in this issue
	RTT Development Opportunities Jigsaw Puzzle Activities Something Completely Different Customer Service Competition Creating Tool Kits for Training

Jigsaw Puzzle Activities

Have you ever thought about using jigsaw puzzles in training? It can be a great energizer and reinforce learning. You can get custom made puzzles at a quick print shop or photo specialty store. You provide the image and they will make that image into a puzzle. Here are some ideas for using those custom made puzzles. Puzzle as a Test: Write a series of questions using both words and images. Have these questions printed on your puzzle. Give each team one puzzle and have teams compete to assemble the puzzle and correctly answer the questions. Puzzle as Diagram: Create several puzzles, each with a diagram of a process or equipment component. Give each team a different puzzle. Have them assemble the puzzle and make a list of all they know about the picture they assembled. Then have teams present. Concentration: Many years ago, there was a game show called Concentration. Contestants would have to correctly answer a question to reveal a piece of the puzzle. The winner was first person to guess what the puzzle said. You can take the same approach, asking them questions about training content. If answered correctly, you reveal a piece of the puzzle. The puzzle might be a screen shot from a computer application (they have to name the screen) or some other image from training. Whatever you try, it will get their brains and their bodies moving!

Something Completely Different

This activity can be used in your communication skills workshops (presentations, interpersonal skills, conflict, etc.). The goal is to have participants try something completely different in their communication style and compare it to their usual approach. It helps them get out of their comfort zone. Have participants make a short presentation (or complete a short role play) on a topic they know. It should be content they are comfortable with. Then have them identify someone they know who is most different from them in their presentation style. (You may have to suggest that they identify a positive role model.) Have them describe that person in writing - what they admire, what is different about them. Allow about 3-4 minutes for them to write the description. Instruct participants that they will now have to make a presentation in the style of the person they just described. It should be on the same topic as their earlier presentation, but needs to be in a totally different style. The goal is to be as much like that person as possible. They can even introduce themselves as the person they are modeling. Then have them present. Debrief by asking them to compare their two presentations. What did they like about each one? How confident did they feel in each presentation? Which was most fun? What parts of the second presentation could they comfortably add to their own style? What are they uncomfortable adding to their own style and why? Encourage people to try new things during training and they may actually incorporate them into their daily work.

Customer Service Competition

This activity can be used as a final exercise in customer service training, or as the primary activity in the training session. Before training, identify some typical customer service challenges the audience might face. You will need one challenge per person. (As an alternative, you can have the group create the challenges during training. Give them a template so that all the necessary details are included.) Divide the class into two competing teams. Explain that each person on the team will have the opportunity to earn points for the team, and the team with the most points at the end of the competition will win valuable prizes. They will earn points by managing a customer service challenge. Each challenge is worth up to 10 points. They will be evaluated by the other team in three categories: Speed (too slow, too fast, just right), Problem Solving (customer and company win, customer wins OR company wins, nobody wins/more problems created), and Courtesy (Miss Manners would be proud, Miss Manners would find it acceptable, Miss Manners would be horrified). An extra point is earned if all categories are rated tops. Begin the competition, with the trainer playing the customer. Spend plenty of time in the debrief, as this is where much of the learning will occur. When the other team shares their evaluation of the situation, they must name the words and/or actions that support their score. After the score is explained, ask the group what other things could have been said or done that would have worked (even if the situation was well done). This gets the group thinking about different ways to successfully resolve a customer problem. If you use this approach, you may not need to do any other training in the workshop. The entire workshop will be focused on real challenges and practical application. That's active learning! »

Creating Tool Kits for Training

A Tool Kit is a set of tools, techniques or ideas that you provide participants so that they can apply what is taught on the job. For example, in our Project Management Workshop, we have a tool kit with templates for the scope of work, project plan, status report, meeting agenda, change request, and project summary. In the Instructional Design Workshop, we have templates for needs assessment, design document, common activities, proposals, and trainer notes. The Creative Problem Solving Tool Kit includes over 30 different problem-solving techniques. Each Tool Kit is a collection of tools bound together as an easy to use job aid. It is a supplement to the training manual. Now that you know what it is, how do you create it? Begin by analyzing the tools people need to apply on the job whatever it is you are teaching. For example, you may be teaching a workshop on meeting effectiveness. You might teach things like how to create an agenda, how to take minutes, and how to ensure maximum participation. Think about how you can make it easier for participants to use those concepts on the job. The tool kit you create might include a template for a meeting agenda, or several different templates depending on the type of meeting. It could include phrases to use to handle different types of meeting challenges. Maybe even a template for taking minutes. The more tools you create, the better. These tools increase the chance of application. Be sure to use the tool kit during training. In our Creative Problem Solving workshop, teams complete a case study and must use one of the tools in the kit during each round of the case. They report both their work on the case as well as their experience with their assigned tool. We ask them to share what they liked about it, what they didn't like, and when they think it would be especially useful. By incorporating the tools into the training, they get used to using the Tool Kit and trying new things. That means they may actually use some of these ideas back on the job.