in this issue
	Icebreaker: "The Electric Slide" Job Aid: Identifying Training Needs Quick Closer: "Sing, Sing a Song" RTT Design Spotlight

Icebreaker: "The Electric Slide"

If you are over a certain age, you might remember a dance called The Electric Slide (and a song of the same name). It's a line dance you do with a group rather than with a partner. We use this dance in our workshop on Training Others, a short module designed for restaurant managers and supervisors. Here's how it works: Explain to the group that you will be teaching them how to train in a quick exercise. You will teach them how to do "The Electric Slide." Tell them that this is a dance anyone can do, with very simple steps repeated over and over. They should be able to learn the dance by following your instructions. (It's important to emphasize how EASY this will be.) Then teach them the dance, but do it quickly and don't allow questions. If you have someone who knows the dance, they will be able to follow you, and you should praise them and comment to others about how "Jan can do it, so can you." You can make other mistakes during the training, such as forgetting the steps, getting frustrated with their inability to catch on, ignoring their questions, and other typical training errors. Take about 5 minutes to teach them the dance. After 5 minutes, debrief the "training" by asking how they feel and why. They may feel frustrated because they can't do it, and angry with you for not being more helpful. Summarize their emotions and comment that it appears that you didn't do a very good job of training them. Then brainstorm with them what you could have done that would have gotten better results. Post their ideas on a flip chart. This should lead you into a discussion of the training process and how they can be successful in following that process on the job. The goal of this activity is to demonstrate the WRONG way to train, so that participants feel the frustration a learner might feel when they are unable to perform as the trainer expects. And it's a great way to energize the group and have some fun. If you want to try this but don't know The Electric Slide, choose another dance (the Macarena, the Hustle) or use another skill you have mastered (origami, paper airplanes, etc.). Then follow the same process for the activity. For MORE information about our restaurant training solutions, click here. »

Job Aid: Identifying Training Needs

One of the primary responsibilities of managers and supervisors is to develop their staff. And one strategy for developing staff is training. Sometimes, however, managers don't know how to choose the right training. You can help by providing them with a tool to analyze an individual's performance, identify development goals, and determine strategies to meet those goals. The tool we designed includes those three sections and is used in our supervisory training on how to develop team leaders. Here's how it works. Section 1: Analysis. This section helps the manager evaluate the current performance against standards. It includes specific and key performance standards that should be met, and a scale for rating performance in each standard. To avoid the feeling of a performance review, we use only three ratings: Exceeding Expectations, Meeting Expectations, and Not Meeting Expectations. It also includes an analysis of the issues impacting performance. We provide managers with a list of possible issues to choose from, although they aren't limited to that list. Section 2: Goals. This section helps the manager define clear and measurable development goals. Those goals address performance in the current job and development of talents for future roles. If you are an experienced trainer, setting "SMART" goals is a piece of cake. For managers and supervisors, it's a bit more difficult. So this section provides guidelines for writing an effective development goal. Section 3: Strategies. This section is actually a part of section 2. It helps a manager think through the best development strategies to achieve each goal. The key message here is that training is not the only answer. We recommend that managers consider training only when someone clearly doesn't know how to perform, and that they combine training with other development strategies (coaching, delegation, etc.) for best results. Click here for the Training Needs Planner and MORE Information »

Quick Closer: "Sing, Sing a Song"

Here's a fun way to wrap up a training session and reinforce learning at the same time. Break the class into teams of 3-5 people and have each team develop a song, cheer, or a rap about something they learned in the training or something they want to remember. You can assign each team a different concept from training, or let them choose the concept. Give them just 5 minutes to prepare, and instruct them that all members of the team must perform. You may also have to give them a time limit for their performance. We use this in our customer service training and people have a great time with it. You'll get them moving and close the session on a great "note." For More Information About Openers and Closers, click here. »

RTT Design Spotlight

Energizing a training session is important. Designers often focus on creating that energy through activities, while trainers focus on creating energy with their delivery style. There is a third way to energize a group, and that's in the theme you use in a training session. Try identifying a fun theme for your training and building that theme throughout the entire workshop - the course workbook, flip charts, exercises, toys, decorations, and anything else you can think of. Here are some ways RTT has incorporated themes into a few of our training sessions. Dealing with Difficult People: Strangers from Another Planet. We use an "Alien" theme in this workshop. The concept is simple: people who are difficult seem so alien to us. We often can't understand why they do and say the things they do. It's like they are from another planet. Once we decided on the theme, we looked for ways to integrate that theme into the course. We found lots of graphics for the workbook and cover. We put alien pictures on the tent cards. We found an alien kite to hang in the room. Oriental Trading Company (www.OrientalTrading.com) has tons of little trinkets of aliens. We found pencils, alien stretch toys, mini bean bags, puzzles, all with an alien theme. So we got a collection of goodies and put them around the room to create the atmosphere. We start the program with people sharing the aliens they face on their jobs. Adventures in Good Writing. We use a "Safari" theme for this workshop, with the idea that writing doesn't have to be a miserable process; it can be an adventure. And like any adventure, you need a plan and a road (or jungle) map. Throughout the training, we have writing activities designed around an adventure trip. And we use props like pith helmets, animal print bandanas and pencils, plastic wild animals, and jungle music. When people enter the training room for a class on writing, and are greeted by jungle music and wild animal images, it creates a different energy around the training and around writing. Which is just what people need to help them learn. Now that you have some ideas, why not try this yourself. Think about the possible themes for some of your training programs. Brainstorm with a friend or colleague. Try Oriental Trading Company to get even more ideas. Consider how to integrate the theme through the course design, workbook, props, and music. You can have lots of fun designing, and the class will have lots of fun learning. For MORE information about any of our training courses, click here. »