Everyone wants to increase the interactivity of their training. Here are 10 ideas to start with.
1. Planted Questions
Prepare 10 questions that you would like participants to ask during your sessions. Write each on an index card and number the cards sequentially in the order which you would like participants to ask them. Arrive early to the session. Randomly tape the index cards to seats. At the appropriate points in your presentation, ask participants to check under their seats and ask their question.
2. They do the Work
Instead of your presenting each point in your presentation. Ask a participant to help out. Particularly if they have worked in a similar area before.
3. Intelligent Interruptions
At select points in your presentation, stop and ask the group or a particular person in the group to as a question.
4. Explain it to a 3rd Grader
This is great for presenting technical topics, such as SOPs. First, you present it as the expert that you are. Then, select a participant to present the topic as if they were addressing a 3rd grade class. You will be surprised at how well they do.
5. They do the Work
After you demonstrate a procedure or following the directions in an SOP. Ask a participant to demonstrate it to the group a second time.
6. Once again with Feeling
This is similar to the above, except that you may ask a participant to demonstrate the procedure for a slightly different example or in a slightly different situation.
7. Fill in the blanks
Summarize your presentation in a handout and remove some of the key words. While your are speaking, asks participants to fill in those words.
8. Complete the Process Diagram
Once you have walked participants through a process. Distribute a handout of the process with key elements of the diagram unlabeled. Ask participants to work by themselves to write in the appropriate labels. Summarize the activity by conduction a Question & Answer session.
9. Where is it?
This exercise is great for getting participants to familiarize themselves with lots of SOPs and procedures. Simply ask participants a question or direct them to find information on a process or one aspect of a process. Challenge participants to find the specific SOP or procedure and the page that answers the question or provides the information. The first one to find it, wins.
10. Create a Job Aid
Directly after you present a topic, ask participants to work in group to create a one- to two-page job aid that distills what you just presented. If you have presented several procedures, assign each of several group one process. Then, ask the groups to walk the rest of the class through the job aid.
I hope that you try and enjoy these. In my next blog I’ll give you a few more.
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