WorkSMART Blog

With all the team-building games out there–in books, on blogs, facilitated by consultants, and shared in social media–how is one to know what experience is right for their group? The truth is that too many variables exist for there to be any “right answers.” But, hopefully, we can help you ask the right questions so you’re better able to hone in on a handful of good candidates that will meet your needs. Goals The first question to ask yourself is “What is my goal?” Any game or activity you undertake should have a clear purpose, which should be communicated to participants. Your ability to be completely transparent about the goal will help you get buy-in and participation and will help make the effort a success. To articulate your goal, think about your group in terms of both who they are and how they currently work together–are they just getting to know each other? do they know each other well already? Is there a particular challenge they’re facing? Try breaking down the goals into these three broad strokes: Raise awareness — of issues, personality styles, and roles Bring the team together to build relationships — build trust, address problems, improve performance Build specific collaborative skills — such as communication, listening, process improvement No matter the goal, be aware that with most team games, the most important part of the experience is the reflection, learning, discussion, and forward-thinking that happens at the end. As you choose a game, think about the balance of planning time relative to the time taken to complete the task. Your review should address the planning stages of the process, as well as the experience of completing whatever challenge you set out. Time Once you have an idea of what you want to accomplish, the next questions relate to time and budget. With respect to time, understand that a more involved, lengthier experience will give more substance on which participants can reflect. In addition, longer debriefs and discussions will allow current work issues to surface and give the group time to work through ways to apply the learning to their day-to-day challenges. While shorter experiences can help to build relationships, awareness, and understanding, they may not get to the deeper, underlying issues. You may wonder if the ultimate goal is to uncover real work issues, then why start with a simulated activity? The reason is that it’s easier for people to make observations and raise concerns in fictional situations than in real ones. But once the topic is broached, people can more comfortably address the ways in which the simulation mirrors the real-world challenges — and discuss new techniques or processes that will yield better results. Budget Finally, we get to the question of money. We’ve found many team-building experiences both online and in books that won’t cost a penny but may require you to gather props from around the house. If you’re on a low budget or need to travel light, Jim Cain has a series of books that will come in handy (Rope Games, Find Something to Do – no prop activities, and the Big Book of Low-cost Training Games), as does Tom Heck (Duct Tape Teambuilding Games). Sometimes, however, managers and team leaders opt for an experience that signals greater professionalism, planning, and investment. Beyond these perceptions, many pricier games are built on the intellectual property of team-building experts and come with robust facilitation notes. Cognitive Challenge Consider too the organizational level of your group. For executive teams, you’ll want the challenge of the team-building game to match the complexity of their day-to-day work. If an experience is either too easy or too difficult, you’ll lose the group’s interest. Game Selections Following are brief descriptions of game choices categorized by goal. The infographic pictured above indicates the required time and relative expense. In addition, these brief descriptions should help you make an appropriate choice for your group. Raise Awareness of Issues, Styles, & Roles Helium Stick – Teams try to lower a really lightweight pole without anyone’s finger leaving the pole. Seems easy, but the pole tends to go up, not down. How do teams get in sync?Team Dynamics Thumball –Discuss the dynamics and interactions of your team. Whoever catches the ball responds to the prompt under their thumb: how do you support each other? show appreciation? gain commitment? build trust? treat mistakes? manage disagreements?Marshmallow Challenge – Popularized by Tom Wujec, who presented a TED Talk on the subject, the challenge is to build the tallest possible free-standing structure, which will support one marshmallow on the top, using 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of tape and one yard of string.Style Play Cards – 12 quick, energizing games that build awareness of 4 distinct personality styles and let players practice interacting with people of other styles.Challenging Assumptions – raise awareness of preconceptions as small groups work to assemble a seemingly simple puzzle. They start by turning all the pieces face up and there the learning begins. Bring Teams Together Talk about our Dynamics Get to Know Each Other — Thumballs are a great way to discover things about other people. A variety of these balls are suitable for work environments. They’re fun, active, and not intimidating at all!Team Dynamics Thumball –Discuss the dynamics and interactions of your team. Whoever catches the ball responds to the prompt under their thumb: how do you support each other? show appreciation? gain commitment? build trust? treat mistakes? manage disagreements?Images of Organizations – The 16 images in this unique pack present a variety of work environments (both positive and frustrating) and will help your group talk openly about difficult topics. Problem-Solve Together Matrix Puzzle – Each card in the deck contains one clue. Without writing anything down or sharing their clues, teams need to sort out the logic puzzle and find the solution. The Teamwork & Teamplay Card Deck has one such activity. Marshmallow Challenge – Popularized by Tom Wujec, who presented a TED Talk on the subject, the challenge is to build the tallest possible free-standing structure, which will support one marshmallow on the top, using 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of tape, and one yard of string. Seeing the Point: This puzzle challenges teams to do more with less. Each is given a set of 7 pieces and asked to create 5 uniform shapes. Creating four of these shapes is easy, but making the fifth takes creativity, out-of-the-box thinking, and the alignment of resources.  TeamWRITER: Teams must work together to position the ropes on a team writing utensil, then draw a picture or phrase, guiding the pen by their ropes.. Pipelines: Give each participant a short length of halfpipe and challenge the group to deliver a ball through the obstacle course without dropping the ball. DaBridge: Work together to build a DaVinci-style bridge with nothing but a bunch of rods and planks. PuzzleBlind: Teams collaborate to help blindfolded team members assemble an oversized puzzle. Perfect Square: For practicing leadership and consensus building, this challenge requires teams to form their 60-foot rope into a perfect square—blindfolded. Generates great discussions about interdependence, communication, leadership, and more. Construction Kits – construction kits offer oodles of exercises that will let you focus on creative problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills. Build your own exercise or use one of these Construction Kit Games. Build Skills Listening Workstations – a matrix puzzle, whereby each card contains one piece of information. Without trading cards or writing anything down, team members must share information verbally in order to solve a challenging logic puzzle. "Co-opetition" and Negotiation T-trade™ involves three groups, each trying to achieve the best business outcome for themselves but needing to ‘make deals’ with other groups in order to be successful. How do they go about making mutually acceptable agreements and yet maintain their focus on achieving the best individual team results they can? Common Currency — Teams representing fictional countries must cooperate in trading coins and information while competing for the most valuable combination of coins. Interactions involve both task (outcome) and relationship (process) skills. Good for teamwork and strategic planning, leadership, communication, conflict resolution, problem-solving, and decision-making. Communication Within Groups What’s My Communication Style? Uncover preferred styles of verbal and non-verbal communication with a quick personality assessment tool. Discover preferences for one of 4 communication styles and ways to use the styles to enhance communication. Colourblind – blindfolded participants hold a collection of colored plastic shapes. Teams must work together to identify the pieces missing from the set. Success demands effective group management, questioning, and listening. Mars Rover: Participants are immersed in a team construction activity, whereby they are tasked by the World Space Agency to build a prototype rover for traversing Mars’ rocky terrain. Communication Between Groups Seeing the Point — This puzzle challenges teams to do more with less. Each is given a set of 7 pieces and asked to create 5 uniform shapes. Creating four of these shapes is easy, but making the fifth takes creativity, out-of-the-box thinking, and alignment of resources.Communication Derailed – tackle three common communication challenges (communication within a team, between teams, and during organizational stress). Includes 3 comprehensive modules, each 2-3 hours long.Minefield – if you don’t want hard-won organizational knowledge to go down the drain this game’s for you. Inter-team communication and cooperation are a must as teams gather costly information to solve this complex logic problem. Uber Challenges for Execs Insight Kit by MTa — MTa Learning’s Insight Kit has 53 different games suitable for team development, problem-solving, communication, leadership, decision-making, and stakeholder alignment. It has a hefty price tag but is worth every penny if you’re looking for highly professional experiences that can be used at any level of the organization. The facilitation and debriefing notes are excellent and will help you select a single game or a sequence of games, depending on your needs. With so many options, choosing the perfect team-building game may be daunting, but hopefully, these tips and descriptions will help you hone in on the ones that will be best for your group.

Trainers always talk about “connections before content.” Icebreaker questions are critical starts to your training because they help learners connect with one another and with the topic they will be exploring. Looking for the perfect prompt for your next session. Let this be your guide! For each category of prompts, we’ll share 5 to 10 examples. If you want more variety, you can purchase a Thumball, UNZIP-it! Pocket or UNZIP-it! PowerPoint Deck. If you want ALL THE PROMPTS for ALL THE TOPICS, explore the Trainers EXCHANGE website. Get Acquainted Icebreaker Questions Some getting-acquainted conversation starters will fill silences but not develop deep relationships. Others, which explore motivations, personality traits, history, goals, and accomplishments, will lead to deeper understanding. Understandably, with any conversation starter, the person answering always has the option to make light of a question rather than sharing deeply. The themes listed below are (roughly) organized from skim-the-surface to dig-deeper discussion starters. FAVORITES Although this content asks respondents to respond with “favorites,” we always recommend asking for “one of your favorites.” Somehow, that seems to make it all a bit easier to answer the question. These prompts, which are among our favorites, include a range of topics, such as: Locations and destinations Ways to spend time Cuisines Art forms Preferences Because every prompt is about YOU, most people can respond to these pretty easily. Here’s a spattering of the contents found on this Thumball: Favorite thing to spend money on Favorite thing about getting older Favorite compliment to receive Favorite bit of advice you’ve ever received Favorite fad or trend you hope comes back Favorite day of the week Favorite way to spend a Sunday morning Favorite way to feel healthy Favorite childhood memory Favorite mode of transportation Find all the Favorites-style icebreaker questions in these great training tools from Trainers Warehouse Favorites Thumball $32.95 Favorites UNZIP-it! Card Deck and UNZIP-IT! Pocket $29.95 Favorites PowerPoint $7.95 WHICH ARE YOU? On this Thumball, you’ll find two words on each panel. They represent opposites. The goal is to understand if you are “this” or “that,” or if your preference lies somewhere in the middle. For instance: Work or Play Ask or Tell Highway or Back roads Self-serve or full-serve Sweet or salty Words or Pictures City or Country Imported or Domestic Letters or Numbers Store-bought or Homemade As you use the ball to learn more about friends and colleagues, you’ll find that the topics are quite broad and can be applied to work, home, communication styles, foods, activities, relationships, purchases, leadership, teams, and more. As you play, you can reframe a prompt to your specific location, situation, or objective. Find the full range of prompts here: Which are You and Why? Thumball $32.95 COMMON GROUND Dig into subjects that explore commonalities and shared experiences, for instance: Time: Ways to spend free time, weekends, vacations, etc. Favorites: Favorite foods, activities, apps, show, books People: Family and friends who impact your life Growth: Goals, talents, or skills you’d like to develop Moolah: What you’d spend money on You: claims to fame and more… Identify experiences and interests you share with others with prompts such as these: What does your perfect day look like? Favorite show(s) to watch What do you like to read? Sports I like to watch My favorite childhood memory What do you do regularly to stay healthy? Favorite art form (music, dance, art, theater, film) Who are the most important people in your life? Who in your family are you closest to? For good advice, who do you turn to first? For more prompts, or to purchase the product, click here: Common Ground Thumball $32.95 Common Ground UNZIP-it! Deck $29.95 Common Ground PowerPoint $7.95 WHAT MAKES YOU YOU? This interesting grouping of “What…?” questions helps colleagues identify what makes each person special. The conversation starters cover a range of topics, including: Skills and interests Quirks, wishes, and facts Motivations & fears Likes & dislikes Goals and contributions This sampling of icebreaker questions will give you a sense of the questions: What are you good at, but embarrassed to admit? What is something you like to do the old-fashioned way? What could you give a 30-minute presentation on with no prep? What is something you think everyone should learn? What amazing thing did you do that no one was around to see? What are you looking forward to in the coming months? What is the most impressive thing you know how to do? What’s the dumbest thing you’ve done that turned out okay? What is something you can never seem to finish? What would annoy you about having yourself as a roommate? Find the full sets of conversation prompts in these great training tools from Trainers Warehouse: What Makes You YOU Thumball $32.95 What Makes You YOU UNZIP-it! Deck $29.95 What Makes You YOU PowerPoint $7.95 GETTING TO KNOW YOU Getting to Know You questions are intended to be thoughtful and easy-to-answer. With them, you’ll be able to spark conversation and help players know more about each. Questions will explore: Experiences: memorable moments in your life People: Family and friends who have affected your life Most favorite and least favorite: Gifts, ages, sounds, chores Activities: pastimes, hobbies, bucket list items, travel Hopes, Fears and Wishes: the details that make you unique Least favorite mode of transportation A sound that you love A new skill you’d like to have (with no effort) The most difficult thing you’ve ever done? The age you’d most want to relive The age at which you became an adult An experience that made you a better person Something you did that got you in trouble One item on your bucket list Your claim to fame Probing prompts that get to your phobias, wishes, and favorite moments, explore these resources: Getting to Know You Thumball $32.95 Getting to Know You UNZIP-it! Deck $29.95 Getting to Know You PowerPoint $7.95 SESSION OPENERS These prompts will help build relationships and tease out session objectives to help trainers kick off their learning sessions. Prompts primarily cover these three categories: Getting to Know You: dreams, peeves, wishes, decisions, frustrations, talents Learning Styles: best teachers, preferred learning methods, learning goals Work Styles: proudest accomplishments, creative contributions, strengths I’m here because… I’ll be successful if… I’d like to change… Childhood dream A day I’d live over Most creative contribution I hope to learn… Oops! I forgot to… Greatest strength at work… I learn best by… For more session opener icebreaker prompts about goals, motivations, and aspirations, consider the Session Openers Thumball $32.95 Session Openers UNZIP-it! Deck $29.95 Session Openers PowerPoint $7.95 SHAPED BY OUR PAST The experiences in our lives shape who we are today. Engage your group in conversations about their past experiences and the people who influenced their growth and development. Icebreaker questions focusing on our past typically include: Childhood memories: birthdays, vacations, regrets Past experiences: scary moments, hospital visits, turning points, accomplishments Daily life when you were younger: extracurricular activities, friendships, summer traditions People & personalities: impact of birth order, mentors, grandparents Challenges & accomplishments: difficult choices, challenging times, goals Following is a selection of conversation starters that will help groups share the experiences that shaped them: A time you got in trouble at school A time you went to the hospital An important turning point in your life Describe your “group” in high school Extra-curricular activities you did How you spent your summers How you spent your time after school How your birth order affected you Something you hated as a child You’ll find 32+ icebreaker questions focusing on past experiences in these Trainers Warehouse resources: Shaped by Our Past Thumball $32.95 Shaped by Our Past UNZIP-it! Deck $29.95 Shaped by Our Past PowerPoint $7.95 Topic-Specific Icebreaker Questions DIVERSITY Address the factors and experiences that shape our understanding of differences in ethnicity, age, religion, and more. For instance, An instance when someone went out of their way to make you feel included? A time you went out of your way to make someone feel included? A time you shared an unpopular idea Describe a time you felt lonely in a big group of people What were your parents’ attitudes towards LGBT communities? Should companies/school close for all religious holidays? Why or why not? Name 2 ways in which men and women may be treated differently? Is it easier to be male or female? Why? What gives you hope that people are becoming more accepting of diversity? What’s your generation’s biggest challenge when it comes to acceptance? Explore more Diversity-themed conversation prompts with the: Trainers Warehouse Diversity Thumball. ($32.95) Diversity Questions UNZIP-IT! Deck $29.95 Diversity PowerPoint Deck with Conversation Prompts $7.95 D.E.I. Gain personal and organizational insight. Explore us vs. them thinking, privilege and power, and community initiatives. A dominant aspect of my identity that influences how I feel & act An aspect of my identity that makes me feel proud is… With whom do you feel more/less safe in sharing emotions & experiences? What new initiatives could strengthen feelings of belonging? How can we create a culture of inclusion & equity? Something I’ve learned from people whose identities differ from mine In your mind, what does oppression look like? In what ways do you feel privileged? Why is it important for us to take action in DEI initiatives? What prevents people from stepping up as an ally for diversity and inclusion? Consider the DEI Thumball by Trainers Warehouse for more DEI conversation starters and icebreaker questions ($32.95), or the DEI PowerPoint Deck with similar content. SAFETY TOOLBOX TALKS “Toolbox Talks” are informal safety meetings that address workplace hazards and safe work practices. They help promote an organizational culture that is healthy, safe, and supportive. Use Toolbox Talks Thumball to supplement safety training, not replace it. It’s a great way to kick off safety initiatives, raise awareness, and identify areas to improve workplace safety. What should you do if someone’s doing something dangerous? What can you do if you’re bullied or harassed? What accidents happen most frequently in our environment? How are we “covered” in case of an accident? As Individuals? As company? What workplace activities are best not done alone? The safety rule that is hardest to comply with is… Do I feel safer in the summer or winter? Why? What do I look for on product warning labels? How does mobile phone use affect workplace safety? A safety protocol at work that should be changed is . . . For more Toolbox Talks discussion prompts to help start conversations about workplace safety, try these Trainers Warehouse tools: Toolbox Talks Thumball ($32.95) UNZIP-it! with Toolbox Talks (Safety) Conversation Card Deck ($29.95) Toolbox Talks PPT Deck ($7.95) BE A LEADER In this unique Leadership Thumball, find a full range of conversation starters, including: Leadership traits that I have or aspire to have in myself and my team Ways to motivate, inspire, and recognize employee contributions Methods for dealing with disagreement, decision-making, and mistakes Reflections on challenges, frustrations, delegation, and impatience Approaches to promote growth and learning Techniques to get buy-in, promote diversity, and share feedback When prompting conversation, aim to include some reflective questions (past experiences) and others that are appreciative (questions that encourage participants to envision the future and focus on positive potential). A good range of leadership conversation prompts should cover vision, innovation, competence, integrity, continuous improvement, teamwork, accountability, diversity, and development. For instance: A time I used power in a positive way What makes me impatient? I get to know my staff by… What I like/dislike about coaching others In my role, I am most frustrated by… I foster learning by… I am least effective when… I last thanked a colleague or staff member when… I dislike having power because… I inspire creativity by… Find additional icebreaker questions and conversation prompts that explore leadership qualities and experiences integrated into these Trainers Warehouse tools: Be a Leader Thumball ($32.95) Be a Leader PPT Deck ($7.95) TEAM DYNAMICS Promote team spirit, boost flagging energy, and initiate meaningful conversations with team dynamics conversation prompts. Indeed, with the right conversation prompts, you can tactfully explore how your group is working as a team. Discuss… Benefits and drawbacks of teaming Ways to make others feel heard, show respect, and draw in multiple perspectives Systems to improve productivity and minimize duplication of efforts Approaches to identify goals, work to completion and celebrate success Management of disagreements, problems, and mistakes Methods to develop consensus, show support, and motivate each other. Effective teamwork is often based on: Accountability * Motivation * Trust * Respect * Commitment * Diversity of Capabilities * Adaptability * Creative Freedom * Collaboration * Conflict Resolution * Communication Rich conversation prompts might include these, i.e.: How should we manage disagreements? Give an example of a goal we are all working towards Do we have clearly defined team goals? Do we learn from our mistakes? Do we admit mistakes to each other? Give an example of a mistake we learned from. How can we support each other? Do we respect each other’s role in the team? When was the last time we had constructive conflict? How do we check that we are working toward the same goal? To explore the factors that enhance or undermine your team’s success, consider more prompts on Trainers Warehouse’s Team Dynamics toos: Team Dynamics Thumball ($32.95) UNZIP-IT! with Team Dynamics Conversation Deck ($29.95) UNZiP-it! PowerPoint Deck w/ Team Dynamics Prompts ($7.95) DEVELOPING RESILIENCE Resilience helps individuals adapt to difficult situations. To assist your groups in building resilience in their personal and professional lives, facilitate conversations that encourage optimism, positive thinking, compassion, and growth mindsets. The following 10 skills are most often associated with resilience. The questions that appear with them can help people begin to build that important skill. Patience – when facing situations that test your patience, how do you calm yourself? Optimism – what happiness might the future hold? Gratitude – for whom and what are you grateful? Acceptance – how might you productively respond to bad news? Kindness – what are your preferred ways to spread happiness? Purpose – what goals and accomplishments inspire you? Forgiveness – when, why, and how can you forgive others? Connection – do you regularly reach out to the people who create joy in your life? Composure – when you lose composure, how do you refocus your energy? Listening – what techniques do you use to show you’re listening? For more icebreaker questions to foster patience, acceptance, kindness & forgiveness, consider these: Building Resilience Thumball GET HAPPY AT WORK Use workplace happiness icebreaker prompts to enable colleagues to express their goals and articulate challenges. By focusing on positivity, workplace engagement, and meaningful relationships, conversations can elicit optimism and opportunities for a happier, more productive workplace. Discussion starters like these might get the ball rolling, e.g.: A new challenge I hope to take on at work? My top priorities for the day/week What risk would you take if you knew you couldn’t fail? What permission do you need/want to move forward? Something you’re thankful for at work The best thing about our organization is… I’d like coming to work more if… Our meetings would be more productive if… How do we encourage/discourage risk-taking? An area where I’d like more autonomy Access additional happiness-at-work icebreaker questions, which emphasize goals, achievements, hopes, and dreams, in these Trainers Warehouse exclusive tools: Get Happy at Work Thumball ($32.95) UNZIP-it! with Get Happy at Work Conversation Card Deck ($29.95) UNZiP-it! PowerPoint Deck w/ Get Happy at Work Prompts ($7.95) STRESS MANAGEMENT Here’s another important topic for the workplace: Stress Management! Ideal conversation starters relating to stress management should cover this range of topics: Causes of stress: tasks, chores, times of year, and situation that bring angst Controlling stress: ways to minimize stress and focus on priorities Sources of calm: hobbies, activities, quiet places that bring relaxation Wellness practices: Sleep, exercise and diet that nourish you Dealing with stress: what do you do (can you do) when you get stressed Electronics: impact of technology and email on stress levels For instance, you might ask: What forms of exercise are most enjoyable? Do you get as much sleep as you need? Is there a new hobby you’re hoping to start? What are your most dreaded household chores? When you’re busy, what’s first to get cut from your routine? If you took a “1-minute mental vacation,” where would you go? If you had one day left to live, what would you do? When stressed do you prefer company or solitude? What most relaxes you? How would you use two extra hours per day? To help your group discover the causes of stress and the ways to manage it, consider more conversation prompts and icebreaker questions on Trainers Warehouse tools like these: Stress Management Thumball ($32.95) UNZIP-it! with Stress Management Conversation Card Deck ($29.95) UNZiP-it! PowerPoint Deck w/ Stress Management Prompts ($7.95) CHANGE MANAGEMENT These prompts are excellent for any who are experiencing a life change. When facing difficult times, the challenge is to move beyond the past experience toward an unknown future. If your team is facing substantial change–as individuals or as a group–consider icebreaker questions that promote conversation about how to move forward, onward, and upward. Address topics such as these: People to seek out for assistance Healthy habits — mentally and physically Personal sources of strength and joy Methods to interrupt and reverse bad mojo For instance: What’s the silver lining of a challenging time? A person I remember fondly My “go-to” indulgence When feeling blue, I prefer company/solitude because… Where do you find spiritual strength? I’ve learned to accept that… Something I accomplished recently An activity that relaxes and calms me My top priorities for the day/week Something that makes me proud These Trainers Warehouse tools will have a range 30+ questions and prompts to discuss methods for managing change: Change Management Thumballs ($32.95) UNZiP-it! PowerPoint Deck w/ Change Management Prompts ($7.95) EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE Emotional Intelligence (a.k.a. EQ) requires five skills: Self-Awareness , Motivation , Self-Regulation , Empathy , and Social Skills . Conversation prompts and icebreaker questions that develop EQ delve into these 5 topics. For example: What contributes to distrust? (Empathy) How could someone regain composure after snapping? (Self-Regulation) What holds you back from being your best YOU? (Self-Awareness) How can I make colleagues feel valued? (Motivation) What would your best friend say is your weakness? (Self-Awareness) How can we make others feel appreciated? (Empathy) Describe three ways to communicate non-verbally (Social Skills) What could be a “blind spot” (a strength others might consider a weakness) (Self-Awareness) What do you do if you find yourself overreacting to something? (Self-Regulation) Find more conversation starters to build self-awareness, empathy, motivation, and social skills on the Trainers Warehouse Emotional Intelligence Thumball. BUILDING TRUST Trust allows us to take risks, open up, and look for mutually beneficial solutions when conflicts occur. It gives us peace of mind when we need to rely on one another, and comfort to share our vulnerabilities. Like a bridge, trust also brings people together and deepens relationships. In turn, with strong relationships, we enjoy emotional support, confidence, reduced stress, good health, and happiness. Building trust starts with communication – asking the right questions and taking the time to listen. Discuss topics such as: Causes of trust and distrust People you entrust with secrets Impact of promises, apologies, and lies Ways to make others feel safe Dealing with mistakes and resistance Being genuine Conversation starters that will help explore the topic of trust, and in the process, begin building trust include: What might be the impact of admitting mistakes? Are “white lies” okay? Why/why not? Who do you consider to be your “family”? What topics are hardest to discuss? How do you decide if someone is trustworthy? Do you tend to say “I don’t know” or make something up? Why? How can we build trust in one another? How do you make others feel safe? What is “active listening” and why is it important? Do you ever resist asking for help? When? Why? Build bridges and explore issues of interpersonal trust #Building Trust Thumball ** MORE CONVERSATION PROMPTS FOR THESE TOPICS TO COME! ** COACHING QUESTIONS Use the G.R.O.W. model to affect change (Goals – Reality – Options – Way Forward) #Coaching Questions PowerPoint Deck READ MORE Are Icebreakers Important? 7 Tips for Formulating Questions Using Photos and Images for Deeper Conversations

If you remember going to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus when you were a kid, you might recall arriving early to see clowns walking around the arena, greeting guests, and carrying their funny “walk-around” props (instant sight gags — visual images that make you chuckle). The clowns were onto something with their welcoming “come-in” ritual, and so are trainers when they greet you upon arrival and treat you to an “icebreaker.” I know. Many are skeptical of training icebreakers, but for trainers and participants alike, the first few minutes matter a lot. No matter what you call them, strong openers are essential to building trust, making connections, and setting the tone for effective learning experiences. Meaningful and effective session starters require that you: Understand and Focus on your Goals Build Trust, Credibility, and Mutual Respect through Transparency Make Connections Between Content and Participants Choose the Right Activity Let’s look at each in more detail. 1. Understand your Goal. Focus on your Purpose Before you get too far in thinking about training icebreakers and starters, know what you hope to accomplish–not just for the opener, but for the entire learning event. Then, tie every exercise, presentation, and activity to these goals. For your opener, you might set your intention on building camaraderie, fostering new relationships, surfacing participants’ goals and concerns, or fun-for-the-sake-of-fun. Or, you might want to establish a foundation for the learning segment to come. Whatever it is, formulate your agenda around that goal. 2. Build Trust, Credibility, and Mutual Respect through Transparency Set participants’ minds at ease by assuring them that their time won’t be wasted. That you are a capable facilitator from whom they can learn something useful, beyond what they already know. To quickly accomplish this, be transparent about your goals for both the training icebreaker and the learning outcomes. Always explain why you’re doing what you’re doing. Express your respect for the knowledge and expertise your participants bring to the table and encourage them to share their knowledge as well. Using a Learners Bill of Rights or another list of ground rules, let participants know that they won’t be put on the spot, embarrassed, or stuck in an uncomfortable conversation. When trainers exhibit respect for their learners, they will be rewarded with reciprocal trust. 3. Make Connections Between Content and Participants Perhaps the most primary purpose of intros, training icebreakers, and starters is to create mental links. You should make links between prior knowledge and new material; between the learners; and between the learners and facilitators. For instance, by asking learners what they already know about a topic, you are simultaneously helping them make their own mental connections, introducing core concepts, and giving the group an opportunity to connect with one another. 4. Choose the Right Activity Time-Relevance Matrix Once you’re clear on your goals and have allayed the group’s fears, your challenge is selecting or formulating an experience that will serve these needs. You might like to think about your choices by plotting them within a matrix that takes into consideration the amount of time an activity will take and its relevance to your content. Strive for the upper quadrants of the matrix where activities are appropriately tied to course content. If an activity is not relevant to your goals, consider limiting the time you allocate to the exercise or eliminating it altogether. Picking Perfect Prompts When it comes down to it, most training icebreakers fall into a handful of categories: Personal introductions Question/Answer Discussions Collaborative Problem Solving Collaborative Creativity Of these 4 types of opening activities, Question/Answer formats are probably the most popular. You may want to use a ball populated with getting-to-know-you questions, like a Shaped By Our Past Thumball, or come up with a single question that gets to the heart of matters. Keep questions open-ended – stay away from yes/no questions or questions that require one-word answers Focus on experiences and interests – choose questions that draw from people’s experience, something they can answer easily Make the questions “safe” – be sensitive to prompts that might be awkward to answer Inspire dialogue and sharing – make sure there is no right or wrong answer Mix would and should questions – consider how the question’s framing will best promote positive dialogue Balance reflective and appreciative questions – include “appreciative” questions about goals and hopes. Making it fun After deciding on the questions or discussion prompts that might draw out an interesting exchange, trainers have many options for facilitating those conversations. For instance, rather than working their way around the room, they might ask groups to “pair and share” with a single partner, table talk, create triads, or roam the room. Trainers can also get creative with playful props including balls, answer boards, question decks, and image decks. Players can get creative with image decks by assembling one or more photos that tell a story, suggest a metaphor, or remind them of an experience or learning point. Powerful Openers No matter what icebreaker, discussion prompt, or activity you choose, be sure to explain why you’re playing with honesty and transparency. Show respect for your participants and their time, and give them an opportunity to make connections with the content and one another. Finally, you might also want to reconsider the word “icebreaker.” Because training icebreakers can be loaded with negative associations, do yourself a favor and call them “starters,” “openers,” “appetizers,” or “come-in.” That way, your participants can start with a clean slate and an open mind. READ MORE Icebreakers to start a soft-skills workshop The Perfect Prompt for any Session Training Circus – Lessons from a Clown-Turned-Trainer Icebreakers to start a Soft-Skills Session Learning from Mistakes – Creating Safe Spaces for Learning

Experiential learning isn’t just for fun. Diving into Elizabeth Kensinger and Andrew Budson’s book, The Science of Memory: Why We Forget and How to Remember Better, took me on an odyssey of understanding the brain and how trainers can harness its power to deliver more memorable training. It will likely come as no surprise that experiential learning is successful because it draws on the natural ways that our minds process information. Following are my highlights from their book, as well as a handy Brain Bites Infographic that will hopefully help you remember the key points and make use of brain science for training. Memory takes effort Memory doesn’t just happen. “Memory is the residue of thought.”  ~ Daniel Willingham We’ll only remember what we take time to think about. Remember being introduced to someone and forgetting their name almost instantly? It happens to all of us. To remember that name or anything else, we have to take a moment to pause, focus, and store it away. The Memory Cycle includes forgetting! In fact, our brains evolved to forget much of what we take in and experience. Think of all those security numbers you promptly forget after entering them into your banking app, for example. We lose those numbers because we have no further need of them. To understand how our brains rewrite and update memories, consider too how you remember what an old friend looks like. In your mind’s eye, you’ll likely see them as they looked most recently, having replaced old memories of what they looked like 10 or 20 years ago. Not only is forgetting normal, but it’s also quite helpful as it allows us to prioritize information that will help us in the future. 3 Phases of the Memory Cycle Because our brains are more likely to forget than remember, we must consciously process new information or episodes through this cycle: Encoding – information is encoded in our brain when we learn or experience something Storage – we consolidate and store the info Retrieval – access the info when it’s needed. Memory is a cycle, because the effort of retrieval restarts the encoding process. To understand how we unconsciously remember, refer to the five distinct memory systems described below. F.O.U.R. Strategies to Start the Encoding Process These F.O.U.R. strategies can help us avoid forgetting information that we hope to retain. For the most part, encoding is an active process where we “tag” something for memory. Remembering requires that we: Focus – We must want to remember and work at it. The more effort, the more memorable! Organize – Chunking material into groups of related information helps because we only remember 4-7 things at a time. It also forces us to think (see above)! Understand – Spend time making sense of the material also takes effort (see above). Relate – Finally, we must tie the learning to something we already know or create a new “mental scaffolding” to hold those memories. How memory works The place where it happens: The Brain Scientists are learning more and more about the makeup and complexity of the brain. Keeping it simple here, these brain parts are most critical in the formation and storage of memories: Hippocampus: Behind your ears and shaped like a seahorse, it holds short-term memories, but has limited capacity Cortex: At the back of your head, it stores long-term memories. Prefrontal Cortex. Near your forehead, it’s the “CEO” of your memory system. 5 Distinct Memory Systems Memory is not one thing. Rather, we have five distinct and separate memory systems that work together seamlessly. Two of those are associated with short-term memory and three are for long-term memory. SHORT TERM  1) Working memory—info currently “in mind” (like a phone number you need to ring). 2) Sensory memory – sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile senses; usually fade in a few minutes. LONG TERM 3) Episodic memory – episodes and events that happen in your life. 4) Procedural memory – “muscle memory,” repetition of movements and unconscious habits. 5) Semantic memory – facts, information, and names of things. Storage and Retrieval Storage: While we sleep, memories are off-loaded from the hippocampus to the cortex, for long-term storage. Unfortunately, the hippocampus has limited capacity, sort of like a hard drive on a computer. As such, we need to take time to process information, relate it to other knowledge, and go to sleep! Retrieval: You haven’t remembered if you can’t recall it. By retrieving information, you also re-encode it! Memory Boosters Scientists have discovered a few tried and true ways to improve memory. Exercise – “Releases growth factors and can actually enlarge the size of your hippocampus.” Sleep – Sleep helps for two reasons: 1) it’s hard to pay attention when you’re tired; 2) Hippocampus has limited capacity to store new memories. When we sleep, the day’s memories move from the hippocampus to the cortex (short-term to long-term memory). Sleep has been shown to give a new perspective on a problem. Positive attitude – Positive feelings aid memory, while stress tends to interrupt memory by diverting our attention to other topics. Music – Music activates the brain’s motor system involved in movement (same regions involved in procedural memory), and activates your emotional and episodic memory regions, including those next to the hippocampus. It also makes you feel good. Multiple Memory Systems – Using several of the 5 memory systems translates to longer-lasting memories. Memory in a Nutshell I realize as I assemble these notes that my effort to synthesize years of research and a digest of a book, into a single-page infographic, is laughable. And yet, by focusing on these key points, relating them to other information previously stored in my brain, and creating a colorful visual presentation, they’ve become imprinted in my memory. I hope these resources are useful to others as well. Read More After synthesizing these notes, I also assembled a list of training strategies and tips that draw upon this knowledge. Find these Brain Science Training Tips here. Brain Science in Training 6 Brain Science Principles Every Trainer Must Know

Training and coaching are siblings in the performance improvement and skill-development world — related but quite unique when compared to each other. By understanding them more thoroughly, we can harness resources to maximize the impact of each. How Training and Coaching Differ Training typically involves imparting knowledge and specific skills through structured programs. It follows a predefined curriculum, often focusing on standardized content and techniques. It is instructor-driven, aiming for mastery through repetition and practice. Coaching, on the other hand, is a more personalized and collaborative process. It revolves around unlocking an individual’s potential, guiding them to find solutions, and fostering self-discovery. Coaches facilitate goal-setting, reflection, and continuous improvement. Unlike training, coaching is learner-centric, emphasizing individual growth, problem-solving, and adapting to unique circumstances. While training provides a foundation, coaching focuses on personalized development, addressing specific challenges and goals. When to Use Training and Coaching Training, effective for disseminating information and ensuring a consistent understanding across a group, is best suited for situations with a defined set of skills or knowledge that needs to be acquired by individuals. Many trainers consider coaching to be an important next step, picking up after the skill transfer. As a follow-up to basic training, coaching requires guidance, support, and feedback specially tailored to the recipient. Coaching often involves: Bolstering an individual’s skills. Encouraging individuals to follow through on their goals. Guiding people through their own thinking processes so they can figure things out on their own. Giving outside perspective, viewing what you may not be able to see from your own perspective. Choosing and Developing Coaches While coaches don’t need deep expertise in the area in which they are coaching another, a handful of skills and resources are necessary for success. Whether you’re considering coaching others yourself or choosing colleagues to coach one another, be sure they’re equipped to be effective. They’ll need: Sense of caring – caring is not innate to everyone, but it is a required quality for those seeking to be coaches. If an individual’s EQ (emotional intelligence) is lacking, be sure to help them develop that skill before charging them with a coaching task. Time – if individuals don’t have ample time to dedicate to coaching, don’t charge them with the task. Remember that coaching takes time, patience, and ongoing support. Curiosity and questions – those who are curious and inquisitive will be your most successful coaches. Ability to listen well – because coaching often requires self-reflection and discovery, skilled coaches need to be quiet. They must be disciplined in sitting back, watching, taking notes, and listening to hear both what is being said and what is not said. Tools for Coaching Develop and enhance your coaches efforts by supplying them with professional tools and resources. Conduct Assessments HRDQ has created a series of What’s My Style? assessments. Through the What’s My Coaching Style Assessment, you can understand an individual’s coaching style by measuring their tendency to be Direct, Spirited, Considerate, or Systematic. Ask Great Questions Asking great questions is core to effective coaching. The G.R.O.W. Model, focusing on questions organized around these four categories, continues to grow in popularity: Goals – articulate what you’re trying to achieve Reality – understand the current situation and hurdles Options – explore a range of avenues forward Way Forward – develop plans to affect change Several Card Decks utilizing this methodology are worth exploring, including Q-Cards and UNZIP-it Coaching Questions. Develop Emotional Intelligence 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: 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. Developing Emotional Intelligence Coaching Cards More Resources for Developing Emotional Intelligence Record Notes and Check Understanding By recording what you hear in a way that the speaker can see what you’ve heard, or by repeating what you heard, coaches can check their understanding. Moreover, when those who have expressed themselves see or hear their ideas reframed, they have an opportunity to rephrase, revise, clarify, or reflect on what they said. Lending to both greater self-understanding and mutual understanding. The Tabletop Whiteboard makes it easy (and kind of fun) to do this! Many of these resources are available at Trainers Warehouse. For more life-coaching resources, try the Coaching Tools Company. Overcome Discomfort Neither coaching nor agreeing to be coached is easy. Dr. Atul Gawande expresses it well in his insanely popular TED Talk. However the payoff for excellent coaching is well worth the investment. If you have a few extra minutes, have a listen! In his TED Talk, Want to Get Great at Something? Get a Coach, Dr. Atul Gawande explains that many professional situations assume that once you’ve become an expert in your field, you no longer require training or learning. This model, he says, is very different from the professional sports model, where players assume they always need someone to watch what they’re doing and give them feedback. Following the pro-athlete model, Gawande, a successful surgeon, retains a coach to watch him do surgery and give feedback. As uncomfortable as the exercise felt, he tells the story of how invaluable it was.  

Back in 2014, on LinkedIN Phuong Nguyen posted the question: “What CRAZY facilitation ideas have worked well for you?” I reposted the wonderful question again on the group called “Effective and Fun Training Techniques” then assembled some of my favorite posts from those discussions. There are some crazy ideas below, indeed! More than ten years later, I’ve updated it with a few additional tips, including some that fit the category of “crazy critical” from Jim Cain’s Tips to be a World-Class Facilitator, As you teach and train, remember you are merely a facilitator of learning. Focus on asking the right questions; questions that will help students discover learning on their own–not on feeding learners a series of correct answers. Facilitation Squeeze the Lemon In Jim Cain’s “Twelve Tips for Becoming a Better Facilitator,” Squeeze the Lemon tops his list. Jim explains, “When I choose an activity to share with my audience, I want to squeeze harder and get more out.” It’s like squeezing lemons to make lemonade. The harder you squeeze the lemon, the more juice you’ll get out. In Tip #8, he also advises us to Take Your Time. “Some facilitators stop just short of the promised land. By that I mean concluding an activity before the group has achieved the ultimate insight or explored the teachable moments available to them. Don’t be afraid to let an activity run to completion. One simple question that a facilitator can ask their group is, “are we done?” This question does a powerfully simple thing. It empowers a group to make their own decision when to move on.” Breaking into teams: The Gender Gap I had a course of 15 people with two-thirds male and one-third female. I put all the women in one group and the men in two other groups to work on a case study in the evening of a residential course (with a presentation of their findings first thing the following morning). When I handed out the group lists I was greeted with cries of “bastard.” The male teams decided that they just could not do worse than the female team. And, the female team decided that they would smash the male teams into the ground. Instead of working until about 9:30pm and then adjourning to the bar all groups worked into the early hours! Posted by Jeremy Hall Managing Varying Abilities I once had a class that had PhDs along with non-HS graduates. The PhDs tended to go too fast and the non-HS graduates had trouble keeping up. Until… I paired them together. That worked well because the experts helped the new users. I’ve used the technique since, to help struggling students and to help those students who arrive late or “miss” a portion of the class. Posted by Glenn D Pay for great questions This technique gets (and keeps) people engaged. Early in the training, someone will ask a question. I’ll pause, look at the person as if I’m going to be mad, pull out my wallet, and hand that person a $1 bill, exclaiming, “That was an OUTSTANDING question! Jimmy gets a dollar.” And then to the rest of the class, I’ll say, “You’ve heard of ‘pay for performance’ right? Well, in this class I pay for great questions, and that was a great question.” I’ll do this several times and sometimes even include a $5 bill for a truly SUPERIOR question. This, of course, gets people wanting to ask questions — which is good! Pretty soon, someone will catch me NOT handing out a dollar and say, “That was a great question; Sally should get a dollar!” I’ll respond, “Well, there are dollars floating around out there; who’d like to give Sally a dollar?” Sure enough, someone will hand Sally a dollar. THEN the dollars become tokens for recognizing their peers for contributions and get passed around throughout the training. P.S. most of the time I get all my money back at the end of the training. For Creativity and Brainstorming Worst idea We have participants try to generate bad ideas instead of good ones (and then find something of value/a trigger in the worst idea to inspire a good one.) Object Role Play To invent a new laundry detergent, we had session participants role-play a day in the life of a sock. To generate a new make-up, we had participants imagine the unique make-up needs of a mermaid, a pioneer woman, a vampire, and an animated character. The animated character led to a very successful new product from Prescriptives: the idea of light-reflecting make-up called, appropriately enough, Magic. Posted by Bryan Mattimore, author of Idea Stormers (Wiley Jossey-Bass) Icebreaker What do you want others to know about you? I presented one training session to a Polish Army unit getting ready to deploy. No one in the class knew anyone else in the class which I found quite different from the US Forces I have trained. As an icebreaker, I ask each soldier to tell us their name, where they are from, and the one thing they would like the group to know since they would be spending the next year together. The group came to discover many were playing instruments but not planning on taking the instruments while deployed. By the end of the class, many agreed to form an ad hoc musical group, who would practice as time allowed while they were deployed to a country at war. A few others found common interest to make their time away from home more bearable with “friends” sharing time together. Who would have thought such an innocent question could build deeper bonds among “strangers” Posted by Robert Parry Introductions, Aspirations, and Unusual Facts I ask participants who do not know each other to introduce themselves giving their names, why they are in the class, plus an aspiration for the future. Then everyone has to write down an unusual fact about themselves that no one would know, something surprising or unusual. Then the facts are read and the group has to guess one by one, which fact belongs to which participant. This does help people get to know each other in a rather light-hearted way. Posted by Kathryn H.W. McCrary Orchestrating a team To develop a team that works together ‘like an orchestra,’ we did just that. We bought 100 musical instruments, including penny whistles, harmonicas, xylophones, ocarinas, etc., and then set the entire team the task of planning, rehearsing, and performing an ‘orchestral’ piece of music! The result was stunning! The whole team was fully engaged, those with some musical ability trained others when they did their final performance. I have to admit it brought a tear to my eye. The team was certainly proud of what they had achieved. Posted by John Cooper Energy Booster Move it! When I find an audience beginning to dose off, wander away, or when there is negative energy that is starting to build in the room, I announce: “The energy isn’t working properly like this, everybody MOVE now!” and I ask everyone to change his/her seats, most preferably far from the old ones and next to new mates 🙂 Posted by Doaa K (Trainer’s Box) I changed the seating from a standard classroom formation to groups of 5-6. It created a new energy and level of participation. Posted by Thomas Dworak, Sergeant at Wilmette Police Department The Energy Break Thumball from Trainers Warehouse is another great way to get your group moving around! Managing Change Organized Mayhem For a Managing Change class, we purposely do not set up properly, meaning chairs are scattered about, the doorway is partially blocked by a table, trash” such as empty bottles, notepads, etc. are scattered on the tables, flip charts from other classes are still hanging in the room – the appearance of the classroom not cleaned up and re-set for the next class. Obviously, things need to be changed! Yet it is amazing to see how differently people react. Our observations yield key insights as to how each person approaches change. Some leave and come back later; others make a space for themselves; some start cleaning up and rearranging the room (with or without asking the facilitator if it’s okay). Confusing but great introductory activity. Posted by Dixie Grow, Career Growth Associates Make Lessons Visual Images stick with people more strongly than words alone. Always look for ways to create a strong visual image of the concept your teaching. Howard Ellison exemplifies this with the following technique” “I did a presentation on the value of their community activity. To create a memorable image, I printed key actions and ingredients on big cartons; I had the audience stack the boxes in a pyramid. At the right moment, a volunteer stepped forward and pulled out the foundation box: PEOPLE. This brought down the whole pile and made its point. It’s memorable, raises a laugh, and makes a good picture for the local paper.” Posted by Howard Ellison Rubber Glove Treatment (for training in communication and interview techniques) An essential element of being competent at interviewing is asking “probing questions.” When a candidate responds with a partial answer, or you want to explore the motivation/background/technique, etc., that underlies their response, you must ask follow-up questions. Before class, stop at a pharmacy and get a box of inexpensive thin rubber gloves. When you set up the room, lay out the participant guide and one glove for each person. As people come into the class, they sit down, and then with wide eyes, look at the gloves, then look at me. The look in their eyes clearly radiates, “You’re not going to ask us to DO something with these gloves, are you?!?” Just smile and respond, “we’ll be using those a little later…” About two hours into a class about communication and listening, when we discuss the topic of asking good questions, I make an exaggerated display of putting on my glove, which causes nervous energy around the room. Then I turn around so participants cannot see what I’m doing, but loudly announce, “when you hear this sound … … what comes to mind?” People generally respond with “doctor’s office/doctor visit, etc.” Then I say, “MEN only … what ONE word comes to mind when you hear this sound?” and snap the glove again. Squeamishly, they respond, “PROBING” — and the women all laugh. Then I ask them to put their gloves on, and say, “From now on, whenever you do an interview, I want you to remember putting on this glove … and the snapping sound … and remember that ASKING PROBING QUESTIONS” is a critical communication and interview skill Then I invite them to take the glove off. At the end-of-day review, almost everyone talks about the importance of probing questions — and in that way, I know that the glove has had its intended effect. The combination trigger of the word, the visual image, and the snapping sound all together plant the skill for them. (BTW, the vinyl gloves don’t snap, that’s why you need latex or nitrate.) Posted by David Rappuhn

We had the pleasure of Jamie Thompson’s insight during a Trainers Warehouse Show & Share conversation. Jamie is the principal of MTa Learning, a game development company based in the UK. As a seasoned developer of experiential learning leadership activities, Thompson shared a handful of memorable tips. Because of groups’ interest in emotional intelligence, we also discussed a bunch of ways we can improve EQ training for our leaders. Consider the Learning Journey In response to many leaders’ requests for leadership training, trainers are often asked to conduct complex experiences for their management and leadership teams. While games must be intellectually demanding enough to challenge leaders, and reflect the complexity of their environments, trainers should resist the impulse to begin with such challenges before developing basic teaming and communication skills. Note: Thompson’s suite of MTa Team Development and Insights games offer a rich menu of experiences that will allow you to step up the activities as leaders become ready for new challenges. Adapt Games for Emotional Intelligence Training Several participants articulated an interest in developing their leaders’ EQ skills. While the group shared a roster of Emotional Intelligence Activities, we also discussed these approaches: Draw out emotions You might not have access to an EQ-specific game. If not, you can elicit “emotional friction” by altering a game’s rules: Take away supplies that might be needed to complete a task Equip a competing team with some of the necessary resources and instruct that team that they should be wary of sharing their limited supplies Blindfold players and add “noise” – perhaps a blindfolded participant needs to receive instructions from three other people in a noise room. Develop visual or auditory obstructions – imagine a team needs to replicate a structure, but can’t see it and can only talk to the “architect” once, for a limited amount of time. Limit time – create urgency and/or not enough time to come to a full understanding of another’s perspective or information Instruct some team members to “be difficult,” “refrain from active listening,” or undermine another’s efforts. In each of these examples, the team experience will be challenged and create some degree of frustration. By manufacturing this friction, teams will come to appreciate the impact of vulnerability and the necessity of trust and emotional intelligence (self-awareness, self-regulation, emotions, empathy, social skills). Discuss the impact of those challenges, behaviors, and approaches in your debrief and relate the learning to workplace issues. Develop a vocabulary of emotions using a Mood Matrix or Wheel of Emotions These two models will help your groups develop a lexicon of emotions and better identify and discuss their own and other’s feelings. To introduce these models, you might begin by asking: “How are you feeling?” See how many people instinctively reply, “fine” or “good.” Afterwards, introduce one of these colorful illustrations to help them better understand the huge range of feeling that they might call upon. 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 the Emotions Card Deck and Playmeo’s Emoji Deck. Wheel: 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. Choose Intellectually and Cognitively Demanding Experiences As Jamie reiterated, the quality of your experiential leadership activity will depend upon the: The degree to which it is intellectually demanding Quality of the facilitation instructions in setting up and drawing out learning points. While you can adapt many games to suit the needs of your groups, be sure to select your games based on their ability to elicit the lessons that will be most useful to your group! Read More Leadership Activities EQ Activities & Games

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

Our informal discussion about diversity training shed light on the resistance trainers face when conducting DEI training. We also pooled ideas for diversity training tips and activities that help lessen resistance, build understanding about the topic, and strengthen individual’s sensitivity to both common and unique experiences. I wanted to share some of these ideas in more detail: Get Off to a Good Start Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change This theory was developed in the late 1970s to understand the process of change for smokers deciding to quit. The model consists of 5 phases: Pre-contemplation – not thinking about changing their behavior or the potential benefits of change. Contemplation – thinking about behavior change, but not yet acting on the intention. Preparation – ready to change but not yet take action on the intention. Action – beginning steps towards adopting the behavior but with a high risk of relapse. Maintenance – maintaining the behavior For diversity training facilitators, understanding this model helps us appreciate that some attendees enter training in a pre-contemplation phase. As trainers, we must meet our participants wherever they are and help them see why the topic might pique their interest or see DEI initiatives in a new light. To figure out where our participants’ heads are, we might ask: If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be? How would you characterize yourself? As a Seeker, Vacationer, or Prisoner? Stand up or raise your hand if any of these describe you. Explain that while everyone may have different feelings about diversity training, every person has agency and choices. Whether or not you were asked or encouraged to attend, you decided to walk in and sit down. So, let’s make the most of it. Introduce the “Gift of Dialogue” and the “Gift of Knowledge” Another diversity training tip offered was to explain the value of dialogue. Dialogue and conversation allow DEI training participants to pool their knowledge and learn more about the topic, a first step to building a scaffolding to which more memories can be added. Remember, the goal is simply, learning. Begin the learning by explaining what D.E. and I are. Add a “B” to the end of it, and talk about “Belonging” as well. Play that epic Ted Lasso Clip In the last season of the TV miniseries, Ted Lasso explains that “being okay” with someone’s homosexuality isn’t enough. We need to go further to befriend and include others. Set the Groundwork of Bias and Assumptions Explore Implicit Bias Many come into diversity training with no understanding or appreciation of the prevalence of bias. To broaden their understanding about what it looks like, you can: Share a list of types of bias including: Affinity bias, Ageism, Anchor bias, Attribution bias, Beauty bias, Confirmation bias, Conformity bias, Contrast effect, Gender bias, Halo effect, Height bias, Horn effect, Name bias, Nonverbal bias, Overconfidence bias. You’ll find examples of these online. Use the 52 Essential Critical Thinking Card deck – discuss the bias or effect described on the Essential Critical Thinking Card and identify a similar situation in your own world. The 50 Ways to Fight Bias deck also looks great. Try an implicit bias test – https://implicit.harvard.edu Have each participant take a different test and share what they learned about how their test attempted to tease out bias you might not have known you had. Reflect on your own relationships  Ask participants to list 3 work friends; 3 friends outside of work; and 3 people with whom they have interactions. They might see that most of these people are like themselves. With all of these experiences, there should be no judgment. It’s all okay. The goal is simply to raise awareness. Challenge Assumptions Similar to being unaware of our biases, we can also be blind to the assumptions we make. The Arm Exercise and Challenging Assumptions Puzzle are great tools to make this point and add to our roster of diversity training tips. Establish Allies Affinity Group Posters  Put up posters around the meeting room, each labeled with a quality or experience. For instance, Black female; Disabled; Single mom; Mental Illness; Substance Abuse; etc. Post 10-20 posters around the room, depending on the number of participants. Ask individuals to stand by one of the posters that speak to them and they have some connection. Have them take 5 mins or so to speak with others who have assembled by the same poster. After the time is up, have them find another poster with which they have some connection and repeat the exercise. Foster Allies Encourage those who feel excluded to find allies among others who feel excluded. While feeling “different” can be a lonely experience, having multiple differences (i.e. having a disability compounded and speaking with an accent) is even more isolating. Encourage those groups to join forces to support each other and consider naming those support groups to reflect inclusivity. Facilitation Hacks Establish Ground Rules Post the agreements for all to see. If someone violates one of the agreements, quietly walk over and point to the rule that was violated. It makes the point. Acknowledge Hurt Feelings Ouch Cards – give participants a card that says “OUCH.” If something stings, they can indicate hurt without derailing the conversation. Facilitators can take note, acknowledge that response, understand the cause, and use it as an opportunity for shared understanding. Foam Brick – Some lighten the mood by having people throw a foam brick if they feel frustrated or hurt. It doesn’t work for all, but some have had success with this technique. Parking Lot – Keep a list of ideas that arise, which need further discussion, more information, or input from “higher-ups.” At the end of the session, refer back to the list and make a plan to revisit those topics. It’s okay to admit that you don’t have all the answers but will work with the group to find resolution or expand conversations around difficult topics. Begin with Small Group Discussions  Many feel much safer talking with 1, 2, or 4 people, rather than in a big group. Because people are more likely to talk one-on-one, than in a group, structure conversations to begin small. 1-2-4- ALL Put a prompt out and invite everyone to think about it Pair-& Share – those two chat Fours – two pairs find each other and chat between themselves Card swaps: Question card decks can get people talking. Begin with light conversations like UNZiP-IT Getting To Know You questions or an Ungame card deck. As people grow more familiar, you can move to deeper questions. Try facilitating the activity like this: Have each participant select a card, find a partner, and discuss the topics on their two cards. Then have them swap cards and find a new partner. More people talking vs. with the Thumball. Walking around also helps people open up More Activities Stories behind names – have people share the story behind their names. Community Puzzle – give each person a blank puzzle piece or flower to decorate with images that are meaningful to them, and reflect their values or heritage. Create a mosaic and see how beautiful you are as a group. Discuss what’s on the pieces, to uncover both individuals’ uniqueness and commonalities. I AM but I’M NOT – Create a poster or write on notepads, “I AM…” but “I’m NOT…” This becomes great fodder for conversation about personal identity and misconceptions. SUPPORT WITHIN YOUR OWN ORGANIZATION Trainers need to find allies too. Seek managers and trainers within your organization who can help develop a culture that celebrates diversity and acceptance. Admit to your group that you don’t expect to have all the answers, but you hope (as a community) that you can start to build a common understanding, start to develop trust, and grow together. Read More Diversity Training Activities DIVERSITY TRAINING GAMES AND EXERCISES

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

Remember how you used to play games as a kid? You’d spin the dial … maybe spin it again if you didn’t get a good flick, then wait with excitement to see where it lands. If no one was looking, maybe you’d give the spinner another whirl – at least you thought no one was looking. Well, the spinning experience never gets old! Furthermore, you don’t have to go to a casino to find one of those super fun devices. Grown-ups can enjoy the same excitement they remember from times gone by when playing learning games at work, in meetings, and more. Try a handful of these activities to put your spinning prize wheel to good use! Choosing the Right Prize Wheel The first thing to consider is how you’ll be using your spinning prize wheel. Do you intend to use if for Conferences? Learning? Marketing? Employee Engagement? Your answer to this question will help you weigh the 5 Ss: the size, space, number of sections, swapping prizes, and sizzle: Size: If the game wheel needs to be visible from afar and draw lots of attention, get as large a wheel as you can. 31” diameter is ample for most situations. For smaller groups, a 24” or 20” wheel will be ample. Space: Do you want to set your spinning prize wheel on the floor, or will a tabletop wheel work for you? If you want flexibility, several models are convertible from floor to table. Sections: Of course, there’s no right answer here, but prize wheels are available with 8 to 24 pie “slices.” Wheels with more slices can look super splashy, but it might also mean that you have to come up with more content and ideas to fill those sections unless you’re okay with repeats. You’ll find that some wheels have “12 or 24” slots. For those, you have the option to fill each of the 12 sections with either 1 or two “prizes.” Swapping prizes: Some prize wheels are customized by drawing on brightly colored pie shapes with a black dry-erase marker. To customize other prize wheels, users must print the prizes out on paper, using pie-shaped templates provided by the manufacturer. Then, the printed content is cut to size and inserted into slots. Using templates (as well as good graphics and an available color printer), facilitators can make these look very exciting. This method can require more preparation and work to get looking as you want it. Another option, if you want to convert the slide-in style to dry-erase, simply insert plain paper into each slot and use a dry-erase marker to write on the clear plastic covering. Sizzle: If you want to add more pizazz, select a while that offers flashing lights. Expect to pay a premium, but they look great! What to put on the wheel? Deciding what to put on the wheel is the biggest decision you’ll have. But at least it’s a fun challenge. Consider these tips: Make it worth their while: The bigger the prize, the more exciting it is for players to participate. That said, you must be prepared to live with the results. Consider the odds and do the math: Figure out the odds of landing on each of the 12 sections, and the number of people you expect to spin. For example, If you have 12 sections, each section will be hit 8% of the time. If you anticipate that 500 people will spin the wheel, expect to award 40 of each prize. Develop options to win one grand prize: if you’re concerned about how many prizes you might have to distribute, consider awarding varying numbers of “chances to win the grand prize.” Make everyone a winner: Remember, “YOU LOSE” might be fun or funny to the facilitator, but not so fun for the player. Prize Winner Selector: Write each player’s name in a “pie slice.” For this application, you’ll need to create as many “pie slices” as you have players. If you have multiple prizes, divide your group into teams and select one team to receive the grab bag of prizes. Once you’ve decided WHAT goes on the wheel, it’s fairly easy to transfer those ideas onto a wheel. If you have a dry-erase wheel, well, that’s self-explanatory–just write on the wheel. For template-style prize wheels, template software is readily available from the manufacturer, and available for download after you’ve made your purchase. Spinning Prize Wheels as Game Accessories Game Board Advancer: Spin to generate the number of spaces to advance on a game board. For this use, you might number the sections from 1 to 6 and then include one or two spaces that say “Back one space” or “Advance 2 spaces.” Award Game Points: Spin to determine how many points the next question will be worth. Using this method, you can either have players advance this number of spaces on a game board, or simply tally the number of points each team accumulates. For added fun, label one section “Double the points of your next spin.” Select Questions: When playing a question-and-answer game, spin to select which category of questions to ask each group. The spinner determines the topic from which the question will be asked. If the team responds correctly, points are added to their tally. If they respond incorrectly, points will be deducted. To add additional excitement, add either a “Bonus” question category – valued at double point value – or “Lose a turn.” Another variation is to add “Pass” cards. Simply hand out 2 “Pass” cards to each team. If a team decides to use one of these cards, they do not have to respond to the question and risk losing points. Instead, they can choose a competing team to pass along the question. The receiving team will have points awarded or deducted, depending on the quality of their response. Workplace and Classroom Games Select Contestants: Spin to select a player or a team to answer a question or complete a task. Simply assign numbers to each participating member or team. Time Selector: Spin to select the amount of time teams have to complete a task or the amount of minutes of the next class break. Select a Letter: Spin to select a letter from the alphabet. Allow the spinning team to pick a discussion topic that begins with this letter. The group that “got” the letter will either lead a discussion on that topic or present their thoughts on that topic. Option: With a second spinner, determine the number of minutes to be spent on this topic. Random Choices: Choose anything at random, for instance: Players Teams Question categories Presentation Order Discussion Topics Lunch break times or duration Lunch Locales Sweet Treats Breaktime Songs Discussion Starters Pick a topic: Create a spinner with six of your own topics for discussion. Have participants spin the wheel to select which topic you’ll open for discussion. Alternatively, prepare a set of 10 to 12 questions for each topic. Then, divide the group into teams and let each team spin the wheel to determine which question category they must answer. If they respond correctly, they get to advance 1 space on the board or receive a designated number of chips or points. If they respond incorrectly, this completes their turn. Consider “upping the ante” by designating a number of points for each question, depending on its difficulty. Scenario Creator: This application requires 3 spinners. For spinner 1, prepare a range of ‘subjects’ such as: customer, manager, client, etc. For spinner 2, prepare a range of ‘issues’ such as: invoice, performance appraisal, delivery date, progress report, co-worker, etc. On spinner 3, prepare a range of ‘actions’ such as: did not get approval, was never told about…, received incorrect data, lost the report, etc. Then have a team spin each of the 3 spinners to select and report on their random scenario. Inspired to Start Spinning With so many fun uses for prize wheels, what are you waiting for? Find your perfect game spinner at Trainers Warehouse! Read More Want to Improve Class Participation? Start by Knowing Your Goals

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)

Getting groups’ attention after a break has always been a challenge. Whether in school, executive seminars, or training sessions, the meeting management issue is the same. People quickly disperse to check their phones, follow up on emails, squeeze in a quick conversation, or get some fresh air. Back in the day, before everyone had a phone/computer in their purse or pocket, we could typically gather people from the bank of pay phones at the training center. Now you may find your group has run to their car or office and is nowhere in sight. How can you get your group to start or come back on time? When originally published, we offered 7 time management tips for meetings and training. However, I’ve updated the post to include the wisdom shared at our Trainers Warehouse Show & Share Set Expectations Regarding Start Times Start on Time Starting on time is the #1 strategy recommended by the team. By starting when you say you’re going to start (or within a minute of that), you’ll set expectations and reinforce that start times aren’t flexible. Refer to the motto: “Early is on time.” Or, as my family of baseball players said, “5 minutes early is 10 minutes late.” Establish “Agreements of Engagement” Notice we’re not calling these “rules,” but rather “agreements.” To get all to agree, try this: Share your expectations that all relax, ask questions, speak up, share expertise, etc. Ask each participant (live or online) to turn to fellow participant and say, “I agree to be agreeable.” Ask, “what else do you need to feel supported during the session?” . Create Visual & Auditory Signals Chime it up! Ring a chime, gong, or Tibetan singing bowl 5 minutes before you plan to start. Before you break, tell the group that the chime will sound when they have 5 minutes left, and again when they have 2 minutes. Explain that when they hear the sound, they need to wrap up their break and return to work. By the way, I just learned that the gathering chime dates back to the early 1900s. The Deagan Railroad Dinner Chime was used to call people to dinner. A few more notes about how to use the chime for optimal results: Choose one chime sequence as a warning tone. Choose another sequence of notes to say “wrap it up.” If the chime won’t be heard from the front of the room, walk around the meeting space ringing the chime. Clapping Sequence Create a clapping pattern and ask folks in the front to pass it on to people behind them. When all have joined the clapping sequence, you’ll be ready to begin. Play that Song Pick a song to play that will signal you’ll be resuming shortly. When the song ends or is cut off, promptly get started. If using music, select diverse musicians and musical styles from all over the world. You can also try: A familiar oldie. Playing for Change for songs from around the world. Trainers Warehouse’s Laughable Lyrics also has some funny songs to send offs and returns from breaks. Content-related song. Look for lyrics that relate to your topic. Flash the lights Couple your auditory signal with a visual of flashing lights, to signal you’re about to resume the session. Show Elapsing Time The Time Timer is a clock time with a large red wedge that becomes smaller as time runs out. Set a clock at the front of the room or project the clock in front of the room. Time Timer is another way to show that time is winding down. You can also download countdown timers from YouTube. Colorful Enticements Cliff Hangers Let your group know that if they are back on time, they’ll see you . . . Juggle? Sing? Stand Upside Down? Breakdance? Make the biggest bubble they’ve ever seen? Play your favorite song? Learn the secret to making the perfect granola? Try to recall everyone’s name and favorite food? You name it. Pick something that will appeal to your group and be sure to follow through. Ask those in the room to talk it up after, so that next time you take a break, everyone will make sure to arrive on time. Raffle Tickets, Funny Money, Candy, etc. Reward those who arrive on time after every break with a raffle ticket or sweet treat. “Prizes” don’t need to be big–a $5 Starbucks card, $1 scratch ticket, a fidget toy of their choosing–but enough fun to encourage them to return in a timely fashion. If using raffle tix or funny money, see who has accumulated the most at the end of class, or do a pick a final winning raffle recipienct. Poker Hand Distribute a playing card to each attendee who enters the room on time. At the end of class, award a prize to the participant who has the winning hand. Fun and Games for Meeting Management Entice the group to come back on time so they can have a turn with the oversized bubble wand (why are those things so mesmerizing to “kids” of ALL ages), take part in a paper airplane contest, tackle a few rounds of “Would you Rather…,” or play a round of Bananagrams. Make it fun to return from a break, rather than coming back early only to plunk their fanny in a chair for another hour. Not so Serious Repercussions! American Idol Theme Once the group is situated in groups at their tables, let them know that one of the “agreements of engagement” is to participate in the Idol Theme. That is, if one person in their group is late, then the whole group has to perform a song and dance. This encourages group members to look out for one another. Meeting Management with Late “Fees” (with a caveat!) We hate to resort to negative reinforcement, but if all else fails, you might try to create repercussions for those returning late from a break. I’ve heard about trainers requiring late-comers to sing a song, tell a joke, or do something embarrassing. To be honest, these approaches cause me some discomfort. I hate to even mention them here. Perhaps you can tone it down by having latecomers recite a tongue twister or do a “funny walk” to get to their seats. I’d take caution when implementing this approach and consider using it only for groups that know each other well. More Tips for Training and Meeting Management If you want to be super precise about return times, ask everyone to check their clocks and make sure they’re on “classroom standard time.” Then, let them know that they need to be back precisely at 2:13 (or whatever time you designate). Sometimes setting a silly time will encourage them to take greater notice of the time. Whatever you do, be sure to create a spirit of fun and respect, so that meeting or training participants look forward to restarting the program. Read More on Meeting Management and Time Management Teaching Time Management: Games and Activities Time Management Tips The Brain Science of Procrastination

Thanks to the Hidden Brain podcast, I learned about the Character Lab’s studies on procrastination. I’d already been sensitized to the topic by loved ones with ADHD who find it insanely difficult to jump right into a task. And, although I’ve sold thousands of “round TUITS,” I realize that reminding people to “just do it” (not wait ’til they “get around to it”), is not particularly helpful. The brain science of procrastination suggests that procrastinators have deep reasons for putting off a task, not addressed by trite procrastination tips. Why We Procrastinate Research finds that emotions are the primary driver of procrastination. Experts say procrastination is the body’s attempt to protect itself from negative feelings like dread, incompetence, insecurity, and stress. When thinking about big tasks, the brain’s amygdala sets off a panic response causing a “FLIGHT” reaction. Even worse, the first act of procrastinating causes more negative feelings, exacerbating the situation. Ultimately, procrastinators have two options: Make tasks less daunting and threatening Alter the reaction to cumbersome tasks In other words, the brain science of procrastination suggests that we can either change the situation or our reaction to the situation. Procrastination Hacks for ADHD Another common time-management tip promoted by Brian Tracy encourages procrastinators to “Eat the Frog,” to do the most difficult task first thing in the morning. The advice originates with Mark Twain who famously said, “If the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that it is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long.” Unfortunately, those with attention disorders find this procrastination tip completely unhelpful, as well. It’s not that they don’t want to “Eat the Frog.” Rather, the whole prospect of tackling an entire project is simply too much. Going back to the emotional response, we understand that putting a task may create less angst and more happiness, than getting to work. Instead of jumping in whole hog, or whole frog in this case, try these tips: Make tasks less threatening or overwhelming Those skilled in managing ADHD or random tendencies toward procrastination have likely found a host of strategies that help make large projects more manageable. For instance, they might: Start chunking — divide tasks into tiny subtasks Identify some easy-to-do tasks Start the day with an easy task, or by doing something pleasurable Choose a Start Date to take the first steps, rather than focusing on a Due Date for completion   “Keep starting – finishing will take care of itself. If you must worry, worry about starting, never worry about finishing.” ~ Dr. Neil Fiore Manage reactions to difficult tasks In addition to breaking large projects into a series of smaller, less scary steps, procrastinators often need to play some mind games with themselves, to minimize the paralyzing negative emotions. For instance: Accept that failure is part of the process. Be prepared for a few false starts and try to get back on track after you do. Add tasks to your list that are easy to cross off. The act of crossing something off your list is somehow more satisfying than it ought to be. Way over-estimate the time needed for a task. Then if you complete the task in less time than anticipated, you can celebrate your success. Schedule “NO SHOULD” days. That is, give yourself a day with nothing you “should do.” Identify the negative emotions that prompt procrastination, understand them, and journal about them. Show yourself compassion. After all, being hard on yourself layers on additional negative emotions, making the threat more intense. Develop new norms and processes To set yourself up for success, consider these additional procrastination tips: Find an accountability partner — find a person to check in with and keep you on track. A number of online services can set you up with a virtual work buddy, including Flow Club, Focusmate, and WorkBuddiesOnline. Remove distractions — give yourself a boost by eliminating easily accessible distractions and triggers. Remove phone apps or limit internet connectivity for a period of time using tools like Freedom.to. Procrastination Tip: No Need to Dump the TUITS Going back to those small round TUIT tokens, I’ve wondered if we should stop distributing them altogether. I still like them as a reminder and the word TUIT is kind of catchy. With a greater appreciation of the paralyzing emotions around doing all of “IT,” I prefer to think of the I.T. as an Initial Task. Finishing each small initial task will create a sense of accomplishment, eliminate some of the negative emotions, and allow steady progress on the daunting task you’ve been avoiding. Read More… Time Management Tips Productivity Tips Time Management Activities

When you embark on team building, it isn’t always fun and games. Sometimes groups form hard-to-break cliques. In other cases, your best efforts to develop team cohesiveness end up surfacing difficult and hurtful conversations. In a recent Open Office Chat, a group of trainers shared their tips and techniques for de-escalating difficult conversations. Be Transparent Before we delve into these best practices, I want to share an “umbrella tip” . An umbrella tip is an over-arching tip that should apply to all the other suggestions. The tip is to be transparent every step of the way. That is, explain WHY you’re doing what you’re doing. If you’re training adults, understand that they want (need) to be in control. They want to know the plan and understand your reasoning. Whether you’re setting ground rules, taking a break, or introducing a new activity, explain it, simply and clearly. In the middle of an activity, if things go awry, you might say, “Well, this didn’t go as planned,” or “What I anticipated is xyz. Together, perhaps we can explore how we got to where we are, what we can learn from it, and what we can do differently next time.” Set Clear Ground Rules Now, back to the tips for de-escalating difficult conversations. First-time trainers often learn the basics about establishing ground rules: Have participants helps set the rules, to build buy-in Post the agreed-upon rules Fill in rules that help people feel safe And yet, as conversations heat up and emotions boil over, trainers and facilitators often see those well-laid rules get tossed aside. Ground Rules Ignored Skilled facilitators have a handful of strategies for those instances when conversations come to a boiling point and rules are disregarded. In most instances, the key is to help break participants out of their mood and reset the group’s energy. Perhaps some of these techniques will work for you: Make Participants Feel Heard Sometimes frustrations mount when participants sense that others aren’t hearing their contributions, thoughts, and feelings. To ensure that participants’ sentiments have been communicated clearly, try these. Record ideas on a flip chart — ask the speaker if the notes clearly represent what they said. Repeat what you heard — restate an idea or argument so that the speaker knows their thinking was communicated accurately. Distribute “OUCH” cards — cut out a handful of cards and spread them on a table or give every participant a card. If they hear something hurtful, the card can give them an opportunity to react, without interrupting the speaker. At the same time, the speaker can see that their words may have had an unintended impact and be able to address that promptly. Create a Parking Lot — record ideas that require further discussion on a flipchart or whiteboard. Before disbursing, develop a plan for revisiting those topics at a later time. While these tips may help your group communicate their thoughts, they can’t ensure a calm conversation, especially when participants are truly engaged and invested in the topic. Alter the Process if Discussions Don’t Go as Anticipated Despite best intentions and excellent facilitation skills, conversations may not go as intended. When this happens, revert to the transparency tip above to de-escalate conflict. Take a page from the Getting to Yes approach and separate the content of the conversation from the process. If you’re getting hung up on the content of a conversation, take a pause and talk explicitly about the process. Explain that these conversations can be difficult but you have a shared interest in developing a stronger understanding of one another’s perspectives. Ask the group, how can we have this conversation more productively? Then, develop and commit to a process before diving back into the difficult content. For instance, you might explore some of the following ideas will be a way to move forward. Develop a team mission statement: Encourage the group to think of their team as if it were an individual. You may be able to get people on the same page by asking, What is OUR mission? What’s OUR goal? What are we trying to accomplish? What do WE value? This process will help surface the shared values that hold the team together. Switch out the groups: Put people in different, smaller groups. Conduct small group discussions and have those groups record and later share what they learned from one another when they reconvene as a large group. Go one-on-one: If a specific individual is particularly challenging, consider addressing them directly during a break, to discuss a productive process for future interactions with the group. If conversations continue to be confrontational, consider bringing a supervisor into the discussion. Utilize coaching techniques: Adopt a coaching style and ask participants to articulate what they are hearing, seeing or experiencing. Ask: How are you feeling? What is this bringing up for you? What’s behind the emotions? Uncover emotions with image decks: To inspire conversations about feelings, pull out a deck of image cards like Climer Cards or Ulead Cards. Ask participants to select a card that represents how they’re currently feeling or hope to feel. Use Breaks to De-Escalate Difficult Conversations When all else fails . . . or even before it fails, know when it’s time to take a break. Be sure to explain that taking a break does not mean you’re abandoning or running from the conversation. Instead, think of it like giving your kid a timeout (or taking one for yourself). On occasion, adults need a moment to cool off as well, to collect themselves and organize their thinking. If and when you take a break, revert to the transparency tip above. Explain why you’re doing what you’re doing. Your time out can consist of any of these: Play music to shift the vibe — pick a tune that will calm or energize the group, as needed. Introduce a journaling break — encourage participants to jot a few notes about how they’re feeling. Take a stroll — shift the group’s energy by altering their surroundings. Encouraging participants to walk around the room or building, or stroll outdoors. Set out a Question Box — invite participants to write a question, then stand up, and insert it into the box. This allows them to move about, if they’re uncomfortable (physically or emotionally), and also share their thought anonymously. Team Activities to Help Avoid Escalations in the First Place If you’re onboarding a new crew of students or employees bound to spend a great deal of time together, or if you fear cliques may form, try an onboarding activity to help your group establish strong relationships from the outset. Relationships formed early will help them navigate future challenges with ease, avoiding the need to de-escalate difficult conversations. Fiction or Fact? — This popular game also goes by “Two Truths and a Lie.” Each player thinks up 3 statements about themselves, only two of which are truthful. Others need to guess which statement is fiction. The quick activity allows players to share fun facts about themselves and learn about others’. What do we have in common? — Divide your group into small teams of 3-5. Challenge them to find 3 (or more) things you all have in common — interests, experiences, qualities, etc. The activity helps the team members build bonds and appreciate their similarities. Shut out — This one can be intense and incredibly memorable. Have a team designate a “leader.” After they do, request that the leader step out of the room. In their absence, instruct the rest of the group to shut that person out when they re-enter the room, using body language, lack of eye contact, as well as not listening, speaking, or acknowledging, their presence. After a few minutes, take time to debrief the experience. Ask: how did it feel to exclude or be excluded, and to be an insider or outsider? How do you hope to be treated in your new surroundings? Be sure to take good care of the “leader” so they don’t feel any residual discomfort! Team Mission Statement — Also described above, use this activity to address difficulty as it arises or at the start of a session, to get off on a good start. Final Thoughts on De-Escalating Difficult Conversations In the best of worlds, we’d eliminate conflict and wouldn’t need to de-escalate difficult conversations. Unfortunately, that’s not human nature. The best we can do is be prepared with a handful of tools and skills to manage hard discussions as they happen. Hopefully, when we establish ground rules, take breaks as needed, instill strong communication skills, and facilitate with honesty and transparency, we can minimize the negative effects and use the experiences to grow, learn, and develop greater trust. Read More on De-Escalating Difficult Conversations The Art of Difficult Conversations Active Listening Exercises

When we first moved into a small, rustic house in the heart of the Berkshires, our first task was cleaning — cobwebs, dust, grease, old pots and pans, the works. Reflecting on the hard work, I appreciate that the same sort of preparation is required whenever you create something new — a garden, a freshly-painted room, an office space, and yes, the development of a new skill. Before putting in new plants and flowers, I spend days weeding, clearing, and tilling. Before applying a fresh coat of paint, painters take great care to fill holes, caulk gaps, and tape off the edges. In each instance, thorough prep work paves the way for whatever goodness comes next. Teaching and training require that same sort of preparation, helping learners clear their minds before tackling new challenges. Explore clean slate neuroscience and understand how you can help learners maximize their brain performance. The Neuroscience of a “Clean Slate” Several cognitive psychology and neuroscience findings support the necessity of beginning every learning endeavor with a “clean slate” or a focused mental state. Consider each of these brain science discoveries: Attention and working memory are linked Attention plays a crucial role in learning and memory processes. When we have a cluttered mind or are preoccupied with unrelated thoughts or tasks, it can be challenging to allocate sufficient attention and working memory resources to the new information we are trying to learn. Clearing our minds and focusing our attention can help optimize these cognitive resources for effective learning. Interference increases forgetfulness Interference occurs when new information interferes with the recall or retention of previously learned information. Imagine trying to remember a string of 7 numbers so they can be repeated in reverse sequence. Remembering 4 numbers is easy for most of us. With each digit we add, the challenge becomes more difficult. In an effort to remember the latest numbers, we’re prone to forget the earlier numbers. When a phone call, text, or knock on the door diverts our attention… forget about it! Similarly, if we try to learn something new without a clear mental state, the likelihood of interference from unrelated thoughts or memories increases, which can hinder the encoding and retention of new information. Starting with a clean slate can minimize the interference of random thoughts and promotes better learning. Cognitive load impedes comprehension Cognitive load refers to the mental effort required to process information during learning. When our minds are cluttered or preoccupied, the cognitive load increases, making it more challenging to comprehend and integrate new information effectively. Creating a clean mental state helps reduce unnecessary cognitive load and facilitates better encoding and retention of new knowledge. Mindset and focus Having a clear mental state before learning can also contribute to a positive mindset and increased focus. When we intentionally clear our minds and prepare ourselves for learning, we signal to our brain that we are ready to engage in the task at hand. This mental readiness and focus enhance our receptiveness to new information and improve learning outcomes. Optimizing Learning Trainers can help their student clear their minds in several ways. Share the break schedule. Your participants may have personal or work matters requiring their attention during the day. Let folks know when you’ll be taking breaks so they can attend to phone calls, emails, or other pressing matters on their to-do list. Invite the sharing of current knowledge about the topic. Invite participants to share their prior experience with the topic you’ll be addressing. Ask what they already know and understand. Probe to learn their challenges and their pain points. Finally, identify existing knowledge gaps. Then, target the learning event to the appropriate level, discuss misinformation or new approaches, and draw upon the group’s existing wisdom. Articulate questions and concerns in advance. As part of your intro, ask participants to articulate any concerns or wishes they have for the learning day. At this point, you can address any misconceptions or misunderstandings about what the learning event will address. Record these thoughts on a flip chart so you can revisit them throughout the session. Then, tailor the session to address the group’s specific interests. Encourage To-Do lists. So that every thought that enters their minds does not become intrusive, suggest that participants keep a “parking lot” of to-do items. By writing thoughts down, for easy retrieval at some later time, our brains are free to focus more fully and absorb other information. Tend to the basics first. Be sure learners feel safe, comfortable, fed, and hydrated. Feeling cold, hungry, or preoccupied with emotions will certainly inhibit the brain from learning. Practice Mindfulness. Mindfulness is being in a state where you’re fully focused on the present moment. Through mindfulness, we calmly acknowledge and accept feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations without judgment or personal rebuke. Some practice meditation or yoga to achieve mindfulness. Teachers and trainers can facilitate exercises that ask participants to do breathing exercises, set an intention, develop a gratitude list, be still for a minute or two, listen to the very end of the sound of a chime, and so forth. Mindfulness card decks can also be a good resource for those looking for appropriate exercises and activities that can quiet the mind. The Trainers Warehouse Session Openers Thumball will assist with some of these tasks, but you can also utilize flip charts, sticky notes, and other traditional facilitation tools to put these suggestions into action. Find your Optimal “Clean Slate” Optimal learning conditions can vary between individuals. Additionally, the impact of a clean mental state on learning may depend on various factors such as the simplicity or complexity of the material being learned, an individual’s prior knowledge, and the specific challenge at hand. Personally, I often find that I need to clean my desk or tidy up the kitchen (if I’m working from home) before I embark on a new, focused, mental challenge.