in this issue
	The Name Game One Trick Pony Competitive Questions Organize This!

The Name Game

Here's an icebreaker that gets people to share what they know about the topic you're teaching. Divide the group into small teams (4-6 people). Have them choose a name for their team. Suggest that they choose a name with 5-7 letters. (This will be important later.) Give them just a minute to choose their name and record it on a flip chart. After all teams have a name, tell them they will use that name to share what they know about the subject you're teaching. They must use the letters in their team names as the first letter of a list of tips to remember. For example, if the team name is "Titans" and the subject is supervisory skills, the team might offer this list of tips: "T" - Take time with staff. "I" - Identify and share targets. "T" - Tell them what you expect. "A" - Ask for their input. "N" - Never react without getting all the facts. "S" - Support their development. You can do this exercise in the beginning, as a way to learn about their experiences, or later in the workshop as an energizer.

One Trick Pony

In this exercise, participants learn how overuse of a particular communication response can be ineffective, regardless of how skilled one might be in that response. You will need at least 2 different scenarios describing a complaint (customer complaint, employee complaint, peer complaint, etc.). Create cards for two rounds of role play. In round 1, the players will act out the scenario, with the "listener" using only one type of response (empathize/reflect emotions, probe for more information, paraphrase statements, or give facts). Your role cards should state what type of response the listener should use, and the "complainer" should not know what that response is. Here's an example of what you might have on Round 1 cards. ROUND 1: COMPLAINER. You are an employee complaining to your manager about a peer who makes a lot of mistakes that you have to fix. You've reached the end of your rope and want action. ROUND 1: LISTENER. You are the manager listening to an employee complaint. As you listen, you should empathize, reflecting the emotions you hear in their complaint. Do not use any other type of response. Empathy sounds like this: "That must be frustrating." "I'm sure that was difficult." "You sound upset." Divide the group into pairs. Distribute Round 1 cards. Have pairs complete the role play, instructing them to continue the discussion for 3 minutes (until you call time). Then have them silently record their thoughts about the interaction. How satisfied were they with it? Did their satisfaction level change during the interaction? If so, how, when, and why? Before discussing their thoughts, begin Round 2. Roles should reverse and the listener will now become the complainer. Repeat the process, with a different type of response and a different situation. At the end of the role play, again have them record their thoughts. After both rounds are complete, discuss their reactions. Then ask about when each type of response is appropriate. Are there any rules for using different responses? Get them talking about what to do first when hearing a complaint. This activity will work for manager training, customer service and sales training. It's a fairly quick way to explore different types of listening responses.

Competitive Questions

Here's a game that helps people practice developing and asking questions that bring out valuable information. You can use it in interviewing training, manager development, project management, coach training, or any time you want people to develop their ability to use questions. (We use it in project management training, so I'll explain that version here.) Divide the group into competitive teams. The team who earns the most points wins. They will earn points by asking good questions. Points are awarded as follows: 1 point: No-brainer questions (Questions any new project manager will ask). 3 points: Advanced questions (those an experienced project manager will ask). 5 points: Building questions (those that build on the answers given to earlier questions). Lose 1 point: Penalty questions are those that are repeated or statements that aren't actually questions. Once the point system is explained, give them the situation for questioning. In Project Management, they will be asking questions to determine the scope of a project. We give them some basic information so they don't have to waste time on "easy" questions. Then they have 5 minutes to prepare questions as a team. After 5 minutes, teams will ask questions of the trainer. Each team may ask one question, which the trainer will answer. Then the next team gets to ask one question. Rotate around the room through all teams for about 15 minutes. Award points for questions as they are asked. The trainer's decision is final. You can use poker chips to keep track of points, or simply record them on a flip chart. You might also ask for a volunteer to record the questions as they are asked. That person can be the gatekeeper for repeated questions. The list of questions generated can later be transcribed and distributed to participants as a job aid.

Organize This!

This exercise can be used for generating discussion about how we organize information. Put together sets of 15 unrelated items, one set per team. You might include a hairbrush, toy, marker, notepad, sock, glue, book, bottle of water, apple, nail file, screwdriver, safety pin, flashlight, and anything else ordinary (or even unusual). Put each set of items in a box. Give the box to a team with instructions to organize the items in whatever way makes sense to them. Allow them 10 minutes. Have teams share their work, explaining how they organized the items and why. For variation, give each team a different set of items to organize. Or ask teams to identify two different ways to organize their items and choose the best. Or have each team choose an observer to document how they work through the task. This can be used in thinking skills classes, presentations training, instructional design training, or even time management training. It will lead to a good discussion about the many different ways to organize things, the importance of having a structured way of thinking about information, and the things we can learn by hearing how others organize information.