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Greetings!
Welcome to The Source, the e-newsletter from Results
Through Training. Our goal is to provide trainers and
consultants with activities and tools they can use in
their training sessions and adapt to their specific
training needs. Tell us what you think, what you used,
and what you wish we would include in our next
newsletter. Send us a quick message to
staff@RTTWorks.com or visit our web site at
www.RTTWorks.com
| Icebreaker: "Respect Inventory" |
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WHAT: The goal of this icebreaker is to develop an
experience inventory to analyze a specific issue and its
relevance to a training group.
HOW: It involves participants working in small groups
to develop an inventory of their experience concerning
a given topic. For our workshop, Respect in the
Workplace, we have team members discuss and record
individual answers to five questions:
1. How frequently are you treated disrespectfully?
2. What factors are driving the disrespectful behavior?
3. What behaviors do you consider disrespectful?
4. What behaviors should be exhibited instead of those
disrespectful behaviors?
5. How do you usually respond when treated
disrespectfully?
Teams report their work, then discuss each of the
questions. We draw conclusions about respect in their
workplace and how it is affecting the business.
MORE: For more detailed instructions, click here:
"Respect Inventory" Activity Details »
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| Activity: "The Mole" |
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WHAT: In this activity, participants practice dealing
with difficult and dysfunctional behaviors.
HOW: It is actually a simulation with two elements.
One element is a task related to the training being
conducted (running a meeting, managing a project
team, making a presentation, etc.). The other element
is related to managing the behavior of people during
that task. Teams are established to complete the task,
and team members draw cards to learn the role they
will play during that task. Some of the role cards
describe "mole" behaviors such as "disagree with my
ideas," "try to take over the meeting," and "try to take
the meeting off track."
PROCESSING: After the task is finished, the group
discusses the mole behavior they observed and how it
was managed. This activity gives the group permission
to address all disruptive behaviors and increases the
likelihood that people will actually use this technique
when necessary.
MORE: For more detailed instructions, click here:
"The Mole" Activity Details »
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| Closing Activity: "Consulting Time" |
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WHAT: In this activity, participants ask for advice from
others in the training class about a specific
issue they wish to address.
HOW: The class is divided into two teams: Clients and
Consultants. The Client quickly explains their
situation to the Consultant and the Consultant
suggests action. They then shift partners and continue
giving and getting feedback until the client has met
with each consultant. Then roles reverse.
PROCESSING: This is a great way to illustrate many
different points: that they can learn from each other,
that they have good ideas that others find valuable,
that there are many different ways to address an issue,
and that they learned something in the training. It is a
powerful way to end a session.
MORE: For more detailed instructions, click here:
"Consulting Time" Activity Details »
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| RTT Training Redesign - A Case Study: Spotlight on Powerful Communications |
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Our Powerful Communication workshop has been under
construction recently and is now "new and improved."
The goal of the workshop is to provide participants with
feedback as to how they are perceived through the
communication methods they use, and help them
develop more powerful communication practices.
Although the workshop had been getting great reviews,
we thought we could use more accelerated and
experiential learning techniques to illustrate more
effective feedback opportunities and better
communication practices in difficult situations. We
approached the course redesign using the following
techniques.
First, we analyzed which communication skills we would
address. Our decision was to include email, voice mail,
presentations, meetings, giving and getting feedback,
body language, and one-on-one communication. We
then developed learning and performance objectives for
each skill area and included three design
elements for each skill: Feedback (how they are doing
and how they can improve); Information (techniques,
tools, and tips for performing differently); and Action
Planning (what specific steps they will take to
improve).
Next, we identified the feedback activity for each skill.
For instance, with voice mail, we included an exercise
over lunch in which each person must call the voice
mail of 2 other people, listen to and analyze their
message, then leave a message of their own about an
assigned topic. After lunch, they give feedback to
those whose messages they heard and get feedback
about the messages they left (following some guidelines
we provide on how to give and get feedback). We
followed the same approach with each skill area and
ended up with a training program that addresses more
communication skills, provides more specific and
accurate feedback (based on real communication rather
than simulated course activities), keeps people focused
and enthusiastic about their development needs, and
better prepares people to communicate more powerfully
on the job.
MORE: To learn more about this workshop or about our
Instructional Design work, click here:
Powerful Communication Workshop Details »
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