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	RTT Development Opportunities Leadership for Couch Potatoes It's All Greek to Me Testing the Mind and Body Picture This

Leadership for Couch Potatoes

This is a prework activity for leadership training. The goal is to get participants thinking about what makes a good leader and how leaders use their power. And it lets folks incorporate their favorite television shows into the training. Here's how it works. Contact participants 2-3 weeks before training and instruct them to identify a fictional leader, someone from a television show, movie, or book. Have them analyze that character as a leader and prepare to discuss their analysis in training - give them some questions to consider. For example: How did this character become a leader? What experiences helped them develop leadership traits? What are their power sources (position, experience, knowledge, charisma, etc.)? How do they use their power? What leadership challenges have they faced and how did they respond? If you are teaching a specific leadership model, tailor your questions to that model. You can incorporate the prework into the training in several different ways. It can be an icebreaker, where people work in small teams to discuss their work and then share with the larger group. Or you can tap into the analyses throughout the training, addressing each question as you get to a related part of the content. You can have them share their ideas and compare their own leadership aspirations to the character they selected. You can close the session with a team exercise that has the team discuss each member and agree on a character whose leadership style best fits that member's personality (i.e., if they were to model their leadership style after a fictional character, who would you recommend they choose?). This activity gets people ready for the training, thinking about different ways to lead, and encourages them to observe others to learn how to be more effective leaders.

It's All Greek to Me

Here's an activity that demonstrates how much we can learn from someone's body language, even when we don't understand a word they are saying. It takes a little preparation and a willing volunteer. You need a volunteer who is fluent in a language that most of the class doesn't understand. They will make two presentations in that foreign language: one on a position that they strongly agree with and another on a position that they strongly disagree with. As preparation, coach the volunteer on the presentations. Ask them to define the two positions, or use one issue and they can argue for both sides. Tell them that they should be as convincing as possible when explaining the position they support, and can be less convincing when explaining the position they don't support. It might be helpful if you work with them to identify three to four key points they can make about each position. Have them record those points on paper to reference when they present. Introduce the presentations by sharing some information about the importance of non-verbal communication in the messages we send and receive. Tell the group that they will be watching a speaker make two presentations in another language: one on an issue that the speaker supports and another on an issue that he/she doesn't support. They must take notes about the non-verbal signals they observe and try to determine which presentation is which. Have the presenter make the first presentation. Allow 1-2 minutes for people to record their ideas about the speaker's non-verbals and position. Then have the speaker make the second presentation. Again, take 1- 2 minutes for recording ideas. Finish by asking the group which presentation was on the issue the speaker supported and why. Discuss the ways people's body language changes when they have confidence and passion about a topic. How does that impact our ability to influence others? What can we learn about our own body language that might help us become better communicators?

Testing the Mind and Body

Here's a way to combine three things: a test, physical movement, and competition. You will need two baskets, lots of tennis balls (or similar tossing objects), and some masking tape. Participants will answer questions about the course content. If they respond correctly, they get a chance to shoot a basket. The team with the most baskets wins. Now for the details: Prepare by developing a list of questions about the course content. Vary the types of questions to include open-ended, fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice, matching and more. Then rate the difficulty of each question: easy, moderate, or difficult. Put each question on a 5x8 card, with easy questions on yellow cards, moderate questions on orange cards, and difficult questions on green cards. (The colors don't actually matter, as long as there are different colors for each level of difficulty.) You should have at least 3 questions per person. Set up the room with two baskets on one side and the balls to toss on the other side. Put masking tape on the floor at 3 different distances from the baskets. Hard questions will earn a shot from the first line (closest to the basket), medium questions will earn a shot from the second closest line, and easy questions will earn a shot from the furthest line. Divide the class into two teams. Have them line up single file, facing the basket. Allow participants to choose the difficulty of their question. Then read the question. If they answer correctly, allow them to shoot a basket from the appropriate line. The team with the most baskets at the end of the game wins. You can use this activity at the end of the class or at the end of each module, building points throughout the class. It's fun, gets people moving, and reinforces learning.

Picture This

This is a fun way to generate discussion about what causes stress in our lives, and how each of us responds to the stresses we encounter. Find 4-5 photographs of people that illustrate different levels of stress, from very peaceful (no stress) to wild-eyed, out-of-control, heart-attack-inducing stress. Enlarge the photos so that they can be posted on a chart on the wall, with plenty of room to write underneath the photos. Give participants large sticky notes. Instruct them to look at each photo and write down what kinds of things are happening when they look like the person in the picture. What is it that creates that stress level for them? Have them record one or two things for each photo and post the sticky note on the appropriate photo. When they have recorded their own experiences, have them wander around and read what others wrote. Discuss their experiences by asking questions like: Which photo represents where you are most at work? At home? Are there any advantages to being at a higher stress level? What differences did you notice between what stresses you and what stresses others? Did some people identify high stresses that you don't find particularly stressful? Summarize by discussing what they can do to reduce how stressed they feel about a specific situation. What mental action can they take to control their own stress? Get them thinking about the power they have to manage stress and motivate them to use that power to improve their lives.