Photo by: Black_Kira via Canva
Training people can sometimes be a challenge. People often have outside concerns distracting them. They may also have issues within themselves such as preconceived notions, attitudes, or personal differences about the training or the job being learned. When you add the fact that human beings can get tired, bored, or cranky, you’ve got quite a job lined up.
So, what’s the good news? We can overcome most of these challenges with solid training design and delivery. Remember to include relevant, useful content and build in realistic, job-like exercises. And add some fun and excitement during course delivery with games, puzzles, cartoons, and such.
Even when I’ve used all the ideas above, I’ve seen the group dynamic sag at times. Even the most enthusiastic learner can get tired after a while, no matter how great the training is. There’s a simple trick I’ve learned to counter this issue: get people out of their seats whenever you can.
When people move around and use their muscles, their blood oxygen goes up. It only takes a little bit of physical activity to revive tired brain cells. Here are a few ways I help my learners recharge. They may work for you, too.
- Have learners complete a group exercise. Ask everyone to get up, gather around their flipchart or whiteboard, and record their work there.
- Use some variation of a group discussion. Place key statements in halves on separate index cards, hand out one half-sentence to each learner, and ask them to find their partner to complete the sentence. Debrief by having each pair confirm their findings as they read them out loud.
- Ask everyone to switch seats periodically to create new, fresh group dynamics, especially if people have been in the same seats since you started a few hours ago.
- Plan a review of a key lesson. Have everyone write down one thing they’ll do differently because of the training. Then have them stand and form a circle around the room. Ask them to throw a ball to each other and share their idea when they receive the ball.
- Take a 7-minute break every hour rather than a 15-minute break every 90 minutes, especially if a lesson is long and feels like hard work. (Good! That means the training matches the job.) A quick break can help counter the effects of hard work.
- Look for a new puzzle or game to liven things up after a break. Send teams to their charts and see who can list the most items in one category in 90 seconds. The category can be work related (acronyms, supplier names, equipment terms, etc.) or just everyday stuff (kinds of cheese, dog breeds, cartoon characters, etc.).
Have you ever told learners it’s break time and had someone in the room say, “Already? Wow!” It sure is a nice feeling. Using some of the ideas listed above, I’ve noticed more people reacting that way when I call a break. Try to get people moving every 20-30 minutes. The trick is to throw in enough physical activity for your learners to balance their mental activity.
And don’t think these tips are strictly for in-person training. There are plenty of ways to get your virtual learners moving as well! I’d love to hear your suggestions.
Keep your learners active, engaged, and energized with additional techniques from these workshops: Instructional Techniques for New Instructors and Maximizing Engagement in the Virtual Classroom.
