How do you press the "Reset" button?

By Susanne Conrad

I had spent months developing a good training program. My room was set up perfectly. Materials were laid out. Refreshments were set. My equipment was working perfectly and the presentation was already projecting behind me. I had done my research on the audience. I had considered the corporate culture. Everything was perfect - except something was off kilter. From the moment participants started arriving, it just seemed to me that things didn't progress smoothly - or at least not as smoothly as I wanted them to. I felt a disconnect from the audience and, therefore, that I wasn't engaging them in the learning as well as I ought to be doing.

I think this happens to all trainers at some point - despite great prep. So, what can you do about it?

Here are just two of my suggestions for hitting the Reset button:

1. Throw in a team development activity on the fly

Keep one or two quick games or activities at the ready that you can drop into your program on the fly - something that doesn't take a long time to do and fits with the topic. The objective should be to get you interacting with participants on something other than the program so you can build rapport. People working, talking and interacting is energizing and connecting. For example, during communications training, you could indicate that you're going to demonstrate how difficult communications can be by describing how to build your favorite paper airplane - make sure everyone has a sheet of paper and give the instructions without using hand gestures or demonstrating - ask participants just to do what you say and see how many fliers are produced. Wander through the participants as you speak to help you connect better - a humorous interchange is bound to take place. You can even ask for a "helper" to explain better and get participants engaged. 

2. If you know the participants well, address it head on

I've tried this with participants I work with frequently and know fairly well - just before we went on break, I simply said "I'm feeling like things aren't going as well as usual - like things are a little flat today. Is it just me or do you feel it too?" Notice that you would have to make the question objective and impartial. A group may otherwise be too polite to tell you you're not doing well, and even a slight indication that you are blaming them will create animosity rather than a discussion leading to resolution. My participants were very open about feeling the same way. They told me they had just learned that a co-worker had been in a fatal accident and were distracted by that news. Ah hah!!Sometimes it's really you, but sometimes it's not. I adjusted my delivery.

A word of caution: Do this with participants you have built a good relationship with and/or whose culture supports this type of discussion. Otherwise, they'll be looking for and focused on what's not going well rather than your content as you move forward. Yikes!

HERE'S THE QUESTION FOR YOU:

What are your ideas for "hitting the Reset button"? What have you tried? What works/doesn't work?

Comments

[Susanne Conrad]

I agree with both of you, Susan and Bill, that a good introduction is worth it's weight in gold.

Asking for what people hope to take away from or expect from a training session is good - as you say, you can always refer back to it. I find people are apt to give you the answer they know you or their managers expect or what they know to be the "politically correct" response.

What I was referring to, however, is not the lack of a good introduction or neglecting to touch base on expectations, but a group that is "off kilter" if you will - just not into the training or not connecting with you.

Any thoughts on that?

[Susan Onaitis]

On occasion if a restart is required, I may call a quick break so that everyone comes back fresh and ready to go.

I also agree with Bill. Going around the room for individual introductions at the beginning helps set a comfortable atmosphere and an informal tone. But I always include that question about their specific objectives. I write their answers on a flip chart so I can refer back to them as we cover their individual topic of interest. It establishes early on that you want to meet their needs.

[Bill Stinnett]

Ten years ago I started a sales training consultancy to deliver sales training workshops for a wide variety of clients all over the world. I have only had to "press the reset button" a few times and every one of those times was a result of not heading the following advice: “Always open your workshop by going around the room and having everyone introduce themselves and state what they hope to learn or accomplish during this session.” Granted, this takes time. But it is absolutely essential to establishing the right connection with the participants. Listen very intently. Ask for clarification as needed. When a participant mentions something you plan to cover, confirm when you will be addressing that by saying, “That is one of the main topics we’ll covering this afternoon,” for example. If it’s a very short session with a large group, get at least a few people to respond to the question, “What do you hope to take away from this session?” I have, on occasion, skipped this step for expedience. I cannot remember a time that I didn’t come to regret it.