in this issue
	Opener: Personal Notes Activity: Shopping Spree Activity: This is a Real Stinker! Closer: Excuses, Excuses

Opener: Personal Notes

Here's a nice way to welcome participants to your training class. Write each of them a personal note and place it on their chair. It doesn't actually have to be personal, because you may not even know the people yet, but it can feel personal by the way you phrase the message. Your note should include their name (if you know it), some information about the class content, and an encouraging message about their full engagement in the session. Here's an example: Dear Mary, Welcome to The Communication Lab. You will have an opportunity in the next two days to learn how others see you and to explore new ways of communicating. I encourage you to take risks, try new things, and be open to feedback. I also hope you will help others to grow and take risks during the workshop. I commit to supporting your learning, bringing you new ideas and insights, and helping you find ways to approach your most pressing communication challenges. I'm glad you're here and look forward to learning from and with you. You don't have to actually hand write the note, although that's a nice touch. (Some of us don't have the best penmanship.) A printed note will work. Just be sure to actually sign the note. You may want to include a phone number and/or email so they have your contact information for future reference.

Activity: Shopping Spree

This activity is a field trip for your class. Divide the class into pairs or trios. Give each group a small amount of money ($20) and instruct them to go shopping. Give them specific instructions about what they should shop for. For example, if teaching Instructional Design, each pair can be assigned a training subject and must shop for props they can use when teaching that workshop. If teaching managers how to give feedback, instruct pairs to shop for things they can use to reward performance. After telling them what they should buy, give them additional guidelines for their shopping trip. Their goal is to purchase as many items as possible without overspending. You can make it a competition, with the winning team being those who get the most stuff, are most creative, have the greatest variety, or some other criteria. Allow enough time to get to a shopping area and shop, but not so much time that they can leisurely complete the task. When they return, have each team show and explain their purchases. This activity is lots of fun. It gets people out of the classroom, working with others, using their creativity, planning, and presenting. And even those who aren't crazy about shopping can have fun with that!

Activity: This is a Real Stinker!

Here's an activity that encourages people to share ideas - any ideas. The overall goal is to help people overcome the internal censor that keeps them from making suggestions for fear that they might not be good enough. Begin by discussing the value of both good and bad ideas. We all accept this in theory, but in reality we sometimes hold back on our ideas if we think others might not like them. Tell the group that when you brainstorm, you want them to warn everyone if their idea is an especially bad one. They have to preface it by saying, "This is a real stinker," or something like that. Then the rest of the group will respond with praise - "oh yeah! Unbelievable! That sure did stink!" Tell them to really overact (without being nasty). Make sure everyone understands the "rules." Then begin brainstorming. If you don't get anyone with a bad idea right away, encourage them. "Doesn't anyone have a stinker to suggest? Someone's got to have a worse idea than these." You can really have fun with this, and get people over their resistance to speaking up. Then carry this through the rest of the workshop. Give them permission to warn others when they have a real stinker. At the end of the workshop, you can debrief by asking how they feel about speaking up. Did they have any insights about how they censor themselves and what they might want to change? Are they less hesitant to offer their ideas? Encourage them to break through their own personal barriers and suggest a few stinkers when they get back on the job!

Closer: Excuses, Excuses

Our goal as trainers and designers is to create change. We want to help others learn so that they are better in their jobs or in their lives (or both). Unfortunately, change is hard. They may want to change, but have barriers. Some barriers are self-imposed, while others are external. The more we can help remove those barriers, the more successful our training will be. This closer is directed to that goal. At the end of training, when all content has been covered, ask participants to imagine themselves back in the "real world" trying to use what they have been learning. Encourage them to think about the barriers they might encounter, and have them record those barriers on a card or piece of paper. Allow about 2-3 minutes. Then have participants mingle and find 2-3 people with some common barriers. (They don't have to match all barriers, but should have something in common.) When everyone is part of a small group (no more than 4, and 3 is ideal), have them talk with their group about that barrier. What can they do to prevent that barrier? What can they do if/when that barrier presents itself? Allow about 5 minutes for discussion. Debrief by asking for a few people to share their strategies for managing barriers. Discuss the benefits of overcoming those barriers. Then summarize by reminding them that change is difficult, and if we are realistic about our barriers and work to manage them, the payoff can be fantastic. You may be helping people achieve even greater success than ever before.