour of our office and introduce them to everyone. —Ashley Weiner, SHRM-SCP, HR manager, MG2 Architecture, Seattle Sweet Start – Our onboarding process begins with a questionnaire that we send to employees before they start. We find out interesting facts, including what their favorite candy is, and on their first day they arrive to a bag of that candy on their desk. We have a three-day orientation that includes every department. New hires receive a staff directory with everyone’s picture, e-mail, and phone number. —Karen Sharp-Price, HR manager, VoIP Supply, Amherst, N.Y. Swag! – Leave a shirt, mug, or other swag with the company logo at the new employee’s workstation. “We gave new hires company shirts that were all the same color, so other employees knew from afar who they were and could help them get on board.”—Claudia Rozo, International HR consultant, Miami 3. CULTURE Send the message that you mean business when it comes to creating a positive corporate culture or learning environment. Playful welcome packages and habits of peer recognition can send a strong message: “Positivity” Welcome Pack – playfully communicate company values. Give each colleague a “Positivity Pack” with key icons that reflect your organization’s values and personality. It’s fun to include both a memento and a list indicating which value it represents. For instance: Team Squeezy Toys: support and respect the team Smile Ball: Make customers happy! Mini-Sneaker: go the extra mile to improve quality Learning Mo-Mints: keep growing and learning Party Blowout horn: have fun (Fun) Stretchy String: be flexible and open to change Mirror Ball: embrace diverse perspectives Crayons: express your creativity Paper Cut – Each person brings a unique perspective – Give each person an identical piece of paper and tell them to close their eyes. Then, give a series of instructions to fold and tear the paper in specific ways. When you instruct them to open their eyes, have each person unfold their paper and share it with the group. You will see how each person interpreted the instructions differently. This quickly shows that everyone has their own way of processing the training and brings their own unique perspective to the job. Maryanne Muigai Peer-to-Peer Certificates – Build morale and encourage individuals to take notice of one another’s efforts. “For longer orientation events, have the learners prepare certificates for each other. To make the activity work, At the start of the session, randomly distribute certificates that are blank, except for another participant’s name. Allot a few minutes each day (after lunch or before closing) for them to jot down their observations and/or make the certificates using markers, stickers, glitter glue, and other creative tools. At the end of the session, have each person present their certificate to the recipient. The activity reminds everyone of key learning concepts and helps them meld as a group.” Posted online by Julie Biddle 4. ENVIRONMENT Help new hires find their way around the building or the town, with these creative approaches: Scavenger Hunt – Create an in-office and/or neighborhood scavenger hunt, to get the group accustomed to their new surroundings. “On their first day, new hires take a property tour with our Hawaiian cultural advisor to learn the history of the Grand Wailea Resort and the locations of key areas, including pools, restaurants, and the spa. Then we send them on a scavenger hunt on the second day to confirm they understand the layout of the property. They have to solve 10 riddles that reveal the names of various places where they find small baskets of gold coins. The goal is to collect a coin from each basket and make an extraordinary lifetime memory for a guest while on the hunt. —Kristi Millhiser, SHRM-SCP, director of learning and development, Grand Wailea, a Waldorf Astoria Resort, Wailea, Hawaii Go outside! – Meet at a local spot for lunch or a walk outside to learn about the area. 5. JOB TRAINING Jeopardy – “Using Jeopardy games for orientation is fun and competitive. After a week with HR and other departments, our new employees learned all they needed to be productive contributors.” —Claudia Rozo, International HR consultant, Miami Trivia Quiz for New Hires – Test their knowledge while quizzing them on what they’ve learned. Coworker Feud – adapt the familiar TV show, with fun facts about the company and/or employee community. Create Accountability – Onboarding should be a visible element of the organizational strategy, and managers must be held accountable for consistently executing an onboarding plan. A critical disconnect is to not establish performance metrics for hiring managers that address their role in onboarding, talent development, and talent retention—three critical drivers of employee engagement. In the absence of some strategic alignment, managers will focus on what they are held most accountable for. —Zeb G. LeVasseur, HR consultant, Houston Workday Update – In the style of SNL’s “Weekend Update,” ask teams of new hires to give a report from their broadcasting on what they’ve been up to. Discover Company Stories – Pair people up and do a mini-appreciative inquiry by interviewing a cross-section of people who work for the company and some customers. Have them ask and learn about the company by asking: “What is great about this place?”, “Why do people enjoy working for it?”, “Why do customers return?” See who can turn up the best stories. Broaden New-Hire Training to Include Long-Term Employees – Leverage your new employee training by extending the training to long-term employees. Those who have been with the organization for a long time might benefit from thinking about, designing, or learning new approaches. This also helps get everyone on the same page and evolve as a larger group. Tips for the New Hires Themselves Kim Marshall summarizes great articles in his Marshall Memo. Some time ago, he found Keith Rollag’s Harvard Business Review article, “Managing Yourself: Success in New Situations,” where he explored how new hires can help themselves when onboarding into a new job. Making a new hire’s experience successful is a joint effort that requires effort by both the company and the employee. Below are tips for both the new folks coming into a new job and for the managers and trainers who are welcoming them. Rollag suggests these three skills are critical: Introduce yourself “Many people hesitate to do this because of worries about interrupting or bothering people, fear of making mistakes during an introduction, and the possibility of being brushed off. But if you don’t introduce yourself to strangers up front, he says, there’s a strong possibility you will fall into “a pattern of awkward smiles, nods, and waves and never forge critical relationships.” Some pointers: Put yourself in the other person’s shoes. If it were you, you’d probably be delighted to meet the new kid on the block. Practice your opening lines. “Write down, rehearse, and experiment with what you will tell others about yourself,” suggests Rollag. “Note what sustains interest and what causes other people’s eyes to glaze over.” Make the other person feel heard, valued, and respected. “Great first impressions rarely hinge on what you reveal about yourself,” he says; “What matters is how you make your counterpart feel.” Write things down. “Don’t trust your memory,” he advises. “As soon as you can, write down everything you have learned about the person’s background and interests.” Remember Names “More than 80 percent of the leaders Rollag has worked with confess that they have trouble retaining names in a new situation. A British study found that people’s worst fear is forgetting the name of someone being introduced. Doing better at this is a priority since “People feel more warmly toward those who remember crucial information about them, including their names, and that amity can serve as a springboard to fruitful conversations and deeper trust.” Rollag suggests: Commit to focusing and paying attention when being introduced to a new person. Repeat the name up front, and reinforce your recall by retrieving it during the conversation. Write it down afterward. Study and retest your recall, matching names with faces. Use vivid imagery, associating each person with a mental picture and some memorable detail or mnemonic. Use cheat sheets before a meeting to refresh your memory. Ask Questions “I didn’t ask enough questions,” confess many leaders as they think back on their early days in a new organization. Why? Fear of interrupting busy co-workers, not wanting to seem dumb or incompetent, and general insecurity. Try this: Be clear on what you want and why. Information? Advice? Feedback? Assistance? Is this the right person and the right time? “One trick is to ask people during introductions if you can contact them later for advice,” he says. Another is an open-ended question like, “Who might explain how to…?” Use short, to-the-point questions, for example, “Can you show me how to format this report? Five minutes of your time, and I’ll be good to go.” Say thank you and close the loop. “Don’t underestimate the power of gratitude,” says Rollag. It makes people feel valued and more likely to be helpful in the future. Cultivate a go-to buddy – preferably a veteran who still remembers what it’s like to be a newbie.” Find the Right Experience for Your Group With so many options, the biggest challenge is selecting the ones that are best for your group. Always consider your goals and the importance of balancing company-specific learning, with job skill development, and getting-to-know-you activities. Also, remember that September is not the only time we welcome cohorts of new students. Draw on this broad range of resources any time you need to make an individual or group feel welcome, integrated, and included. In addition, consider these approaches for merging organizations or “re-boarding” – that is, bringing long-term employees up to speed on new approaches and practices so that everyone is on the same page. * SnackNation.”; 2) this was originally published in 2017 and was substantially updated and reposted in 2023.> Read more… How To Promote Your Company’s Core Values 18 Games and Activities for Onboarding New Hires Onboarding Mistakes to Avoid And Some Creative Ideas to Adopt (From a SHRM blog)

Training closers can be make-it or break-it experiences. I asked my LinkedIN crew for their suggestions on the best ways to close a learning event for maximum impact and retention. As always, the group came through, sharing their favorite training closers for getting closure at the end of a training day. Use it or Lose it! “I tell the delegates that, despite good intentions, most training is wasted. When they get back to work, they will be overwhelmed by day-to-day demands and will stop thinking about what they learned. Only if they use something from the course in the next 2 days will it become part of what they do. So, I ask each person to think about what work is awaiting them and choose one thing they will do differently at once because of the course. Then I go round and everyone gives their action.” ~ Pamela Hunt “I ask my participants to list three things that they’ll do going forward. Then, I ask that they share their list with their manager and one other person so that they are held accountable. This training closer is simple but effective.” ~ Michelle Johnson. “I like to engage the audience in training to enable not just understanding but applying in the real world! One tip I found was to ask them to review the key points in 24-48 hrs based on the OBJECTIVES of class = learner retention. Second, if there are ACTIONS they can do as ‘follow up’, that’s powerful. Thirdly, if there are former attendees who have been ‘to the field’, I encourage them to connect with them.” ~ Siva Navaratnam Training Closers for Next-Day Prep I close each day and begin the next one by assigning “homework” to review the skills they’ve learned from the agenda that day and think of a way to apply one or more in their current workflow/projects. Then, we begin the next class by having folks share their use cases to hopefully inspire others to connect the dots in new ways.~ Candice Belandres I ask my groups to review their handwritten notes and highlighted handouts for key learning points. Then I do a round-robin, asking each individual to share a key learning point. ~Chris Reavley Every little bit helps… The Starfish Story: “When training customer service or soft skills, I like to end with the starfish story. I typically play a video that I found on YouTube that tells a story. Briefly… A man walks up to a boy throwing starfish back into the ocean as the tide is ebbing. The man tells the boy that there are millions of starfish and his actions won’t help. The boy tosses another and says, it will help that one.’ Explain to your group that they may not be able to help every person in the world, but they can help the one standing in front of them if they put the correct effort into it.” ~ Michelle Johnson Scott’s Moose Story – a metaphor for teamwork, persistence, and continuous improvement: Scott Simmerman has used this for 30+ years, to wrap up sessions and focus on the need for incremental progress. Scott generously shares his slideshare. Here’s a synopsis: Show a slide of key learning points. Ask “Is what we did today a lot like hunting moose…?” Expect confusion, and explain: “a moose … a large horselike animal with antlers.” As expected and intended, they’ll still be puzzled. Tell the story: 3 hunters return to Alaska to hunt moose at the same lake they visited last year. Their pilot flies them in using a float plane and says he’ll return in 3 days. The men have a wonderful, successful hunt. When the pilot returns, the hunters load a moose onto the pontoons. When the pilot says, “Let’s go!” the hunters reply, “not yet, we have two more moose!” After some argument, the pilot relents and they load the other two moose onto the pontoons. When they’re all loaded up, the pilot taxis down the lake, revs the motor, and takes off, moving faster and faster into the air. . Suddenly, the pontoons hit the top of the trees, causing the hunters and gear to go flying. They call out to each to make sure everyone’s okay… After a few minutes, one asks: hey, where are we? They look around and say “looks like we’re about 50 feet farther than last year!” Ask again: how our learning is like hunting moose and hopefully they will see the point. The moral: learning isn’t about final success, but growth, improvement, and incremental progress. Relate it to the real world: how can an improvement of “50 feet” help them and the organization? Group-Write Training Closers Posters: “Set up 3 large, empty poster boards and label them: THINGS I KNOW, THINGS I LEARNED, and THINGS I WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT. I ask each person in the class to write on each poster. Then, we all take a step back to see what the class as a whole can take away or learn more about.” ~ Candace Belandres Whiteboard: Ask them all to jot down keywords ( leanings) or draw on a whiteboard if available and then click a selfie to share with all. ~ Kunal Shrivastava Sticky Notes Stories: Ask the teams to summarize the key takeaways as a small presentation or collate sticky notes on a board with the key takeaways or feedback. You can gamify this by building different picture takeaways or stories and asking teams to guess the takeaway. They might also want to take a selfie with one of the stories or sticky notes. ~ Abhipsa Mishra Letter by Letter: Divide the participants into groups. Give each team a piece of paper with 5 different letters–the letters can spell a word, or be chosen at random. Each team is to come up with 5 different things they learned, each beginning with one of those five letters. It is engaging, recollecting concepts and conjuring words in line with them. ~ Sri Ram Kumar Paper Airplane Give everyone a piece of paper and ask them to write a question that’s been answered during the session. Then have them make a paper plane from that paper. Next, have participants stand in two rows, facing each other. Spend 30 seconds or so throwing the planes back and forth. When time is up, have each person randomly pick up an airplane. In turn, ask each to unfold the plane, read the question, and try and answer it – people on either side can help if needed. No pressure if they can’t… anyone can help answer any question! This training closer and lots more review activities can be found in the 101 Training Activities Book ~ Derek Good Energy & Pizzazz It all depends on the topic and the audience. When I taught sales associates, brain-dead after two weeks of intense training, I would have them cheer at the top of their lungs. I would not let them leave until employees could hear them on the other side of the building. They loved it! Executives would say, “I heard you had another class last week.” If it’s a leadership class, I try to end with an inspiring quote. The point is to have the participants leave on a natural high. ~ Lynda Goldberg Personal Written Reminders Write or illustrate 2-3 things you learned or would like to implement on a blank index card or wallet-sized card. Distribute plastic DocU-Sleeves or baseball card holders to protect the notes for future reference. Write key learning points on a desktop squeeze toy, like a Reminder Hand, Light Bulb, or anything else pertinent to your subject matter. Write a letter to yourself that will be delivered in 30 or 60 days. Highlight something you learned or hope to be reminded of in the future. The facilitator can mail the letters or attendees can keep the notes in a sealed envelope with the writing “DO NOT OPEN UNTIL xx/xx/xx.” Jot some notes on a “3-2-1 I GOT THIS” notepad, including 3 things I learned, 2 actions to apply what I learned, and 1 way I’ll share my learning. Ask questions that require thinking, sharing, and commitment What and When? I ask participants to think about one thing they have learned or enjoyed during the workshop. Then we go around and share it with each other, adding insights to each other’s items. It allows the reviews to come from the learners, and it personalizes the experience for them. Next, I ask, “what’s one thing you will do because you attended?” And, “When will you do it?” What? So What? Now What? The focus of these questions is: What have you learned? So what, what is the significance of the learning? Now what are you going to do or change going forward? Works Well. Do Differently. With these two simple questions, “What worked well?” and “What could you do differently going forward?”, facilitators can help their groups explore what actions foster positive results and where they see opportunities for growth or change. The key is that it frames this self-critical exercise in positive, non-threatening terms. WHOA! AHA! HMM! Ask groups to share their “aha” learning moments, “whoa” experiences that surprised them, and “hmm” pensive, pondering observations. START-STOP-CONTINUE-CHANGE: In this format, participants can write down the actions they hope to start, stop, continue, or change on a set of sticky notes. Download Start-Stop-Continue-Change Teaching Notes “Keep TABBs” on learning. This model was posted on LinkedIn by Kavita Iyer. Takeaway from the ‘event’ Action you will take Barriers that may hinder your progress Benefits of overcoming the barriers and implementing the learning Celebrations and Souvenirs Small Take-Aways: In a corporate training session, I usually have a wrap-up slide and end the session by giving a small souvenir that I have pre-made on various topics such as a bookmark containing a quote or a keychain with a title of the training program. ~ Dr. Saqib A. Siddiqui Appreciation: Seat all participants in a circle and give them a blank sheet of paper. Ask each participant to write their name on the bottom of the sheet and then pass it to their right. Each time a participant receives a sheet of paper, they must write something they appreciate about the person named at the bottom. When all are done writing, those sheets are passed along again and again. Continue until everyone has received and written on every sheet and it’s returned to its starting place. Take a moment while each person reads through all of their peers’ positive reflections. Find complete notes for the exercise here ~ Dr. Nick Heap Gold Stars or Trophies: Reward attendees with a gold star or trophy, then ask them to give an acceptance speech. Hilarious! Read More Mark Dawdy, referenced the Bob Pike Group’s 50 Creative Training Closers, a book chock full of ideas for closing a training event with impact. The Perfect Debrief Download Start-Stop-Continue-Change Teaching Notes

While everyone is out shopping for gifts and toys for the holidays, I thought this a good time to resurface the answers to Angela’s Hannon’s Linked-IN question, “has anyone used board games in a creative way to train on content?” Not surprisingly, she received a slew of creative answers. So, if you find yourself wandering through the game aisle at a toy store, invite yourself to think creatively about how you might use some of those playful games as learning activities. Board Games for Learning These suggestions from fellow group members might get your thoughts flowing: Monopoly – used to teach about money management, investment, poverty, inequality, etc. Who’s the Boss board game … it’s a negotiation/deal-making game great for salespeople and other uses as well. (Suggested by Wayne Bennett) I SPY – for session openers. Ask players to “spy” an item that symbolizes something they hope to learn about in the upcoming session. Game of Life – tweaked for staff to understand budgeting from the standpoint of our clients. (Suggested by Tabatha Dorman) Cranium – for team building. This game involves players singing, acting, drawing, and modeling using play-doh, spelling, logic puzzles, and maths puzzles. To play, break into teams of 4-6. Feel free to hand-pick the prompt cards you want to use. Each team takes turns selecting a card. The facilitator announces the type of activity (e.g. drawing or logic puzzle) and the team selects a member of their group to do the task. To enhance the game you can also make some of the activities ‘All Player’ so all the teams compete at once and the winner is the team who gets the right answer first. Play for as long as you like. The debrief is around different members of the team having different talents/skills/experiences and not everyone is good at everything. Then discuss how they operate as a team and divide responsibilities, playing to strengths and developing each other in new skills). (Suggested by Matthew Moxon) Wits & Wagers – for discussing decision-making processes. This is a crazy trivia game where you bid on the best answer…not always your own. Discuss how you make big decisions in your organization? By listening to the pseudo-experts who tap first, by doing what the boss says, or by trusting your instinct? (Suggested by Francois Lavallee) Snakes and Ladders – for process training. The ladders represent the correct ways and snakes when it is an incorrect choice. (Suggested by DanThy Nguyen) Candyland – for content reinforcement. I use a stack of colored construction paper and index cards with one or two colored squares drawn on them (mimicking the cards in the real game). I arrange the paper in a pattern on the floor (making a life-sized game-board) and split the group up into teams. Each team designates a pawn to draw cards and to walk around the floor game board if their team answers a question correctly. Then you as the instructor can create whatever questions you want (e.g. “name three ways to do XYZ,” or “how might you handle ABC?”), or have each team develop questions to ask the other team about the material covered. It’s a lot of fun and gets people up and moving after lunch or at the end of the day. (Suggested by Tracey Connolly) Bananagrams – for learning reinforcement. Challenge teams to build their “bananagram” with content-relevant keywords. Aside from these, there are of course, many computer-based and TV-game show types of games. But, Angela asked for Board Games, and our community answered. Do you have a favorite board game? Let’s add it to the list! Read more… Other Learning Games for Specific Content.

Several years ago, I attended a two-day marketing conference. At the end, a colleague asked: “So, what are your top takeaways?” Exhausted from sitting, listening, and learning, my brain was so overloaded, I couldn’t quickly gather my thoughts to provide an answer. Compared to conference settings, teachers and trainers are typically better at debriefing learning events, recognizing AH-HA moments, and consolidating learning so it sticks. As a training consultant, I know that articulating “next steps” is the most critical question to ask and answer, to ensure that the time spent in learning leads to changes in either thinking or behavior. After all, creating a memorable debrief is the whole point, right? Over the years, I’ve come across dozens of debrief tools and questions. Following are 30+ favorites, divided into four categories, so you can find the ones you need: The Debrief A time for processing and discussion whereby you review, experience, and extract key learning points. Debrief Frameworks Debrief Activities Memorable Moments The Commitment Exercises for an Excellent Debrief The optimal method you employ for debriefing a learning event will certainly depend on your topic. Presented here are a range of ideas that will likely get your creative juices flowing. Thanks to those who submitted suggestions via LinkedIn. Frameworks for Debriefs 1. What? So What? Now What? The focus of these questions is: What have you learned? So what, what is the significance of the learning? Now what are you going to do or change going forward? 2. Playing Card Debrief Use standard playing cards as a debriefing tool. Deal the cards, one or more to each participant, and invite reflection or comments specific to the suit they’ve been dealt: HEART: reflect something felt by the heart during the day. SPADE: share something that was dug up during the day, or perhaps something that was cultivated. DIAMOND: identify something that was precious or valuable CLUB: consider something that will grow in the future. OPTION: limit your “deck” to the lower numbered cards (Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5). Deal the cards and ask pairs of participants to share as many comments/observations as their card number suggests. 3. Start. Stop. Continue. Change. Debrief On the last page of the workbook have attendees write four words: start, stop, continue, change. After the training ask participants to go to that page and respond to those four prompts: Based on their learning what are they going to start doing and stop doing? What will they continue doing? How will they change up what they’re doing? This helps them focus on what they’ve learned and what they’re actually going to do when they get back to work or home. This method, first introduced to our group by Dian Anderson, has been embellished by scores of others. Following are some facilitation suggestions to maximize the effectiveness of this technique. I ask participants to go to the last page in their workbooks and challenge themselves in one or more of these areas. I then ask volunteers to stand and share their personal challenges with the group. Posted by Melissa Wood My variation, using Green, Yellow, and Red Cards, can be particularly useful in longer sessions, as a tool to engage the audience. Periodically, throughout the learning event, I hold up a particular card and engage the group in a discussion about a Green Behavior, which should be continued; Red Behavior, which needs to stop; or Yellow behaviors, over which we should be watchful and proceed cautiously. Posted online by Sajan Nair Another trainer I know (thanks Sonja!) has provided postcards and stamps at the end of workshops for people to write their comments using something like Start-Stop-Continue-Change – they get their own postcard back in the mail in a few days, as a reminder. Posted online by Fiona Clapham Howard I like to get folks up off their feet, so I have laminated road signs that say START STOP CONTINUE CHANGE. I ask participants to go to the last page in their workbooks and challenge themselves in one or more of these areas. Then………be prepared to share with the group! I then ask volunteers to stand and choose one of these road signs (hold it up to the class) and share with the group what they have challenged themselves to do! Melissa Wood Several have added the word SHARE to the quartet. They’ll ask: Who needs you to share the information you learned with them? You can also simplify this into a Traffic Light Debrief and let learners plan what will they do differently when they return to the workplace: Red – STOP DOING Amber – IMPROVE/DO MORE OF Green – START DOING, their own personal action plan! Posted online by Orla Leydon 4. Circle. Square. Triangle. After being presented with new content, asks students to jot down three things: Circle: What’s still going around in your head? What do you still not understand? Square: What’s squared away? What do you really understand? Triangle: What three things could you use in your life, work, or studies? Debrief Activities 5. Think, Pair, Square, Share 1) Individual thinking/reflection time2) Share thoughts with one colleague3) Two pairs form a ‘square’ of four; continue discussion4) One spokesperson shares their groups’ thoughts Posted online by Melanie Rawlings 6. Closing Circle An end-of-the-school-day ritual whereby the teacher sets aside 10 minutes for some calm reflection on the day. The rules are: everyone takes part; they come empty-handed, without backpacks or coats; they are asked to reflect on the day and set goals for the next day, celebrate efforts and accomplishments, and; join together in a playful cheer or song. “Closing Circle,” Responsive Classroom. February 2011> 7. Circular Interviewing This technique can be used as a feedback and consolidation exercise, an ice-breaker, a stand-alone exercise for practicing listening and, more specifically, questioning skills. Have your group sit in a circle, and explain to them: “Each of you will ask the person opposite two OPEN questions. The topic of your first question should be anything related to the purpose of and desired outcomes for the training. The second question must relate to the first answer i.e. you’re developing the other person’s idea and deepening your understanding of it. If you begin a closed question, I’ll simply ask you to reword it. The second questioner will be the person sitting next to the current questioner, and so on around the circle until everybody has asked and been asked two questions.” Posted online by Michael Mallows 8. Tree of Knowledge On a whiteboard or flipchart, draw a tree (just a trunk with branches, no leaves.) Then, give the participants post-its, to write down what they learned to help them grow. Ask participants to stick the notes on the tree. The post-its act like leaves for the tree. The more “leaves,” the more they feel they have learned. To close the activity, I ask the group to remember what the tree looked like without leaves–when they lacked the knowledge gained in training. Then we discuss what we need to do “feed the tree.” To remember and apply our new knowledge, we must start from the roots. This makes a nice segue to the Start, Stop, Continue, Change model. Posted by Kemi 9. A Picture’s Worth . . . / MindMaps / Visual Chunking This has been recommended by several trainers, each putting their own spin on it: For a creative and visual ending, provide delegates with colored pens and plain paper. Ask delegates to create a picture or image representing a key learning point for them. Then, have each share their picture with the group. You can post all of the pictures on the wall as a collage or invite delegates to take the picture away with them. If the group pools together their lessons learned, you might follow up by asking them to create one picture that sums up the learning for the group. Posted by Rosemary Bannister Group the participants, and ask them to sketch and connect the learnings nodes on a flip chart, focusing on graphics, not words. Working in groups is ideal as it allows people to pool their collective wisdom. For your reference, a mindmap, looks like this. “Visually summarizing” material allows individuals to structure their thoughts and improves future recall. Add to it the fun of creatively sketching cartoons, it becomes a good blend of learning+fun. This can also be done over the course of the learning event. Posted online by Alok Sharma Another approach: At the end of information “chunks” or modules, I instruct participants to graphically record the key points of that learning segment on a flip chart (without using written words.) I then ask the individuals or teams to explain their drawings (or Mental Model). “Prizes” can be given out following the wrap-up at the end of the module for things like “scariest mental model,” “most colorful” or “my Kindergartner could do better.” Posted online by Brent Corless 10. Toss the ball Have everyone stand up and form a circle wherein everyone is facing in, looking at each other. The trainer tosses the ball to a person and asks them to tell what they thought was the most important learning concept in the session. They then toss the ball to someone and that person explains what they thought were the most important concepts. Continue the exercise until everyone has caught the ball at least once and explained an important concept of the material just covered. The trainer should jot down memorable points on the board for reference and reinforcement. This activity can be very quick and will keep participants on their toes. Posted by Vidya GV 11. Bingo Ask learners to draw a 3×3 grid on a large sheet of paper, and to number the cells randomly (placing the digit on the top right corner, so as to allow space for writing in the cell). Once the grids are set, call out one of the numbers and ask an accompanying question from topics you want to revisit. When someone has a line or a row filled in with answers (same rules as bingo…) they call out, we check their answers, and then move on. Winners get chocolates or points. Posted by Althea Michael 12. Circle of Competence I tell (remind) people about the four levels (or stages) of competence and ask them what key learning points transitioned from Unconscious or Conscious Incompetence: Unconscious Competence, where we don’t know that we don’t know, so we don’t realize the need for learning. Conscious Incompetence, where we DO know that we don’t know, and realize that we might have to do more or less of something to become more competent. This stage can be very frustrating, especially for people who lack self-confidence or, indeed, those who have so much self-confidence, they don’t think they need to learn anything. Many people give up due to frustration, and they are most likely not to persevere with applying any learning. Conscious Competence, this is also frustrating but in a different way to the previous stage. We get annoyed with ourselves because we are so close to the new learning becoming a well-honed skill, but, being so close can be motivating. Unconscious Competence, now it’s almost second nature, we don’t have to think about it or focus too much attention on applying it. As trainers, we must remember that different approaches are is required depending on which stage somebody is ‘at’.Posted by Michael Mallow 13. Peer-to-Peer Test Have participants write out “two or three questions about the class that they think you would ask if you were giving them a test.” They can use a sheet of paper or write them on flip-chart pads around the room. When they are done, ask the rest of the class to answer the questions. Posted online by Liliana Lucy 14. Mind/Body Connections Getting the whole body involved in an exercise can activate the brain and make the material more memorable. Here are a few Mind/Body review exercises that were shared: GESTURES: Have everyone stand in a circle. Ask them to take a moment to think of one thing they have brought and one thing they will take away from the session. Ask them to match a simple gesture to that skill, feeling, or quality. Have each share their two statements/gestures. As they do, have others in the circle silently mirror each gesture as it is made. The impact is powerful and memorable. (Examples: open hands can equally mean networking, generosity, or honesty). Posted online by Ali Campbell SCULPTURES: Give every participant a piece of clay or play-dough and ask each to give it a shape, as per their learning/take-away from the program. Posted online by Rachita Rai SQUEEZERS: I like to use an assortment of squishy stress balls (e.g. foot, crown, hot hair balloon) that they pick out bags randomly. I tell them that they get points if they can metaphorically link their statements to the object. Bonus points for cheesy links! Posted online by Shirley Gaston 15. Video wrap-up Ask people to commit to doing any one thing they have learned and record it on a video. This is easy now thanks to smartphones. When people commit on a video in front of the entire class, they are more likely to try it out later. Sometimes I’ll even play back the video at a subsequent session. Posted online by Sampath Lyengar KR Another approach with video is to ask teams to create a fun video highlighting their key learning points. You can encourage them to post their video online or share it with colleagues! In the best of all worlds, they’ll view it over and over again. Posted online by Susan Landay 16. I Wish… Draw out goals, challenges,, obstacles, and fixes, by simply asking: What do you wish? Have them fill in the blank: I wish… . Or, have them write each wish on a sticky note. Memorable Moments 17. AH-AH! At the end of the day (or hour), have each person (or team) record their “a hah” learning points on one of the several flip chart pages posted around the room. Encourage group sharing and discussion about those points. I post an “AHA!” Learning chart on the wall in front of the class, clearly visible to everyone. At the beginning of the session, I request that whenever someone feels a new, exciting, useful thought/practice/information is shared, they have to raise their hand and say AHA! aloud. We post that learning point on the AHA!! Learning chart. At the end of the day and end of the training, we summarize our AHA! points. Posted online by Surender Kumar After your group writes their “Aha moments,” ask to add a 5, 10, or Y beside each: 5 means that they will act on those things in the next 5 days 10 means they will act on it within 10 days’ time. Y means “I should have done this yesterday”! Posted online by Sherry Darden 18. One Thing Rather than focusing on a whole slew of learning points, have participants answer this question for themselves: “What is the one thing I learned, which if I start doing now, can make a big difference to my work/output/contribution?” 19. Points to Ponder At the start of the training tell your group to collect one more “points to ponder” over the course of the session. Towards the end of the session, ask that they each share their top three points to ponder. Sharing should include: why these points were selected, how do they plan to implement that learning. Following the discussion, engage the group in a conversation about how they can make it happen: What resources they would need in order to move forward? What time frame would be workable? 20. Snowballing Distribute a sheet with a question at the top & some empty answer boxes. (i.e. “what are the 3 or 4 most important things I learned? or “what are the 3 or 4 most important things to remember if you are (doing “x”)?”. Prompt the group to imagine they are mentoring a junior colleague and encourage them to delve deeper into the ‘nuts & bolts.’ Then: Take a few minutes and have them put their answers in the first box Tell them to find a partner, cut down their combined 6 – 8 answers to 3 – 4 (same time limit again), and record these in the second box. Doing this requires them to explain and justify their choices. For the final phase, work as a whole group. Have a board or flip chart to make group notes & record the final selections. NOTE: 99% of the time, the group will come up with all the points you would have raised yourself (groupthink is not always bad!). Posted online by Chris Taylor 21. Elevator Speech of Learning Encourage the class to look at the bigger picture with a question like, “When you get back to your desk, what’s your 3-second elevator speech to your supervisor and co-workers explaining how what you’ve learned will benefit our customers?” Posted online by Carlene Goldwaite 22. Mnemonics that work OMI or OMG – Posted online by Phyllis Strupp OMI–One Meaningful Idea to implement OMG–One Meaningful Goal to pursue. Keeping TABBs – Posted online by Kavita Iver Takeaway from the ‘event’ Action you will take Barriers that may hinder your progress Benefits of overcoming the barriers and implementing the learning ABC-O – Posted online by Steve Overton ACTION: Based on (whatever you are debriefing) what new or different ACTION will you take? BENEFITS: What BENEFITS will you receive when you take this action? CHALLENGES: What CHALLENGES will you face in implementing this action? OVERCOME: How will you OVERCOME those challenges?” 3 D’s – Posted online by Erin Osborne Ask each attendee to pull out a piece of paper and divide it into 3 sections. On each section, they will make a list 3-5 things that fit each category: Do it — things they feel they need to do, fix, work on Delegate it — things they feel they need some extra help with Drop it — things they feel they worry about and have no control over 23. Thiagi’s “BARNGA” Questions I use the 5 questions from Thiagi’s game called Barnga to debrief any experiential activity: How do you feel? What happened – behaviors. How will my / our behavior change as a result? What advice would you give? How does this relate to work? Posted online by Craig Wallace More good wrap-up questions “What barriers might you run into trying to apply _____? B. What potential solutions can you envision to deal with these? What do you know today, that you didn’t know yesterday, that will serve you tomorrow? What will you do differently as a result of what you learned? What will you share with others you work with? The Commitment If the purpose of the Debrief is to extract the key learning points from the experience, the focus of the Commitment is twofold: to imprint the learning into long-term memory and use it, either as a basis for further learning or to affect behavior change and performance improvement. Commitment to MemoryMany brain-compatible learning sources tout the benefits of common memory tricks such as the development of mnemonics, identification of useful analogies to relate new learning to something they already know, or selective note-taking or underlining. These are all important methods to “commit” new information to memory. Commitment to ChangeAfter new learning is sealed into your mind, either through repetition, mnemonics, story-telling, or emotional engagement with the material, the challenge is using the learning to affect change. Here are a couple of ideas to ensure that learning is taken back into the workplace. Promises, Promises. At the start of class distribute a 3×5 card to every participant. Explain that by the end of the workshop, you’d like each of them to write down one to three ideas they “promise” to do when they go back at work. At the end of the session, ask them to complete their “promise(s)” and share it with other participants. This gives them added incentive to follow through on their commitment to change behavior. Band-Aid or Surgery? At the end of a review, discuss what it would take for learners to put into practice all that they learned. Ask them if their ideas can be put into action. If yes, great. If not, discuss why not. What practices, attitudes, or systems inhibit or enable the implementation of new ideas. In order to implement changes, do other processes need to be fixed? Can they be fixed quickly and easily with a virtual Band-Aid, or is there a hemorrhaging issue that needs more radical attention in order for the learning to take effect? 24. Works Well. Do Differently. This is a useful model for team exercises and soft skills experiential learning. With these two simple questions, facilitators can help their groups to explore what was working and where they can do better. The key is that it frames this self-critical exercise in very positive language. 25. Exit Tickets Show participants an image of a suitcase and ask. “Of all the tools and ideas shared here, what are you putting in your suitcase for your journey back and why?” This debriefing activity can be simple or quite elaborate, involving props and cards depending on the amount of time you have available. Posted online by Kwame Akpokavi Another spin on this was posted online by Crystal Runge. She suggested “When I’m looking to wrap things up quickly I’ll ask for each person’s “ticket out the door,” which is to share one key thing (and no repeats) that they’ll most immediately apply back on the job. It’s a fast round-robin that allows reflection and confirms that the time was well spent. 26. Support Groups I ask people to choose a particular strategy or technique from the day that they want to focus on in their work following the workshop. (They literally choose one – all are printed attractively on slips of paper with a graphic and a short description and laid out on a table.) They are asked to cluster in groups with other people who have chosen the same strategy. Then they are asked to take a few minutes to make a plan about how they will work on the technique they have chosen. They can discuss their plan with someone else and may plan to use each other as resources for actioning the plan. There is space in their workbooks to make some notes. Posted online by Fiona Clapham Howard 27. Letter or Postcard Prep At the end of a workshop, I prepare a letter that reminds participants of the values they listed earlier in the day, and send this to each person (personally addressed to each one), with a resource list and my contact details for any questions. I’m experimenting with making a “word cloud” of the values/attitudes instead, still to be sent to each person later. Posted online by Fiona Clapham Howard NOTE: an additional Postcard option is to have participants pair up and write a postcard to one another. That can be even more fun than writing to yourself! 28. Contract Have participants create a 60-day “contract” where they document: 2 new skills they want to focus on over that time frame 3-5 action steps they will accomplish for each They then select a session member to be their partner to “check in” with over the 60 days and obtain the partner’s signature on the contract. Make two copies-give one to the participant, one to the partner, and I keep one for myself. After 60 days, I mail the contract to the participant as a follow-up and send a note with it. Posted online by Cindy Goodwin 29. “Knowledge IS(N’T) Power” Ask, simply: “How many of you have heard the saying and really believe that KNOWLEDGE IS POWER?” You’ll get a unanimous raise of hands and lots of nods. Then bluntly say, “Well, it isn’t true.” {Pause for a dramatic effect while participants look shocked and confused}. Then continue, “We have gained a lot of knowledge in this training; however it won’t make any difference…it won’t empower you in any way, unless……..???” then participants start filling in the blank with variations of “YOU APPLY IT!” I say, “Yes! So let’s hear how each one of you is going to apply the knowledge gained in order to get real power from it…” Give participants a minute or two to share out loud what they will immediately apply from the training. Posted online by Rahila Narejo 30. What. Who. When. Action Plans Ask your group to fill complete an Action Plan at the end of the training session. Have them write: WHAT is to be done WHO can help WHEN it should be done Posted online by Fayo Williams 31. Magic Lantern Everyone knows what happens when you find a magic lamp. You rub the outside and a genie appears, and (best of all) you get to make three wishes that are guaranteed to come true. Show your group the magic lamp (real or imaginary), and ask them what happens when you rub it. Inform them that you are more likely to have your wishes granted if you say them out loud. Next, invite members of the group to wish for something that will help them implement the day’s learning. As simple as it sounds, simply holding the magic lamp and rubbing it, places participants in a state of anticipation, and often they will share exactly what they hope will happen in the future. This is also great as an opening activity. Encourage them to mention what would make today meaningful or wonderful for them. Courtesy of Jim Cain, Teamwork & Teamplay Conclusion Whether learning happens online or in a classroom, the lesson is the same, key learning points should be repeated, repeated, and repeated. Learning experiences should be “debriefed” in order to call the learner’s attention to the top learning points. And before concluding the experience, facilitators should ask: “What will prevent you or enable you to put the learning into action?” Additional Models and Resources for Debriefing Picking the Perfect Debrief – an infographic eLearn Magazine published an original version of this article. Dr. Roger Greenaway Reviewing Skills

It’s not brain surgery. These 6 brain-science principles for learning, developed by Sharon Bowman, should be used by every trainer and teacher, every day. Period. What’s really cool is that the dozens of active learning techniques explained here can be applied to live or virtual training. You may also notice that many of the activities fall into several of the “trump” categories. 1. Movement trumps Sitting Keep the blood flowing to the brain. Experts suggest we should take breaks every 20 minutes. During online meetings and webinars, consider every 10 minutes! You can incorporate more movement into learning events and meetings by asking participants to: STAND & SHARE – stand up to share a thought, learning, point, or contribution. STRETCH – try a cross-body stretch from a sitting or standing position. WALKABOUT – move about to share ideas, post a reminder note on a mirror or at your workstation, or locate a partner. WRITE – DRAW – DOODLE – FIDGET – really any movement is better than sitting still. I still hear Mr.s Driscoll, my first-grade teacher, asking us all to sit still. If only she understood then what we know now. Sometimes we need a little encouragement to get off our bums (for those who are able), but the minimal effort is worth it. 2. Talking trumps Listening Bowman asserts that the one doing the most talking generally does the most learning. Make that be the students. The technique is effective for several reasons. When people speak their thoughts, they begin to own them. Then, as the words become their own, they start to believe and remember them. Talking exercises include: REPEAT AFTER ME – This may sound silly, but it works. Try saying the 6 trumps aloud. TRADING PLACES (a.k.a. TEACHBACKS) – have individual students or groups study a topic on their own, then teach it to the others. BALL TOSS – Catch a ball (real or virtual) and express a learning point, “ah-ha” moment, or detail you hope to remember. CHAT – discuss answers and observations with colleagues at your table or in an online breakout room 3. Images trump Words Vision is humans’ primary sense and we think in images first. To make training memorable, build in activities that tie the content to visual images. For instance: DRAW IT – request that the group draw an icon to represent the top 3 concepts. It makes it no less powerful if you draw the icon first and ask them to replicate it. If you want to remember the 6 brain-science trumps that every trainer should know, try drawing each of the icons in the infographic. METAPHOR MAGIC – display images of photos, using either an online selection of photos or a card deck, and have participants select an image that relates to their thoughts or observations about the topic you just taught. Have them share that explanation with a small group or partner. You could alternatively have them select an object in the room to use as their metaphor. METAPHOR MEMENTOS – if you use fidget toys, squeeze balls, or bendable or moldable materials, have learners create a shape or object that will remind them of important learning points. Be sure they take it with them. If you’re doing online learning, consider including a memento in a pre-session care package. 4. Writing trumps Reading Writing has the combined benefits of being visual and requiring movement. We know that people love their devices — phones, tablets, computers — but welcome them to fall in love again with a favorite pen, marker, or notebook. Guide the group to take notes on specific topics that are important to recall. Consider these activities: NOTE TAKING – tell them to jot notes in a notebook or even in a graphic organizer, full of pictures and color. If a point is particularly important, say “write this down” and then pause to give them time to write. SQUEEZE TOYS – many foam squeeze toys will accept pen and permanent marker writing. Ask learners to draw or write on their squeeze ball, so that they’ll remember these points when they see it on their desk or pick it up to use it. NOTE COLORING – have learners review their notes and append them with colorful underlines; circle key points; draw lines to connect related topics; star or highlight “next steps.” 5. Shorter trumps Longer Some say we can stay focused for the number of minutes that match our age. 30 years old . . . 30 minutes. Others say this is hogwash and that EVERYONE benefits from frequent breaks. I expect it’s due to lots of reasons. Our primitive brains evolved to react to interruptions and changes. Moreover, with today’s barrage of beeping phones and commercial messaging, we’re not accustomed to focusing for long periods of time. An added benefit of sticking with shorter learning segments is that studies show people tend to remember beginnings and endings more than middles. Consequently, you’re likely to retain more information from three 10-minute lectures than one 30-minute presentation. To break up longer presentations, try interspersing some of these activities: QUICK PASS – moving quickly from person to person, have each one restate a concept they just heard PAIR-SHARE – take 2 minutes for participants to turn to each other and articulate a learning concept they hope to remember STRETCH & WRITE – invite the group to stand up (if they’re able), ask one person to lead the group in a quick stretch (arms, legs, perhaps a yoga pose), then ask them to jot a note or circle a concept in their notes that is particularly relevant. 6. Different trumps Same Habituation is the idea that we stop noticing and paying attention to anything that’s not new. When you first put up a new picture or hang new curtains in your house, you can’t stop looking at and noticing them. But, after time, they stop capturing your focus. Psychologists define it as the “diminishing response to a frequently repeated stimulus.” As trainers embrace the “shorter trumps longer” teaching principle, they can’t simply default to using the same activities every time. Of course, it would be easier that way, but also less effective. You can easily change each of these quick activities: BRAIN BREAKS – take a complete mental break from the material with a stretch, breathing exercise, chat prompt (i.e. are you a vanilla or chocolate person), or puzzler. TrainersEXCHANGE has oodles of prompts at the ready. STAND-GROUP-SHARE-WALK – change the numbers of people in the groups, change the topic to discuss, or how they move about the room. Have individuals turn in circles, walk clockwise or counter-clockwise around the room, move to each corner of the room, go outside, etc. 6 Brain-Science Principles for Learning The ways to embrace the 6 brain-science principles for learning are truly endless. I’ve shared a bunch here, but once you get the hang of it, I’m sure you’ll be creating your own clever exercises, graphic note pages, and more.

Several weeks ago, I asked the folks in our new Trainers Community, “What’s your greatest professional challenge?” From the dozens of replies, a single theme emerged: CHANGE. I suppose this won’t come as a surprise to anyone. The training industry has changed as profoundly as everything else the pandemic touched. Our colleagues are starting new positions, reinventing curricula, and adapting to online/virtual formats. With all the upheaval, change management exercises and activities couldn’t be more in demand. By nature, change comes in multiple dimensions and has many faces. But no matter what the change is, a myriad of emotions—both negative and positive—follow. Excitement, anticipation, and hope, as well as fear, loss, and angst. A range of Change Management Activities can help participants: Articulate fear of change Understand different approaches to change Manage resistance to change Identify opportunities for change Develop new skills Develop plans for future action I’ve curated these favorite Change Management activities and tools from subject matter experts far and wide, including consultants, therapists, practitioners, bloggers, and consultants and sorted them into a handful of categories: Defining Discomfort Metaphor Toolkits Simulation Games Change Management Conversation Starters Meaningful Words & Images 1. Defining Discomforts Trading Places This may sound like a simple exercise, but people quickly become accustomed to their seat selection and choose the same seat each time they enter a room. If not the same chair, perhaps they tend toward a right or left side, or gravitate to familiar faces. After your group has gotten settled, ask them to stand up and find a different seat, with different tablemates. Debrief the activity by exploring what created discomfort; what they see differently from their new vantage point; how the simple experience of changing seats mirrors the challenge of deeper life changes. Force Fields Choose an upcoming change to evaluate and write it up on a whiteboard. Below and to the left, write the header: Forces FOR change Below and to the right, right the header: Forces AGAINST change Have your identify specific pros and cons, as they consider the pending change. Analyze ways to mitigate the negatives and strengthen the positives. Arm Cross Switcharoo Ask the group to comfortably cross their arms. Next, ask them to do it the other way. Quickly, they realize that doing something differently feels very strange at first, but the longer they do it, the less foreign it feels. Crossed + Uncrossed Crossing your arms non-verbally communicates hesitance and reluctance. When groups are facing a change together, gauge their feelings about different aspects of the transition. As you articulate a variety of statements about an upcoming change, ask them to indicate their feelings about crossed and uncrossed arms. You can quickly gauge the group and discuss the aspects causing the most consternation. 2. Metaphor Toolkits Change is such a common challenge for leaders and managers, that several consultants have created toolkits to help companies implement organizational change. These rubrics are helpful across a range of changes and transitions. Square Wheels The simple Square Wheels cartoon leads people to consider whether and how the image reflects the way organizations often work. Through the analysis, they look for opportunities for improvement in situations or processes. Who Moved My Cheese This is a parable of two mice who are faced with a looming issue—soon they will be out of cheese. What will they do? One is paralyzed by fear; the other explores the maze looking for a new source of cheese. The Who Moved My Cheese book and accompanying articles lead groups to consider how they face change. 3. Simulation Games All Change, by Northgate The All Change change management training activity sets up a simple situation: an organization, spread across two sites in the city is about to move to a single site, outside the city. The move will cause disruption in a number of ways. For some staff, it will mean a longer commute, for all it will mean moving from a city-base to a rural environment. The computer systems to be installed at the new location is familiar to staff in one of the two sites, but not the other. More staff are to be recruited and some job roles will change. The changeover is due to take place in one year’s time. Faced with this situation teams are asked a crucial question: What major considerations and challenges can you identify for a smooth and seamless transition to the new site – and exactly how would this work? Introducing Change™, by Northgate In part one of the Introducing Change simulation, participants working individually, complete a Change Questionnaire for discussion in plenary session with the Trainer. It serves to focuses attention on change issues and bring any prejudices and mistaken ideas out into the open. In part two participants, as management teams, have specific changes to implement in their organization. How will they introduce change to staff, what and who will they take into account, how will they schedule the changes? They must identify the key factors in bringing about a smooth implementation and decide on the best way of communicating with staff. At the end of the task, teams present their ideas and plans, either in feedback sessions or, more dynamically, by presenting the changes as if addressing their target audience. Change Reaction Assessment & Workshop by HRDQ Change Reaction is an assessment tool managers and team leaders use to understand individuals’ personal reactions to change. The instrument consists of 24-questions, designed to illuminate typical responses to change and ways to manage effectively change. 4. Change Management Conversation Starters Sometimes people just need to talk. Having a handful of well-conceived discussion prompts can help those facing change to articulate Onward & Upward Thumball The focus of the Onward and Upward Thumball is resilience – moving beyond current challenges, toward future opportunities. For anyone going through a change in their life, the challenge is often to move beyond the past experience toward an unknown future. This ball includes 32 conversation prompts, which can be used for teams or individuals experiencing change, such as: Who do you turn to, when the going gets tough? One way I could stay healthy is to… Person/people I’d like to connect with During what activities do you lose track of time? My most important relationships The “silver lining” of a challenging time You can depend on someone like me to … Where do you find spiritual strength? “Rules/norms” I’d like to do away with The hardest thing about trying something new Happiness at Work Thumball The Get Happy at Work Thumball discussion prompts help create a more positive workplace by allowing colleagues to share goals, discuss challenges, and build relationships. During times of change, focusing on topics such as Positive Emotion, Engagement, Meaning, Accomplishments, and Relationships, is critical to building new relationships. The 32 prompts on this ball include: My biggest work challenge right now and how I’m addressing it A good thing I accomplished last week A recent experience that led to my greatest learning The work that’s most meaningful to me What are your personal and professional goals? A new challenge I hope to take on at work? My top priorities for the day/week How have you progressed toward a current goal? What risk would you take if you knew you couldn’t fail? C = DVF > R Todd Wilmore shared this tip on LinkedIN as a way to help us see when it’s time to bite the bullet and have those tough conversations. “I learned this formula from Dave Gleicher and it was later popularized by Dick Beckhard (Beckhard & Harris, 1987). It may be a way to introduce the need to communicate without forcing the issue.Begin by sharing the formula above on a flip chart or power point. Ask them if they know what it means and if they understand the algebraic term (> means greater than) Explain each part one at a time. If the formula is not balance properly, the initiative will fail or be less effective.” C=DVF>R C = Desired Change – In your case, strategic initiativeD = Dissatisfaction – If teams are satisfied with the current situation they will be less likely to change.V = Vision of the Future – You have to have a team that is passionate and committed. Help them see the futureF = Needed First Step – (and next step and next step …) R = Resistance to Change – There are always barriers, excuses, limiters, a natural resistance to learn new ways and change. Identify them by asking and leverage them. In other words, change happens only if Dissatisfaction, Vision for the Future, and First Steps are GREATER THAN Resistance to Change. DVF together still may not be enough to make change happen if the R is too great. At the end, have them choose one initiative and discuss each part of the formula and how well they have made efforts to balance the formula to succeed. ~ Todd Wilmore I appreciate Todd’s contribution and perspective. The mathmetician in me wonders if were to to give Dissatisfaction, Vision, First Steps, and Resistance numerical values, if we would need to sum D + V + F, or multiply their value, D x V x F. I’m gonna go with addition, but welcome others input! Recognizing Change, Trainer Bubble In Quick Change activity, you will arrange participants into pairs and ask them to face each other. Then ask them to take a good look at the person in front of them and memorise what that person is wearing. Next, ask them to face away from each other and change five things about themselves (typically people remove an item). After they have done this, ask the pairs to turn and face each other again and identify what has changed about their partner.Review – in review, ask participants how easy it was to make changes. The important thing to note is that most people associate ‘change’ as removal or loss of things. How many people actually added something to change their appearance? In life, we tend to associate change with loss. However, the reality is that change can also include gain.Your group may also find that larger changes are much more disruptive than small ones. 5. Meaningful Words and Images Quotations about Change Trainer Bubble Quotes on Change: Use famous quotes for inspiration and discussion starters. Ask, what do these words mean to you? Trainers EXCHANGE: see Growth and Learning quotes Photographic images Decks of images are incredibly powerful to help participants articulate their feelings. Have each person locate an image that reflects their current feeling. Have them share their selection with one person or the group at their table. Rather than putting one person on the spot, by asking them to share their selection, ask the group to summarize the range of feelings. Beyond Change Management Activities and Exercises In addition to the range of Change Management tools that help managers, team leaders, and trainers develop the skills necessary to implement change effectively, we invite you to explore this set of Coaching Tools. Coaching card decks, conversation prompts, and exercises can help individuals and teams “grow.” To hone in on your GOALS and vision of success, understand the REALITY of current challenges, explore and prioritize OPTIONS, and Discover WAYS FORWARD.

Have you come across a Photo Deck or other set of Conversation Cards recently? You know those decks of innumerable glorious and provocative images? Perhaps you’ve seen them and wondered what use they might be. Photo Decks are popular for their huge variety of applications, especially as conversation starters for icebreakers, debriefs, and team development. Some trainers and teachers even create their own with their phone camera, or by collecting postcards (back when travel was common!). Explore the dozens of ways you can use Photo Decks effectively and understand what makes a picture deck-worthy. Photo Decks Boost Creativity and Engagement We’ve collected over a dozen ways that trainers, teachers, and therapists can use photo decks and photographic collections for a variety of learning activities: 1) Icebreakers and Introductions Personal pictures: Ask participants to select an image that represents… A hobby. A goal for the session. A fact few people know about you. Complementary pictures: Select an image and find 2 or more people with a complementary images. Discuss the similarities of the images and/or develop a story that weaves the images together. 2) Team game debriefs and conversation starters Ask participants to select an image that reflects: Feelings – How they were feeling at the start of the exercise. Observations – An observation they gained during the exercise. Learning Moments – A feeling or learning point they hope to take with them. Team Dynamics – How you wish your team functioned. You might say, “Pick a number of cards which illustrate your expectations of this team.” Leadership – Find a photo that reminds you the leadership quality you most hope to develop. 3) Learning reinforcement Memory Builders – Identify an idea you definitely want to remember. Select a photo to tie to that memory. Create an exaggerated story about the image and the idea to be remembered. Going forward, when you see the image, you’ll remember the material as well. Emotional Intelligence – Develop a vocabulary for feelings by identifying different emotions evoked by each image. 4) Facilitation Change Management – Prior to a change initiative, ask individuals or teams to identify a card which represents the state of the organization now, and another to show how they would like it to be in the future. Leadership and Management – Bring clarity to a situation by asking the group to “pick 5 cards that represent your vision of what is important to you and your role.” Coaching – Use cards to encourage discussion and reflection on progress made through a coaching journey. What makes a Photographic Conversation Cards Worth 1000 Words? The value and interpretation of any image is really in the eyes of the beholder. Every person will see something different in an image, which is also what makes it fun to use pictures. Consider, for instance, the image of a bunch of pointed colored pencils. One might explain that they picked that card because it suggests… Creativity – Colored pencils allow people to create or draw anything they can imagine. Artistry – I’m an artist and love drawing. Points of View- The multiple pencil points remind me of the different points of view I must consider. Precision – The points coming together in one place, reminds me that I need to pay closer attention to details. Create Amazing Picture Collections to Start Deep Conversations A photo’s beauty isn’t enough to make it a good choice for inclusion in metaphoric photo decks. In addition to the image being clear and attractive, we look for these qualities: Variety across images: Look for a collection of images to evoke a broad range of emotions, perspectives, interests, etc. Versatility within an image: Be sure each image is rich enough that it can be used in a number of ways. Viewpoints: Put yourself in others’ shoes and include images that might appeal to folks with different interests. Finding the right deck+ Trainers Warehouse has curated 9 collections. Each varies in size of the cards, number of images, price, and availability of facilitation notes. Deck Name Size Cards Notes Price By Ulead 2.5 × 3.5″ 52 11 additional elements: letter, emotion, action, icebreaker question, quotation, animal, dice, card suit, icon $20 ULEAD We Engage 5″ W hexagons 36 Photo on one side; quotation on the other $40 WEandME Express Pack 2 × 3.5″ 53 Crafted to help people "Express" themselves $38 RSVP Design Images of Organizations 5.5 × 7.5″ 48 3 each of 16 common workplace issues; illustrations, not photos $149 RSVP Design Visual Explorer Kit Postcard 216 Three 72-card decks and 112-page Facilitator Guide with step-by-step guidelines, case histories, worksheets, and helpful tips $340 Center for Creative Leadership Leadership Metaphor Explorer Kit Postcard 83 Opens dialogue about dependent, independent, and interdependent leadership cultures $175 Center for Creative Leadership Climer Cards 2.5 × 3.5″ 52 Hand-drawn watercolor-style pictures to evoke metaphors and imagination. Backs include a grouping tool for splitting into smaller groups $29.95 Amy Climer Climer2 Cards Postcard 83 52 new evocative watercolor-style images on the front; 52 emotion word cards in English, Spanish, and French on the back $29.95 Amy Climer Online Decks Clearly, you have many options. And, if physical decks are not always practical because you’re working remotely, Trainers Warehouse has assembled a shareable collection of online photographs. To use these, virtual trainers can share the online link with attendees. Then, session participants can browse, select, download and discuss their favorite images. Deckhive.com is another excellent tool to utilize online decks. It lets you select your favorite cards, swap them in and out, share notes, etc. Whether you develop your own Photo Decks and conversation cards, or find one at Trainers Warehouse, you will surely get lots of use out of these incredibly versatile tools as memorable and useful conversation starters! Read More: Debriefing Tools: Finding the Perfect Debrief Communication: Communication and Listening Exercises Listening: Active Listening Exercises

So much has been written on leadership and the qualities of a good leader. While you may find some differences across articles, the basic message is the same — share your sense of purpose; be transparent about your vision and goals; show empathy; empower your team; be flexible; communicate relentlessly; be adaptable; be decisive; and so on. The suggestions are all well-grounded and researched. However, they don’t say much about how to develop those skills. They don’t offer a menu of leadership experiences and exercises — leadership activities — that draw out learning moments. If you’re looking to implement those tips and translate them into actionable skills, the exercises and tools below will help managers become the more effective leaders they hope to be. Leadership Activities for Today’s Challenges As Jamie Thompson of MTa Learning says, senior execs often want to jump into a very complex leadership activity before they’ve become skilled at building teams. “Think about how you sequence your games and create a journey for learning.” As such, before selecting a game, activity, or experience, do a quick assessment to know where you are now and where you hope to grow. You may explore basic leadership skills through a Leadership Skills Assessment like HRDQs. With that insight, you can layer your more specific goals, such as… Get conversations going with meaningful conversation prompts While leaders face increasingly complex situations, the task of developing strong leaders is also tougher because of the imposition of remote and hybrid work environments. Trainers, like leaders, must quickly shift from in-person only experiences to blended and virtual learning. Moreover, managers and leaders might require more intellectually and cognitevely demanding activities that reflect the complexity of their work environment. Consider these needs as you weight the leadership games, activities, tools and resources described below. 1. Build stronger teams — allocate time to building communication and relationships! Conversation Starters Relationship building takes time. Whether teams are remote or in-person, allocate some “water cooler time,” that is time to simply chat. Having a few good prompts on hand helps. Thumballs, UNZiP-IT! Decks and UNZiP-IT! Remote PPTs all have the same great prompts to get your group talking. The wide variety of topics lets you choose appropriate prompts, whether your group is just getting acquainted (Common Ground, Shaped by Our Past, or Favorites), knows each other well but wants to build stronger bonds (Getting to Know You or What Makes You YOU?), or hopes to dig into deeper topics like Get Happy at Work, Diversity, Stress Management, Team Dynamics, etc. Skill Development Soft-skills training (leadership, communication, listening, time management, empathy, trust) has traditionally taken the form of face-to-face or blended learning. Beyond explanations and presentations, skill development typically requires conversation, role-playing, trial and error, and simulations that give participants a shared–and safe–experience to discuss, analyze, and extract learning. The following tools can be used in person or online. Leadership Metaphor Explorer Kit – This deck of 83 postcard-size cards is illustrated with a rich variety of drawings and captions is designed to help people understand how leadership plays out in their organizations, communities, and across boundaries. Minefield Maze Game – When a group needs to get a blindfolded team member through a maze, explore how leaders emerge, how to organize multiple voices, develop trust and more. 2. Develop Emotional Intelligence Help leaders develop a vocabulary for emotional intelligence (motivation, self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, social skills), as well as for emotions and feelings. Resources such as EQ games, card decks, EQ Thumballs, or a Mood Matrix will come in handy. 3. Motivate smaller groups of staff who are taking on new challenges and wearing more hats Say Thanks with Kudos Notes & Cards – Positive feedback is key for growth and learning. While team members may typically look to leaders, managers or supervisors for words of appreciation, the happiest organizations also see peers reaching out to one another to express thanks or recognize a contribution. Give your staff the tools they need to acknowledge each others contributions, such as Mini Kudos Notes, Kudos for Colleagues, or Tokens of Appreciation. These can be put as someone’s desk, mailed or even emailed. Talk it out with Thumballs and UNZiP-IT! – Give your group a vehicle to express themselves. Pick a topic like Get Happy at Work or Team Dynamics and find out how you can better support your team. Wheel of Happiness – Use this popular self-assessment tool to assess your group’s happiness or satisfaction at work. See what each person needs to find themselves in a happier place. Challenge small groups to build a Marshmallow Tower as tall as can be. Welcome creativity, trial and error, and team spirit. 4. Develop coaching and mentoring skills, to complement virtual training To develop and train smaller groups of people, organizations will need many more trainers. Or, they will also need to teach managers and colleagues to train and coach one another. Get Fit for Coaching – Help non-trainers (or even experienced coaches) get in shape and hone the skills they need to help their colleagues grow. View Changer Cards – Encourage coaches to utilize photographic imagery and metaphors to help their learners make connections, and express frustrations or goals. 5. Blend divergent company cultures brought together by mergers and acquisitions Use one of these powerful metaphors to facilitate rich conversations about current and preferred situations. Road to There – discuss where you are, where you’re going, and the roadblocks to getting “There.” Vision Tree – use the metaphor of a tree to discover the roots that ground you, the systems that support you (trunk), and the fruit you hope to bear. Iceberg – talk about the unspoken ideas and assumptions that lie below the surface, but still affect work processes, environment, and relationships. Differentiate the visible (Actions, Outcomes, and Results) from the invisible (Attitudes, Perceptions, Unwritten Rules, Unconscious Biases, Values, Beliefs and Anchors). 6. Bring sense of calm and mindfulness to workers who are stressed and seeing co-workers laid-off Stress Thumball – Discuss triggers that create stress, as well as the tools and techniques to ground and calm your team. Mindfulness Deck – Mindfulness practices help build skills of awareness, compassion and presence for what matters in your daily life. 7. Build relationships torn apart by political divides Building Bridges Thumball / UNZiP-IT! – Focus on values you share rather than those that divide you. Develop trust by getting to know one another’s values. Develop Politics-Free Zones – use the DeskMate Politics-Free Zone sign to identify safe spaces to discuss anything but politics. Diversity Thumball / UNZiP-IT! – Use the prompts on these tools to understand sources of bias and experiences of feeling different. 8. Virtual Communication Games Human beings rely on proximity and facial expressions to communicate non-verbally and show empathy. When we’re physically separated, the challenge can be more difficult. Still, many who create experiential games, developed online version during the pandemic. These continue to grow and proliferate as remote work remains the norm for many organizations. Seeing the Point Online In this game, players must assemble an assortment of shapes to make 4 uniform shapes. Murder Mystery – Online Matrix Challenge Use this popular 30-minute Murder Mystery game to improve communication skills, team building, problem-solving, leadership, and more. Send one or more of the 27 clues to each participant and challenge them to find the murderer, victim, time & place of the murder, and motive in 15 minutes — without writing anything down and using only verbal communication. If you have a large group, do make use online breakout rooms. After each team plays, they can select a spokesperson to share their team’s experience with the rest of the group. Zin Obelisk – Online Matrix Challenge A challenging mathematical puzzle Is made even more complex, by using made-up words in the fictitious, ancient city of Atlantis, where a solid, rectangular obelisk -called a zin – was built in honor of the goddess Tina. The structure took less than two weeks to complete and the group’s task is to determine the day of the week on which the obelisk was completed. For virtual play, email a few clues to each player and try to sort it out over the phone–maybe with a shared online whiteboard! After all clear phone communication is more important now than ever! Normally, teams consist of 5-8 players. If you have a larger group of people you can use online breakout rooms. After each team plays, they can select a spokesperson to share their team’s experience with the rest of the group. Colourblind – Online Virtual Teams of ideally 6 – 14 members gather and share knowledge to identify 2 colored abstract shapes that are missing from a complete set. If you have a larger group of people you can use online breakout rooms. After each team plays, they can select a spokesperson to share their team’s experience with the rest of the group. The communication processes involved are much more complex and take participants through increasingly sophisticated patterns of active listening until the task is achieved. Individuals draw on their experience and descriptive skills to explain to each other abstract shapes that they can see on their screens, but cannot share with the others. They use feedback and clarification skills to ensure that their understanding is accurate. Climer Cards Create an online experience of using illustrated images to develop metaphors to explain complex thoughts, ideas, or feelings. Lead by Example with Leadership Activities Leadership Games come in many formats. Whenever you take time out of your leaders’ busy days, be sure you have a clear purpose. On top of that, make the time worthwhile, but carving out a few additional minutes to debrief. Of course, if we’ve missed any of YOUR favorite Leadership Games, let us know! Read More ACTIVE LISTENING EXERCISES Emotional Intelligence Exercises  

While our library of Communication and Listening Exercises is quite comprehensive, Active Listening is a critical subcategory worthy of deeper exploration. Active listening isn’t just nodding to the speaker. Active listening happens when you’re completely focused on the speaker, taking in everything they’re saying, understanding the nuance of their meaning, and giving them feedback. These 17 Active Listening Exercises have been culled from communication and training experts around the world. I’ve grouped the 20+ exercises into 5 categories: I. Make the Speaker Feel Heard. II. Listen to Remember and Listen for Underlying Meanings III. Clarify Understanding IV. Practice Makes Perfect V. Uncovering Assumptions I. Make the Speaker Feel Heard through Active Listening I read this story on the importance of active listening on the Tesla Ideas blog. William Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli, both eminent British statesmen were considered as two the smartest persons in England, in the late nineteenth century. A young journalist said that she would dine with both so she could decide which one was smarter. She has compared the two men this way: “When I dined with Mr. Gladstone, I felt as though he was the smartest man in England. But when I dined with Mr. Disraeli, I felt as though I was the smartest woman in England.” Gladstone may have been an excellent speaker but Disraeli was the better listener. That evening Disraeli made the woman the center of his universe. The following 7 exercises will help tease out ways your group can make speakers feel as if they are the center of the universe. 1. T-chart: Have the group write down characteristics of good and bad listening skills. Record these on a chart for all to see and fill in any omissions, as needed: Poor listening skills might include: looking at your watch, interrupting, avoiding eye contact, looking bored or impatient, tapping your foot or fidgeting, finish their sentences. Good listening skills might be communicated with a nod, smile, eye contact, show concern, or encouragement. Active listeners will: Focus Question “Listen” to the speaker’s body language Paraphrase, clarify and summarize Express Empathy Remind the group that just because they making the motions, doesn’t mean they’re retaining the information. 2. Practice through introductions — a good icebreaker! Pair up. Have Person 1 introduce themselves to Person 2 for 2-minutes. Have the team reverse roles for the second two minutes. Then have each pair introduce one another to the rest of the group. ~Asnawi Yusof DEBRIEF: discuss what made the exercise hard or easy. Explore the experience from each person’s perspective as both the introducER and introducEE. 3. Yes, BUT… / Yes, AND … Divide your group into pairs. For two minutes each, have one start a conversation and then every response back and forth must start with ‘Yes, but…’. Then repeat – this time every response must start with ‘Yes, and…’. Have teams compare the two experiences. Ask: which resulted in a more productive conversation, building off of each other’s ideas. Which approach was more about ‘listening to respond’ (versus ‘listening to understand’)? ~ Nicole Coyle 4. ASK or SHARE Ask one person to share a short story of their past — a major turning point in their life; a time they went to the hospital; a hard choice you had to make; a stressful experience you lived through <Shaped by Our Past question prompts for more question prompts>. Divide your listeners into “askers” and “tellers.” Instruct “Askers” to ONLY ask questions. Invite “Tellers” to share their own similar experiences. Switch roles and repeat. DEBRIEF: Ask story tellers when they felt best heard–when listeners were asking questions or sharing their own experiences? ~ Shelley Etzenhouser 5. Is Silence always Golden? Group your participants into pairs. Have them tell a story about their lives–perhaps a challenge they overcame; describe a special event they attended; tell us about a non-family member who had an impact on their life; or explain how your birth order affected your childhood Shaped by Our Past for more prompts>. Instruct the listener to SAY NOTHING AT ALL, just listens. DEBRIEF: What was that like for each person? Did the story-teller feel heard even though there were no responses? Why? Have pairs talk/listen and encourage them to reflect back what they are observing about the talker’s non-verbal communication. (Your tone changed, what was happening for you there? Etc.) Reflection exercises. Have listeners practice summarizing and paraphrasing what the talker has said, without adding any content of their own. ~ Jenna Hills Additional debrief questions might include: How did the speaker feel when the person just listened and did not exchange information? How did the nonverbal signals encouraged the speaker? How uncomfortable was the silence? How did it feel to just listen without having the pressure to contribute? How did the speaker feel having complete freedom to say whatever he/she felt? 6. WebCam OFF – WebCam ON Explore the differences between speaking when you can or cannot see each other in this is a paired exercise. Round 1 – Webcam OFF – audio only: For the next 5 minutes, Participiant#1 explains to Participiant#2 “What frustrates them when other people don’t listen to them?” Participant#2 must be silent for the 1st 3 minutes After that, they can only ask – “Tell me more” or “What Else” Swap roles after 5 minutes Round 2 – Webcam ON – audio and video For the next 5 minutes, Participiant#1 explain to Participiant#2 “What they struggle with when it comes to their listening?” Participant#2 must be silent for the 1st 3 minutes After that, they can only ask – “Tell me more” or “What Else” Swap roles after 5 minutes. Round 3 – Webcam Off – Audio Only: Take another 5 minutes to debrief: Ask participant#1 to debrief with Participant #2 about how they were listening differently with the webcam on and off. Swap Roles after 5 minutes For the next 5 minutes, Participant#2 debriefs with Participant #1 about how they were listening differently with the webcam on and off. DEBRIEF: Ask, What were the pros and cons of WebCams On vs. Off. When did you best understand others? When did speakers feel most heard? Does the number of participants affect the experience? ~ Oscar Trimboli 7. Not Listening or A-B-C Listening Divide your group into pairs. For Round 1, give partner 1 the “NL Instruction sheet” (described below), then ask partner 2 to tell their mate what the think is most important about communicating and an example of a time when they felt they were not communicating well with someone else. Stop the group after a minute or two. For Round 2, give partner 2 the “ABC Instruction sheet,” and ask partner 1 sharing their communication story. After a minute, ask everyone to share how they felt and why. Stop the group after a minute or two. The NL Instruction Sheet says: “Do not allow your partner to read this sheet!” Your job is to NOT LISTEN while your partner is talking. You may do this in any way you like, as long as you stay in your seat. You may occasionally say something, but it need not relate to whatever your partner has been saying. Although your partner may realize you are not being attentive, do not tell him or her that you are deliberately not listening. The ABC Sheet Instruction sheet says: Do not allow your partner to read this sheet! As your partner is talking, keep track of the number of words he or she uses that begin with “a,” “b,” and “c.” Do not count the words “a,” “an,” or “and.” Do not tell your partner what you are doing. You can take part in the conversation, but be sure to keep an accurate score while your partner is talking. DEBRIEF: After each group has experienced non-listening behaviors, what happened and how it relates to listening and getting your message across. Posted online by Todd Wilmore II. Actively Listen to Remember vs. Listen for Underlying Meanings Active listening isn’t only about giving the speaker auditory or visual feedback cues. It also requires listeners to focus and remember what they hear. These following Active Learning Exercises highlight the challenges in listening to remember, as well as our brain’s tendency to fill in where information is missing. 8. Tell a STORY We play a game in my organization where the facilitator reads a story and then immediately after quizzes the participants (unbeknownst to them). We advise them that they are not allowed to take takes or record the story which is no longer than 2 minutes. Question number 1 is always “what was the character’s name?”. Most all people get this wrong. they really have to actively listen. ~ Twanda Rhodes DEBRIEF: Discuss what it means to “actively listen.” If they didn’t recall the name of the character, what did they remember? How important are details in making someone feel heard? How important is note-taking? Ask, might you have focused more if you knew you’d be quizzed on this afterwards? 9. Hold your Questions In this exercise by Liberating Structures, One group talks and has a collaborative discussion (e.g. PO and stakeholder) while the second group (e.g. dev team) listens with no video access to see the group talking and with their microphone on mute so they have to hold all questions until the end. It is VERY effective. Here’s the link for more info: https://www.liberatingstructures.com/18-users-experience-fishbowl/ ~ Nicole Coyle 10. Fill in the Meaning – see how people’s minds fill in the holes when information is missing Create a list of around 20 related words based on a specific topic. For instance; garden, grass, tree, bush, hedge etc. Leave one obvious word from the list i.e. flower and also repeat one of the words in the list three or four times. Take this sheet out at the relevant time during your training session and tell the participants that you are going to read the list out to them and they are not allowed to write anything down. They should just listen to you. Next, give them one minute to write down as many of the words they can remember as possible. In review, you should notice that about 60% remember the first word, 75% remember the last word, 80% will remember the word you repeated three times and some will even write down the obvious word that you didn’t say. Discuss the reasons behind these outcomes and what that means when we communicate. ~ TrainingBubble.com 11. TAKE NOTE? Start a story–1-2 sentences. Assign next person to summarize what was just said and add 1-2 more sentences to the story. Continue until everyone has done it, and then ask first person to repeat whole story back. DEBRIEF: Did anyone take notes? How was that perceived at the time the notes were taken? How was it perceived after the fact? Did anyone ask clarifying questions? What was the impact? ~ Shelley Etzenhouser III. Clarify understanding when Active Listening This next grouping of Active Listening Exercises requires listeners to check their understanding by asking questions. 12. Draw what you hear Another simpler exercise that I’ll use involves asking a volunteer to perform a task for me, but with minimal instructions. (ie. “draw my house.”) Repeatedly, they’ll make submissions and I’ll mockingly berate them for poor job performance. Eventually, I’ll ask them to sit down. I’ll then ask for another volunteer to perform the task, but this time I provide them with great detail. Of course, they can complete the task with much more success. DEBRIEF: what’s the impact of being able to ask questions and clarify understanding?  13. Colourblind – Ask clarifying questions and strategize! This game requires players to figure out which funky-shaped pieces might be missing from their complete set. Success requires the group to ask each other clarifying questions about the pieces they each hold. They must listen to and understand each other’s descriptions of the pieces as well as strategic suggestions for how they can solve the puzzle. ~ Shirley Gaston IV. Practice Makes Perfect This grouping of exercises allows participants to practice their listening skills and get feedback from colleagues. 14. Role Play Have a colleague help you demo skills. Then have real practice with role plays. Put the class in triads and put each triad in its own breakout rooms aka virtual meeting. Have 2 role players and an observer. You and a colleague pop in and out of the breakout rooms. Wrap up with a class debrief. The catch is using a virtual tool that supports breakout rooms. ~Ronald Blumenthal 15. Difficult Customer Role Play Have participants pair up with a partner for a role play. One person can be the difficult customer and the other the customer service rep, then they can switch roles. The best way to diffuse a tense situation is to use active listening – let the customer know you hear what they are saying. But it’s important not to make any promises at that stage of the exchange because that costs money. But acknowledge the customer’s frustration and let them vent. Then move on to problem-solving – get the customer to help in solving the problem and then work on solving it together. ~ Tom Lord 15. Telling vs. Showing This quick exercise can be used as a “closer” or as a listening exercise, to reinforce the message that “actions speak louder than words.” I say: “Please follow my words. Raise your right hand over your head. Keep following my words. Make a fist. Please make sure to follow my words. Round your fist three times and then put your fist on your forehead! (just before this moment, you put your own fist on your jaw!) You would find most participants would follow your action and put their fists on their jaws! Someone would find their mistakes and put their fists on their forehead, Then you can say: What happened? I’ve asked you to follow my words for three times, but you follow my actions! Why? ~ Mark Guo Great example of telling your group to do one thing and showing them another. Interesting to see how they hear your instructions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNA1278Y7ZM ~ Denzal Sunny V. Uncovering Assumptions Listeners tend to make assumptions when they think they know an intended meaning or have seen and heard similar situations. Our primitive brains are actually wired to look for shortcuts. However, this may not be so helpful when we’re trying to be good communicators. Our tendency might be to stop listening if we think we know what someone is going to say. Alternatively, we may assume that asking questions is somehow inappropriate, or will make us look foolish. The following Active Listening Exercises help highlight the assumptions we make and shortcuts we take that may compromise our clear communication efforts. These require a second person in the room. For virtual learning experiences, you can either ask participants to invite a family member into the room with them or model how they’d expect the exercise would look if they were paired with another person. 16. Making a fist and challenging assumptions Take 2 volunteers from the class. Tell one to make a fist and the other to open it. 99% of the crowd fails in this as one person makes the fist and the other struggles. Why??? Because the person who made the fist resists. Then I tell my class that I had only asked one to make a fist and the other to open it. Never asked to resist. This way I teach them the pros and cons of inactive listening and assumption. Posted by Sohini Mazumder 17. “Arm Wrestle” For this one, you must never say the words “arm wrestle.” Here’s what you do: Have everyone find a partner. Ask partners to “assume this position.” Demonstrate with a volunteer, and hand link position with both of your elbows on the table. Explain, “This is a very easy exercise. There are two things you must know. 1- you get a point if the back of your partner’s hand touches the table 2-you want to get as many points for yourself as possible. You don’t care about anyone else. Explain, “Each ‘point’ is worth one M&M. You will have only 10 seconds to get as many M&Ms as you can. GO.” Some teams who assume it’s an arm wrestle will only get 1-2 M&Ms, others will get to 100 if they give in and tap one person’s hand against the table repeatedly. To do this, however, they must not assume a competition and they must communicate about their shared interests. See here for more info on the debrief. Wrap it Up As with any any learning or training experience, getting closure and committing to next steps is an important part of the process. Using this set of verbs, ask each participant to commit to one or two ways they will listen actively during their next conversation with a colleague, spouse, family member or friend. Have them write the word on their favorite squeeze toy or a Stop-Start-Continue-Change Sticky Note. Focus Accept – Don’t judge Affirm Remember Ask Reflect Clarify Summarize Note Empathize Share Additional Questions to Debrief Active Listening Exercises How did you know that your partner was listening to you? What did it feel like to really be listened to without being interrupted? What made this activity challenging for you? How can active listening help you resolve conflicts? Additional resources for Communication and Listening Exercises Communication and Listening Exercises Are you Even Listening to Me The Perfect Debrief

Let’s say you find the perfect learning game—for communication, listening, negotiation, leadership, process improvement, problem solving, critical thinking, and time management—then what? Games work because they remove players from their usual setting and create a safe environment to take risks and try new approaches. But, playing the game isn’t enough. Behavioral change relies on a debrief that draws out “ah-ha” moments and applies those to real-world challenges. Get the most out of your learning game by using this Debrief Infographic. The graphic is chock full of tips and processing questions to help you conduct the perfect debrief. The graphic divides the debriefing process into three parts: 1) Process and discuss the experience; 2) Commit and plan next steps; and 3) Remember and take action. Process Consider “process” as both a verb and a noun. The core of a debriefing exercise entails taking time to actively process the experience – consider what happened, how you felt about it, and what you learned from it. The process you use to do that can take a variety of forms, but the key to each is asking good questions. What? So What? Now What?The focus of these questions is: What have you learned? So what, what is the significance of the learning? Now what are you going to do or change going forward? Works Well. Do Differently.With these two simple questions, facilitators can help their groups to explore what was working and where they can do better. The key is that it frames this self-critical exercise in positive, non-threatening terms. WHOA! AHA! HMM!Perhaps simplest of all, you can ask your group to share their “aha” moments. Or, make it even more fun by adding WHOA! (what surprised you?) and HMM! (what made you ponder?). No matter what questioning paradigm you choose, facilitators are well-advised to adhere to these six tips: Be transparent – explain what you hope to achieve by asking questions and debriefing the experience Keep it simple – make questions short, pithy, and easy to answer Foster conversation – ask open-ended questions and inquire whether others agreed or think differently Probe for more – keep asking “why?” or say, “Tell me more,” to better understand participants’ experiences. Don’t rush – give participants time to think through the experience and answer your questions thoughtfully Write it down – record ideas that are shared so your group can focus their thoughts on listening and formulating their own answers Crafting your questions When it comes to finding the perfect question(s) to ask, we’ve found these to work quite well in a variety of situations, but of course, every facilitator should adapt the recommendations to the needs of their group, exercise, and goals. What? Questions Without judgment or evaluation, help your group develop a common understanding of what happened. Sometimes individuals lend different meanings or draw different conclusions from events that occurred or words that were spoken. Help your group distinguish “what happened” from any interpretations assigned to them. By developing a shared framework, you will help the group avoid miscommunication and misunderstandings. In that spirit, ask: What happened? How did you go about the task? What task-related strategies did you use? What actions helped/hindered? How did you reach a consensus? So What? Questions Ask questions to understand the experience of each team member. So What? questions get more to the nuance of how participants experienced the learning activity. The goal at this stage is to understand more about how participants felt, the effectiveness of their different strategies, and the relevance of choosing one strategy over another. You might ask: How did it feel? How did your approach affect others? What would you do differently? How did leader(s) emerge? How did you encourage participation? What got you off track? On track? What assumptions did you make? Did they help or hurt? What communication (process-related) strategies helped/hindered? What challenged your comfort zone or made you uncomfortable? Now What? Questions Now What? questions are the first step in teasing out the implications of the simulated activity on the group’s “real world” challenges. While the benefit of simulated exercises, games, and activities is precisely to remove players from their real-world situations, the end goal is to come full circle and apply the introspection and learning back to day-to-day realities. Facilitators can ask, simply: How does this experience relate to your “real world”? What learning should we take forward? How can we better foster trust? How can we make sure everyone feels heard? How can we best support each other? What is your #1 take-away? Commit The prior “now what?” questions may uncover the important learning points, but they don’t ensure behavior change. They don’t make certain that learning will be applied. The commitment phase, therefore, helps facilitators guide participants into taking action and pledging to take next steps. These final questions may help: Back at work, what will you start, stop, continue, or change? What one idea are you most excited to implement immediately? What bit of learning would you share with a colleague? What support do you need to apply the material learned here? How long will it take you to implement the new ideas you gained? Remember As a final step, facilitators will want their group to remember what they learned and to actually do what they said they’d do. The mnemonic C.R.A.M. will help facilitators remember what some of their options are: C-Create a fun mnemonic (have participants work in teams to come up with something to jog their memories) R-Record key learning points (ask participants to write down their next steps in an app or document they frequently use) A-Address and mail a postcard (you can do this, or your participants can) M-Metaphorical photos (have each person select a photographic image that will remind them of their key takeaway) Wrapping it up Facilitators and managers know as well, or better than their group that activities are a waste of time if behaviors don’t change as a result of the experiences. Debriefs don’t have to long, but they must happen. Trainers Warehouse offers additional tools and resources to make the debrief as fun and effective as the learning game itself, including Start-Stop-Continue-Change Sticky Notes, Photographic Card Decks, I-Got-This or “Hindsight-is-20/20 notepads,” Squeeze Toys, and more. Read more: Memorable Debriefs Why Use Training Games

I asked Jonathan Winkler, a seventh-grade history teacher in Newton, Massachusetts to test out a new Me First Buzzer System. At my request, he gave it to me straight and shared his Game Buzzers experience—successes and challenges. To set the scene, understand that he introduced this snazzy new buzzer system during the last week of school, when (understandably) kids have a bit of summer fever, are looking forward to graduation, and are ready to play! Thanks to Mr. Winkler, though, for not giving up after his first class went haywire with the buzzers, slamming them before questions were even asked. Using them with several groups, here’s what he found to work best. Trial 1: Everyone gets a buzzer This was a way too exciting for his group. The first time Winkler introduced the buzzers to the class, players got a “slap happy,” pressing buzzers prematurely, before hearing a question or reviewing a slide. The experience became frustrating for everyone—the teachers, as well as the kids who were either slower to buzz-in or were playing by the rules and waiting for the question. TAKEAWAYS: Think about when (and how) might be a good time to introduce a tool like this. Build in some time for the group to get accustomed to the buzzers, so the technology doesn’t draw focus from the material and the experience. Establish ground rules early on: for players who buzz-in too early, the facilitator will press “CONTINUE” and block them out from next questions Do a pre-test: Have each student buzz-in to make sure their buzzer is working. Consider the frustration of not being able to accumulate points because there are too many players. If you’re accommodating lots of players, consider putting people into teams. With 20-30 buzzers set out, facilitators may have trouble seeing which pad turned green and have to ask the student to hold it up. Trial 2: One buzzer at each table Given the students’ excitement, this too was a challenge. It was a bit less chaotic, but still yielded lots of early buzzing-in. TAKEAWAYS: Consider putting people into small groups so they can confer on questions. Grouping people into smaller teams can let them feel more successful, because they can more easily accumulate points, if you’re keeping score. If questions are very easy to answer, many people within one group may all need access to the buzzer, and could find themselves competing with one another. Consider how close people need to be to one another to reach the buzzer. Trial 3: Two Game Buzzers (Feud style) In his third attempt, Mr. Winkler divided the students into two teams and had each team form a line. The students at the front of each line would pair up in front of the buzzers and compete to win a point for their team. Students and facilitators both found this to be most effective, and allowed the group to focus on the content, not the buzzers. Game Buzzers TAKEAWAYS This format worked well for rapid-fire questions. Facilitators will need to have lots of questions on hand. If your group is fast to buzz-in, try reading your questions (Jeopardy-style) instead of integrating the experience with a PowerPoint For large classes, the one-at-a-time format could leave students standing idle for too long a time. If neither of the front two players knows an answer, you can invite them to pass to the next teammate in line, or confer with their team. Me First Buzzers, inside and out In spite of his early frustrations facilitating the reinforcement games, Mr. Winkler did find the buzzers to add fun and excitement to his end-of-year review. If he were to do it again, Winkler said he’d likely stick with a 4-player system because it worked best in his classroom. He also mentioned being impressed with the buzzers’ functionality: INCREDIBLY DURABLE: The students were very rough with the buzzers (“they were slamming them really hard,” Mr. Winkler said), and a buzzer occasionally fell on the floor, yet they always seemed to turn back on afterward. THE CONTINUE BUTTON: Having the ability to hit “continue” and block out previous responders was a huge help to the facilitator. It allowed the teacher to dissuade players from buzzing in early and enable slower thinkers a turn to play. SOUNDS: Although they’re not always used, it’s nice to be able to indicate if an answer is right or wrong. And, according to Mr. Winkler, “The students really loved the sounds! Sometimes I would forget to hit the correct button and they would quickly request that I do that.” BATTERIES: With three batteries in each pad, facilitators may be concerned about having to change them all at once. While we have never heard of this, we have recently updated the battery door to have a latch instead of a screw so that changing batteries is a little easier (AVAILABLE 2020). While this will make it easier to change the batteries, it invites the chance that the batteries could come out, if the PAD falls on the floor. (This did happen once to Mr. Winkler). TURN OFF: Conveniently, the facilitator can turn off all the Player pads by turning off the Facilitator PAD. Remember, to turn the units on or off, you must press-and-hold the on/off button for 3 to 5 seconds. MULTIPLE CLASSROOMS: so that two or more classrooms in close proximity can use the buzzer systems concurrently, without interference, the player buzzers are set to “match” to the facilitator pad for the first 5 minutes of use. After that, additional player pads will not communicate back and forth to the facilitator pad. NOTE: Earlier versions do not have this capability. Given the “matching” function of Me First v.3, we recommend that you: Power on extra buzzers for anyone you anticipate to be late to class Power on an extra buzzer if you want to have a back-up If an issue arises, power off the facilitator remote, then power them all back on, press RESET, and you’re good to go. As always, it’s best to know your group and have some alternative ideas in your back pocket, in case “plan A” doesn’t go as expected. READ MORE Facilitating Jeopardy-like Games Playbook of Me First! Game Show Buzzer Games

“I can’t talk about that at work.” “My boss wouldn’t want to hear what I have to say.” Employees have so many reasons for not talking about meaningful topics at work. Sometimes, they’re tight-lipped simply because giving feedback is difficult. In other cases, they may feel that sharing personal information is inappropriate, or trusting relationships necessary to do so are absent. Maybe the opportunity to explore new relationships simply never arises. And yet, companies are quick to realize that engagement and productivity increase as employee relationships and trust deepen. In a 2017 study by The McKinsey Global Institute, researchers found that productivity improves by 20-25% in organizations with connected employees. Change is an action verb Organizations that value strong working relationships shouldn’t leave the development of those relationships to chance. After all, change rarely happens by itself. High-functioning teams are a result of hard work and groups working together to overcome obstacles or achieve common goals. Through the shared experiences, team members learn more about one another and come to rely on each other. If team development doesn’t happen overnight or by accident, we must assume that other working relationships won’t happen that way either. When the goal is changing interpersonal dynamics, we have to take ownership and make it happen. Unfortunately, many managers are ill-equipped with the skills and tools to start conversations. Making it happen: Change your thinking or change your situation When my kids have been frustrated with a situation–a difficult teacher, a not-so-nice friend, their placement on a team, etc.–I’ve always fallen back on the mantra that you can either change the way you’re thinking about your predicament or you can do something about it. “Doing something” can take many forms–walking away, altering your own behavior, or talking through a situation so you can either come to a shared understanding or a new outcome. Unfortunately, many are woefully ill-equipped with the skills and tools to start conversations. 6 tricks to starting conversations If you have the budget, hiring a consultant, coach, or team-building professional can do wonders to initiate important conversations, bridge divides, develop common understanding, and build relationships. However, even without deep pockets, you can achieve substantial results with a handful of creative tools. The key is carving out the time that consultant would have demanded and making it happen on your own. Thumballs – Toss the ball and discuss the prompt under your thumb. Thumballs have grown in popularity because they make a game of starting conversations. Thumball topics include: Getting to Know You, Common Ground, Session Openers, Ethics, Diversity, Team Dynamics, Leadership, and more. UNZIP-it! decks – Grab a card from an UNZIP-it! pocket and respond to the discussion prompt on the card. The UNZIP-it! pocket makes it fun to draw a card and start talking. Decks are currently available in a range of topics such as Getting to Know You, Common Ground, and Session Openers. They’re very compact for storage and travel.  Conversation Topic decks -Card decks are available in a huge variety of topics from leadership and emotional intelligence to feelings and values. Deck games are typically played like this: players draw a “hand,” sort or trade the cards according to which best describe their mindset, and then discuss those qualities with the group. Image decks – Spread out an assortment of intriguing photographs and let individuals locate a card that represents a thought, concern, or interest. Welcome participants to use the card as a crutch or a metaphor to describe an experience, idea, question or observation. Sticky Notes – Invite participants to think on their own or “share in pairs ” and write their ideas, thoughts, concerns, or questions on sticky notes. Post those to a board in the front of the room. Then the facilitator can sort those notes and lead a group discussion about the most popular topics. Team-building experiences – games are popular because they distance players from their day-to-day experiences, freeing them to explore interpersonal dynamics in a safe space. When debriefing the activity, facilitators can draw parallels to “real world” experiences and use those to stimulate conversation. Any tool is better than no tool! Those new to the idea of building relationships or initiating conversations can feel confident that this range of resources will yield interesting conversations. If you’re addressing an “elephant in the room” or a particularly touchy topic, consider engaging a facilitator or setting up ground rules to make the exercise feel safer. But whatever you do, will likely be better than doing nothing. The pay-off is worth it, according to studies by Gallup, Workplace Research Foundation, Business2Community, and Queens School of Business, as organizations that foster dialogue among colleagues have been proven to achieve greater employee engagement, lower turnover, and higher productivity. So unzip-it and start talking! Read more on starting conversations 7 Tips for Formulating Great Questions No gift of the gab? No Worries – questions to build relationships Getting to Know You — how deep can you go? – ask the right questions depending on how intimate you want to get

The more engaged students are in the learning process, the more they will absorb. While this makes intuitive sense, the assertion is also backed up by loads of brain research showing that when more areas of the brain are involved in an experience, the more memorable it becomes. So, to maximize learning, we must continue to engage the mind and the body, by offering physical experiences as well as cerebral ones and stirring up learners’ emotions. None of this will happen if the “sage on the stage” stands there lecturing. Instead, we need to replace talking heads with participation. Click for Participation Infographic. Participation 101 When I look at my kids’ report cards and their Schoology reports, I often see references and grades for “class participation.” When teachers or trainers ask questions, inviting learners to raise their hand to share a response, they put the onus on the student to single themselves out to share. I don’t know about you, but when I was a teenager, I wasn’t the most confident or outspoken student–only a handful of students in my classes were. I wasn’t particularly shy but was still unlikely to raise my hand with an answer unless I really knew it. I grew up in the pre-Growth Mindset world, but even in the Carol Dweck era of today, where failure is appreciated as part of the learning process, many students (young and old) are still reluctant to participate in a roomful of peers. Participation 202 Historically, we’ve thought of class participation in terms of participating in discussions or answering questions posed by a teacher or trainer. I think that’s what my kids are still graded on. However, as teaching formats have evolved, so must our understanding of what constitutes “participation.” Beyond talking and discussing, participation can involve, walking, standing, writing, drawing, clicking, and playing. The challenge for teachers and trainers is to link their teaching and learning goals with an appropriate type of participation. Goals might include the introduction of new material, practicing new techniques, improving memory, or committing to next steps. Depending on the goal, teachers may use a myriad of different tools to facilitate broad participation, rather than engaging only the handful of students who happen to raise their hands to speak. Let’s explore 7 teaching goals and ways to make those efforts more participatory. 1) Introduce material In place of lecturing, ask questions and have learners think through the material before divulging answers. Quick Response Answer Boards allow every participant to think up and jot down an answer. Have them raise their boards so you can quickly scan the room and get a sense of the group’s understanding. Audience Response Clickers give every person a chance to guess an answer, usually A-B-C-D or True-False. With these, facilitators can easily tabulate results. If everyone knows an answer, they can move along to the next topic. If not, they can take more time to delve into the correct and incorrect answers. Sometimes incorrect answers can lead to an extremely interesting conversation. Jeopardy games aren’t just for reinforcement. They can be a super fun way to introduce new information. By chunking their presentations into categories and questions, facilitators can help learners begin thinking about material to which they’ve never been exposed. Flash cards aren’t flashy, but they can be a great way to activate the mind and body, as they can require writing, flipping, shuffling, sorting, walking, folding, etc. 2) CHECK understanding Use tools that will allow EVERY participant to think of an answer, not just your fastest thinkers. Audience Response Systems (ARS) equip every participant with a clicker (or phone), so that players can key-in a response. Many ARS are best-suited to multiple-choice and true/false answers, but some do allow players to give more complex answers. If you prefer open-ended questions and free-thinking questions, rather than prompting the group with multiple-choice answers, try dry-erase Answer Boards. Find ready-made boards or create your own. A variety of dry-erase surfaces are readily available. Write it and Show it on Paper. If you don’t have the time or budget to get fancy, plain ol’ paper works really well too — and can be recycled! 3) Get Physical & Have Fun! If your goal is really just to get people moving around, you may not need to tie the movement to the learning curriculum. Simply getting the blood moving to different parts of the body can have a positive impact on learning. Energy Break Thumball. Catch the ball and act out the movement described on the ball. Tabletop Jeopardy. Have teams write questions for each other or come up and turn over a question card. It’s more active than listening to a question read by a teacher, for sure! Prize Wheels. Spinning a prize wheel can help groups pick questions, teams, categories, and prizes . . . or it can be a good excuse to get learners up and moving around. They can even spin to determine how many points they’ll get if they answer a question correctly. Be creative! Scratch & See. For maximum movement, have players stand up and pick a custom-made card, then scratch away. Make-your-own scratch tickets can also be great for prizes, team assignments, question categories, and more. Paper airplanes and paper balls. Rather than having learners raise a hand to ask a question, ask them to write it out on paper then fold it into an airplane or squeeze it into a ball. They can then toss it to someone else to read. 4) Practice and Quiz Play quick-response games to improve memory and retention. Be warned, however, that you run the risk of leaving slower thinkers behind. Following are some tools that reward quick recall, and ways to adapt them to include folks who need more time to think through their answer or feel shy about answering questions in a big group. Jeopardy game with Who’s First or Me First buzzer. Game buzzers add excitement to competitive games as teams race to buzz-in and answer questions first. They also help facilitators focus on the game content, rather than defusing arguments about who gets to answer a question. Adaptation: to engage slower thinkers in the game, you might require every player on a team to come up with (or understand, or be able to explain) an answer before the team rings in. Toss and Recall games. Toss a ball or Koosh and have them remember a fact or answer a question. Adaptation: invite recipients to consult with someone next to them before sharing with the bigger group. Create-Your-Own Thumball / Beachball / (or Write and Toss Dice). Write questions or discussion prompts on the ball. Then, give it a toss and ask the recipient to respond to the prompt or answer the question under their thumb. Adaptation: have student teams write on the content reinforcement questions/prompts and see if they can stump one another. Adaptation: create three balls of varying difficulty. 5) Commit to Action Ensure that learning is applied by asking participants to write down (and commit to) next steps. Start-Stop-Continue-Change. At the end of a learning module, discuss the takeaways. Ask the group what they’d like to START doing in the future; what they should STOP; whether they want to CONTINUE or CHANGE other actions. What? So What? Now What? The focus of these questions is: What have you learned? So what, what is the significance of the learning? Now what are you going to do or change going forward? 6) Spark Conversation For some, coming up with stuff to say can be a daunting challenge. A variety of tools call on visual metaphors, quotes, or discussion prompts to spark creativity and the flow of new ideas. And, they can be adapted to any topic in any discipline. Favorites include: Photo Decks, which offer an array of thought provoking images. Challenge your group to find an image that reminds them of an important fact or concept or have them choose an image that reflects how they’re thinking or feeling. Then they can discuss why they picked the image they did. Discussion Prompt Cards. On each card is an open-ended question. Pick a card and ask someone else the question or go ahead and answer it yourself. With discussion prompt activities, the facilitator can decide whether everyone should answer and discuss the same prompt, or let each person pick a different topic. Using the later approach, you might cover more material, but not dig in as deeply or engage in rich dialogue. Thumballs. These require players to toss a ball, catch it, and respond to the prompt under their thumb. When using a tool like this, consider how well the group knows each other and what sort of discussion topics would be welcome. Do you need to avoid uncomfortable silences? Get to know each other better? Or, dig into more difficult topics about Stress, Diversity, Goals, Team Dynamics, etc.? Finding Closure The variety of examples above reflect that participation can look very different depending on the age of a group, content being covered, or where the group is within a learning process. No matter what the specifics, participation will help bring closure to learning events and make material more memorable. Read more: 9 Ways to Increase Student Engagement    

I just happened upon the Pipe Cleaner Team Building Game, a popular STEM development challenge created by Dr. Laura Bottomley & Heather Smolensky, of NCSU. I quickly read through the very clever facilitation notes, and thought the game would also be an excellent, low-cost team building activity for adults. With the plethora of team building games available out there, I got to thinking about what makes this one so appealing. It isn’t just the low cost and ready availability of the supplies, but rather the care taken to construct a scenario–a reason for playing. In the case of the Pipe Cleaner Challenge, the situation is fun, engaging, believable, and can be easily be applied to real-life situations. In fact, many of my favorite team building games share these characteristics: FUN: Creating a scenario that’s different from people’s day-to-day work challenges will free players to “try-on” different roles and approaches. People are more likely to take risks when they are playing a low-stakes game, rather than trying to prove themselves in a job they already do. Moreover, the more fun and creative the scenario, the freer your group will feel to take risks. ENGAGING & BELIEVABLE : Beyond taking the time to create a story line that brings the challenge to life, stay “in character,” layering on additional detail and nuance to your story line. APPLICABLE: For any team activity, the true learning comes in the debrief, when you take the time to break down the details of what happened and why. Identify and discuss the productive behaviors that led to success and the actions may have side-tracked the team. The challenge In this quick, 10-minute exercise, teams of “engineers” are challenged to build the tallest free-standing structure possible with only 15 pipe cleaners. The facilitation First 2-4 minutes: tell the teams “there have been budget cuts and each team member must place one arm behind their back!” Next few minutes: stop the teams again and explain, “as engineers, you work in a global marketplace where people speak different languages. To symbolize this challenge, you can no longer speak.” Final 1-2 minutes: tell the teams that “business is booming and you now have the funds to hire translators, so you can speak again!” The debrief After a team building game, ask questions such as: if they all had similar ideas at first; how they came to agreement; the way they developed a process for building; ideas for how they could do a better job; roles they each played; was it helpful or detrimental to have (or not have) a leader; etc.