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They have more to say!
By: Andrea Moore

Last month, the Smile Sheets had a lot to say, and frankly, they were working their way out of jobs. Well, a few of them got together, and they want to present a case for being helpful to you as you strive to engage learners.

When participants understand that you expect them to be engaged, they are much more likely to be. Below are two specific ways Smile Sheets who want to keep working think they can be used to define your expectations and encourage participant engagement.

1. Discuss us (the Smile Sheets) at the beginning of the learning event so participants know what you will be asking them to assess. This helps to ensure the learners complete our questions in a more meaningful way.
2. When discussing us, reinforce the importance of active participant engagement. Some of us Smile Sheets include as the first item the statement, “I was actively engaged and participated throughout the session,” followed by a scale of one to four—four being strongly agree. As we are discussed up front, participants immediately realize the role they play in getting what they want from the session.

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Lessons Learned at Career Day
By: Deb Lang

The year was 1994. The audience – a class of high school sophomores participating in Career Day with the hope of picking up valuable information that would forever change their life … or get them out of class for a day.

My job – make a career in newspaper reporting sound like it’s a thousand times more rewarding than what anyone else does or could ever do now and in the next five lifetimes ... if not longer. While at it, attempt to sidestep any questions about pay (or the lack thereof).

First up on the panel of professionals – the accountant. I closely watch the reaction of the students to see if I can identify potential hecklers. This while attempting not to nap as the presenter begins by walking through the technical details of his job. I quickly scrawl a note to self, “Filling the audience with tiny details only serves to take up brain space that can be used elsewhere. Make your story sing.”

The presenter pulls out a display board. “Nuts,” I think, “Should have brought visual aids.” He flips his display board to show … bar graphs? What? I add to my note, “Visual aids can be the perfect accompaniment to your story, but only if used masterfully.”

A hand shoots up. It’s the student in the middle of the classroom who sits through the presentation with a smirk on his face. “How much do you get paid?” Before the teacher has a chance to intervene, the presenter begins mapping out potential pay ranges. He has their full attention. My heart sinks. The pay range he cites is more than could be earned in reporting. Add another note to self, “Learn to dance in a way that focuses them on the passion, energy and belief in what you are doing and the belief that they can do the same.”

This is where the accountant’s presentation ends - with the students eating out of his hands. The students are excited about the money that can be earned in accounting (remembering that at that age and that time even $100 sounded like a fortune).

I’m up. The teacher reminds students not to ask about pay. I thank him over and over again in my head. The smirking student in the middle of the room raises his hand. I’m confident he won’t defy the teacher’s directive so call on him. “How many years will it take before your salary adds up to $100,000?” His fellow students give a titter of appreciation for his brilliantly asked question.

When I rewind the story in my head, this is the point where I dramatically toss my notes aside and talk about the much larger reward – the thrill of experiencing first-hand the successes of quiet champions, of walking side-by-side with people as they work through extraordinary struggles, of being the one fortunate enough to be chosen to watch their story unfold. From there, we move into what later became my favorite tool – a simulation of life as a reporter. One which places students in the difficult position of being neutral even if their friends are on opposite sides of a lively debate or if a position doesn’t align with their beliefs. A beautiful and impactful exercise that always left students wanting more.

Yes, I would have done that, but I didn’t. Instead, the teacher steps in and reminds students that questions about pay are off-limits.

Today, as I replay that first interaction with a challenging audience, I scribble one more note to self, “The single greatest action you can take is to be you. If you believe, they believe. Bring them into your world. This is when amazing things happen.”

What are you doing today that ignites passion, excitement, engagement within your organization? Share your favorite moment or lesson learned on Ning or Twitter.

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Fighting Against Short Attention Spans
By: Mike Polites, Corporate Trainer, National Seminar Institute

Ho hum. I’m tired. I’m bored. I wonder what’s for dinner tonight. Oh shoot…do the kids have soccer practice today or tomorrow? Oooh, goody! It’s Tuesday so American Idol is on…I bet it comes down to Danny and Adam tonight. Gee, if we end late enough, I won’t have to go back into the office!

Sound familiar? No? That’s because for many of us, these are the thoughts rolling through the minds of the participants in our workshops and training seminars. It leaves one unanswered question…what can we do to better engage our audiences? Depending on what research you look at, the average person’s attention span while in a workshop is about 10 minutes before minds start wandering. As trainers, it is then up to us to get the audience back into the learning game. But how? There are several different methods for doing such a thing.

Brain Breaks. These are sort of like the “time outs” of the training world. They allow participants to stop listening to the trainer and engage in some other type of activity. This could include brief writings, small group discussions, pair shares etc. In Sharon Bowman’s book Preventing Death by Lecture: Terrific Tips for Turning Listeners Into Learners (www.bowperson.com), she suggests straying away from lecture about every 10-12 minutes and allowing the learners to engage their minds in another way. For example, a “staple” in my own training for years has been Sharon’s activity called Nifty Notes. In this activity, participants divide their paper into four learning quadrants: ideas, new information, questions, and action plans. At various points during my presentation I may say to them, “Okay, you’ve been listening attentively for the last 15 minutes or so. At this point, I’d like for you to take two minutes and write down something you just learned in the last section in the new information portion of your Nifty Notes.” Or I might say, “We’ve just covered the importance of reframing your thoughts. In the action plans quadrant of your Nifty Notes, write down how you’ll put this information into play at work.” At that point, the room gets quiet while they are writing down what they just learned or thinking about how they’ll apply the latest lesson. It accomplishes two things. One, it allows the participants to stop listening and begin engaging their brains in another way. Two, it allows me to give my voice a quick rest, grab some water, and look ahead to the next part of my seminar. Everybody wins!

Humor. When done with confidence, humor can turn even boring, mundane material into something a little more lively. I keep top 10 lists, quips, quotes, cartoons, and clean jokes handy to share throughout the training. It breaks things up and makes a nice transitional point too. There are some important things to remember when using humor though. People often say to me, “But Mike, I’m just not a funny person.” Look, there is risk in using humor. What if they don’t laugh? So what! Move on! Avoid drawing the focus to your failed attempt. At least you tried. Here are some other suggestions for using humor. First, it needs to be appropriate. Second, it needs to be relevant. Third, it needs to have a point. Finally, practice it before you present it! Be careful, the laughter is addictive!

Vocal variety. This is one of those underrated elements that keep audiences engaged. Have you ever listened to yourself on audio/video tape? What do you sound like? Were there a lot of “ummms” and “ahhhs”? Were you monotone? A voice that fails to have variety can often disengage learners. Think of how you feel when you are listening to someone speak who never moves, never changes inflections, rarely changes volume, has no emphasis etc. Next time you’re presenting, make a special effort to alter your rate, volume, tone, and pauses. For example, when you’re at a transitional point, you can increase your vocal rate a little. When you’re presenting tips or suggestions, increase your volume or use emphasis on certain words or phrases to indicate to your audience what you feel is most important. These techniques keep listeners engaged and with some practice will make you a much more dynamic trainer. Vocal variety is what makes good speakers GREAT!

Games. Coming up with creative and innovative games relevant to the topic will not only engage learners, but will help with retention of the material as well. I once attended a session on incorporating culture into the classroom. The instructor had the group broken into two cultures who knew nothing about one another, and we were told to accomplish a particular task. The point of the game was to show how when we know nothing about other cultures, it can be very difficult to communicate and get things done. However, it was the way in which we learned this that made all the difference.

So, whichever method or methods you choose to engage your learners is up to you. There’s no right or wrong. You have to do what feels comfortable for you. When you initially try a new idea, you may be stepping out of your comfort zone, but that’s okay. It will eventually get easier. And as you reflect on your own skills and abilities to keep audiences engaged and smiling, remember the words of that ever-so-famous person Anonymous who said that “if better is possible, good is not enough.”

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“You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings.” — Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love

Recently, I found myself feeling disconnected from a group I meet with one evening each week. I found myself placing blame on the group participants and thinking about aspects of their personalities that were not allowing me to connect.

Knowing, however, that I am responsible for creating the experiences of my life, I took a step back and reminded myself of the part I am playing with this group. I asked myself, “What am I doing to connect with these people?”—and what I realized is that I was not fully showing up with this group. Once I put myself out there and shared what I was feeling, the connection returned.

In what way are you participating in your life?
How can you take more responsibility for what you are creating?

Andrea is a senior consultant at FlashPoint, a multidiscipline HR consulting firm in Indianapolis. As a certified professional in learning and performance and a certified empowerment coach, she focuses on the growth and development of individuals, work teams, and leaders.

Extra resources for you to explore

While waiting for the next conference call to start, put those few extra minutes you have to good use by checking out these resources.

• Have you updated your NING profile lately?
• Want to jazz up your presentations with new fonts? Check out Simply the Best Free Fonts.
• This is TOTALLY not work related, but who can’t use a good bargain?
  

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