in this issue
	Activity: Presentation Style Activity: Best/Worst Case Scenario Activity: Arm Wrestling Theme Idea: Road Signs

Activity: Presentation Style

Presentation skills are often difficult to master. People see others who are great presenters and think, "I can never be that good." One point I make when teaching presentation skills is the importance of developing your own personal style, one that reflects your personality. The goal of this activity is to help participants realize that there are many different presentation styles, and any one of them can be effective. Divide the group into 4-5 small teams. Give each team the same assignment: develop a short presentation on how to make a good presentation. Assign each team a different presentation style to use when developing and delivering their presentation. The styles we assign are: Evangelical, Folksy, Quiet, Casual/Familiar, Professorial, and Formal/Reserved. Allow them 15 minutes to prepare the presentation. Have teams present (suggest that they choose a team member who can best play their assigned style). After each presentation, have the other teams guess what style was being demonstrated and what clues they observed that illustrated that style. Summarize by making the point that there are many presentation styles to choose from. To be a great presenter, you must find the right style for your personality. Then have them identify their preferred style and begin to incorporate elements of that style throughout the presentations they give during training. Visit our web site at www.rttworks.com/Free_Resources for free downloads of the handouts we use in this activity.

Activity: Best/Worst Case Scenario

This activity helps people see how their mind impacts their ability to deal with difficult situations. Prepare by identifying 4-5 typical conflict situations for your group. For example, the boss criticizes you in front of others; a direct report missed an important deadline without warning you; an angry customer is berating you for something you have no control over. Write out the scenarios in short paragraphs, focusing on specific and observable behaviors. Avoid describing people's motivations. In the session, distribute the scenarios to the group. Divide the class into pairs or trios. Assign each scenario to at least 2 teams. Instruct half the teams for a given scenario to develop a "best case" analysis of the situation, and the other half a "worst case" analysis to explain the situation. Ask them to get creative with their ideas, including both logical explanations and really wild ones. Allow 5 minutes. Then have teams share their work. Debrief with questions like: How easy was it to develop the best case? The worst case? If one is easier for you, why is that? How might you approach a situation if you assumed the best case? The worst case? When do you tend toward the best? Toward the worst? How can you apply this insight to the conflicts you face? If time allows, you can have them identify a real conflict of their own and develop a best/worst case scenario, along with plans to explore the real explanation. When they get back on the job, if they begin to consider the best and worst cases, it will slow them down, which is a smart move when facing a confrontation.

Activity: Arm Wrestling

I heard this activity described in a book called Beyond Reason by Roger Fisher and Daniel Shapiro (of the Harvard Negotiation Project). It's a great way to illustrate the difference between negotiating with a fixed-pie approach and negotiating by making the pie bigger. In a typical negotiation, if the two parties see one side's gain as another's loss, that's a fixed-pie approach (there's one pie, and it's this big). If, on the other hand, they work together to find a way to make the pie bigger, they can achieve better results for all. This activity illustrates that concept. Divide the class into pairs. Instruct the pairs to face each other, place their elbows on the table, and clasp their partner's right hand. Tell them that the goal of this exercise is to get the most points possible as an individual, and not to worry about the number of points their partner gets. A point is earned each time your partner's hand touches the table. What will happen in most pairs is that they will compete with their partners (even though you tell them they shouldn't worry about their partner's points). But you may have one pair that realizes if they allow their partner to make points, their partner will probably reciprocate, and both will make many more points than the other teams. Debrief by asking who got the most points. Then ask about their approach to the exercise: Did they work with their partner or see him/her as competition? What were the instructions to the exercise (do they remember)? How does this illustrate the way they typically approach a negotiation? Then lead into a discussion of the fixed pie vs. bigger pie approach.

Theme Idea: Road Signs

I'm always looking for creative ways to illustrate our training manuals. After all, the information is important, and if it's presented well visually, it can help people learn. While on a recent road trip, I had an "Aha!" moment in this area. I was noticing the different road signs (as a good driver should do) and thought about how they exist to guide travelers. Then I thought, that's exactly what's needed in a training manual: road signs to guide learning. So I began to brainstorm how to incorporate road signs into a training manual, and here's what I came up with. Street signs = Page titles. Mile markers = Page numbers. Overhead signs on interstate = Tab pages OR Welcome to our state signs = tab pages. Slow, Hazard signs (curves, bump, etc.) or speed limit signs = warning about difficult activity. Stop Sign = before a test. Fork in the Road = Action Plan. You can also create graphical road maps illustrating the course content and flow, and copy these for each person. We enlarge to 11x17 and provide markers for people to color in the road maps during the class. (You can find a sample course map on our web site at www.rttworks.com/Free_Resources.) I'm sure there are many more ways to build this theme into the class. Let your imagination go wild and have some fun - for you and the learners.