Creating an Active Training

When designing your training plan you must also keep in mind the objectives you wish to fulfill at the beginning of the session. Either if it’s a BANG, a

teambuilding exercise, a group assessment or goal setting, always

keep in mind your audience and their specific characteristics. The way you

open a presentation will set the tone of your course. Specifically, keep in mind:

1. Level of threat

• How well do you know your audience?

• Will they be open to new exercises and ideas or will they be hesitant and reserved as you begin your presentation?

• Be aware of your opening exercise so that it does not expose your participants’ lack of knowledge or skills; be prone to engage them in an activity that encourages opinions on a familiar subject in order to create a relaxed environment.

2. Group Characteristics

• Would you use the same type of activity for an audience of managers as for an audience of students?

• Presumably your answer is no, therefore adjust the level of the exercise to the type of audience you are delivering for.

3. Connection to content

• The conclusion of your chosen activity should be related to the rest of your training.

• By tying an icebreaker to the content of your training, you are creating a transition stage that will help the audience smooth into the subject.

Even after you have created an amazing opening for your

presentation, group attention or understanding may disappear in a moment’s notice, therefore we shall present 8 methods to keep

the participants engaged and transform a usual training into an

active one

1. Sharing

• Pose an open question and ask the participants to feel free to share any opinions.

• You should ask this type of questions when you are sure the audience wants to be involved.

• Control the sharing period by stating “I would like to get 4 or 5 opinions….”

2. Anonymous answers

• Pass index cards around the audience and ask them to write the answer/s on the card without having to write down their names.

• The anonymity of the cards will offer you truthful opinions and it also saves times for the conciseness of the cards.

3. Questionnaires

• Create a brief questionnaire that can be answered easily and can be verified fast.

• Sharing the results of the questionnaires during the training will be extremely appealing for the participants.

4. Buddy system

• Ask participants to group in 2’s in order to answer certain questions/questionnaires.

• This system is efficient in creating a collaborative environment but time to create bigger groups is not enough.

5. Whips

• Move around the audience and obtain short answers to key questions.

• The questions posed through this method should offer multiple answers, for example: A leader’s main skill is …..

• Ask the audience to offer different answers, personal opinions and not repeat the past responses.

6. Panel

• Invite in front of the audience a small group of representatives to share their views on a certain matter.

• If time allows it, rotate the members of the panel so as many participants as possible may offer their insight.

7. Fishbowl

• Select a part of the audience to form a circle and begin discussing the requested subject, as the rest of the audience listens from outside the circle.

• Shift people from the outer circle into the discussion circle to keep the discussion going and offer new perspectives.

8. Games

• The variety of games, from icebreakers, to puzzles, quizzes or team challenge can help challenge your participants’ knowledge and ideas, bringing forth a key message of the training.

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