in this issue
	Icebreaker: Whole Brain Card Swap Activity: Do Nothing Closer: Class Reunion Reinforcement Strategy: Developmental Help Desk

Icebreaker: Whole Brain Card Swap

This is a quick icebreaker to get people thinking about what side of the brain they favor. Create a deck of cards, with each card describing or illustrating a trait of either the right or left brain. Code cards so that you can easily explain which cards are for each side of the brain. Pass out two cards to each person. Explain that their goal is to find two cards that perfectly represent themselves. They will trade cards with others until they get a good pair. When trading, they must not show their cards to the person they trade with. They may trade only one card at a time. They may not request a card from someone else. When they have the right cards, they should sit down. Instruct them to introduce themselves to others in the room and let the trading begin. Allow about 5 minutes or until everyone is seated. Then have them introduce themselves and share their two cards. After all are introduced, explain the whole brain concept and how the cards are coded so they can determine which side of the brain they most use. This activity can kick off a session on thinking, creativity, problem solving, or many other workshops. Explain how they will use the different sides of their brains during the training. Try this for a quick and fun icebreaker.

Activity: Do Nothing

I realize it's kind of odd to plan an activity where you have people do nothing. After all, training is supposed to be active, right? This exercise is designed to get people to slow down and can be used in a time management or stress management workshop. Here's how it works. Tell participants that you want them to think about how they currently use their time and the causes of their stress with regard to their time management. They can close their eyes or keep them open, but may not speak or write for the next three minutes, and should try to continue to focus on how they use their time during the entire 3 minutes. Have them sit quietly for 3 minutes. Avoid making eye contact during that time. You might stand at the back of the room to observe body language. After three minutes, debrief by asking questions such as: What did you identify as your causes of stress? How soon or often did your mind wander to other subjects? How did you feel during that activity? How often do you just sit quietly thinking? Why would you want to do that in real life? You can have a powerful discussion about the need to maintain focus, slow down and relax, and use the time you are given. You can also talk about being present in the moment, and not getting distracted with things you can't address. Sometimes we just need to accept a situation for what it is and not try to make it into something else. That's a good message for managing stress.

Closer: Class Reunion

It's that time of year, and many people are getting ready to attend high school and college class reunions. You can bring this theme into your workshops with a fun closing exercise. Instruct participants to imagine that they are meeting for a class reunion one year in the future. Some of us have put on a little weight, others have had some work done, still others seem to be stuck in the past. Have them write down what they will tell others about how things have gone in the last year, and what they think others will tell them. Give them 2-3 minutes to write things down. Use a round robin format to have each person share what's been happening for them. After they share their "news," others should share what they thought they might say. Then move on to the next person. You can have people work only with others at their table, or with the entire group. It's a way to get people thinking about progress and create encouragement from others to make a change back on the job.

Reinforcement Strategy: Developmental Help Desk

We're always looking for ways to support people's learning on the job, not just in a formal training event. That's what this idea is all about. In every organization, there are experts in different areas - people great at project management, software applications, managing people, solving problems. When someone has a question, they are the one you go to. Why not harness those experts and use them as a Developmental Help Desk to support the training you offer. How do you do that? Start by identifying the topics or subjects needing an expert. Then find 3-5 experts willing to get calls or emails from people with specific questions about their areas of expertise. Create a database of experts by subject area. The next step is to spread the word. You want to be sure people know how to use the Developmental Help Desk. Give some examples of when to tap the experts. For instance, you're working in MS Word with section breaks, but the page numbering isn't working right. Or the project you've been assigned is very vague and you need help identifying questions to help the customer figure out what he wants. Make it clear in your communication that these should be quick requests that can be answered in 5-15 minutes. You may want to create a "request form" that prompts users to identify all relevant information about their request before they actually contact an expert. That way they will use the expert's time well. The Developmental Help Desk is another way to support continuous learning in your organization.