Tip #367: How to Incorporate Participatory Activities When Time is Limited

“Life is entirely too time-consuming.” Irene Peter

"You will never ‘find’ time for anything. If you want time you must make it." Charles Buxton

There are excellent reasons to incorporate participatory activities that engage an audience, even when time for a presentation is very limited. Luckily, there are also many quick and simple learning activities that are very participant-centered.

First of all, why should trainers and presenters incorporate participatory learning activities into their presentations? If the intent of the lecture is to educate rather than simply entertain, then some level of learning is clearly desired. Lecture alone will not provide any feedback about whether or not the audience has “bought into” the ideas presented or learned anything. The audience will need to do something to at least indicate that they have understood the message.

Second, what participant-centered learning activities are quick and simple to incorporate into presentations? Let’s consider four different categories of activities that engage learners and enable them to demonstrate their learning in one to ten minutes: written, verbal, visual and physical.

1. Written Activities:

a. Questionnaire- This can be used to organize the presentation by including statements or questions that cover the major points. A questionnaire can be an easy way to convert a lecture into an interactive learning activity.

b. Crossword Puzzle or Word Search- There are free internet sites that enable trainers to create these puzzles. Crossword puzzles are particularly good for checking learner comprehension.

c. Worksheets- Fill-in-the-blanks worksheets enable learners to post key points as they learn them. Match up worksheets check learner comprehension.

2. Verbal Activities:

a. Shout Outs- Learners shout out answers to questions posed by the trainer.

b. Question and Answer Session- Learners and presenter can interact, with the nature of the questions providing

direct feedback to the presenter regarding the audience’s level of understanding.

c. Paired Conversations- Asking participants to turn to someone next to them to discuss a point or share information about a topic requires them to articulate their thoughts and enriches their learning experience.

d. Debate- Participant volunteers take two sides of an argument and debate them in front of the entire group, which

is split in half to provide verbal assistance to their designated representative. A debate clearly reveals the

learners’ awareness of both sides of an issue.

e. Competitive Brainstorming- Table groups compete against each other to list the greatest number of responses to a question posed by the trainer. The winning group gets a small prize. The competitive nature of this activity adds interest and energy, while checking for learner comprehension.

3. Visual Activities:

a. Video Simulation- Trainers can show pictures that simulate on-site situations on Power Point slides and ask the

learners to analyze what they see and report out.

b. Demonstration- With live demonstrations, either the trainer or participant volunteers can show the steps in a

process. Demonstrations can also be on video, giving the learners an opportunity to see what to do or not do in

given situations.

4. Physical Activities:

a. Pop Ups- The trainer poses a question and learners who have an answer stand up to respond. Pop ups get learners out of their seats and let them articulate what they have learned.

b. Relay Race- The trainer divides the group into teams of a manageable size (8-10 people). The teams race against each other to list content items or fill in the blanks on flip charts. Relay races take very little time to set up and facilitate, and they invigorate the learners.

c. Signaling- Learners indicate by a show of hands or thumbs up or down whether they agree or disagree with a statement. Learners indicate by the fingers of one hand their degree of satisfaction with the training content. Signaling adds a physical aspect to the learning experience.

d. Koosh Toss- The Koosh ball (or some other soft object) indicates which learner has the floor to speak on a topic or report out key learning. It helps to have the learners stand and then, after they have received the Koosh ball, spoken and tossed it to someone else, they sit down. The Koosh Toss gets participants out of their chairs.

These are just a few of the many quick and easy ways to incorporate participatory activities into lectures or presentations. The important point to keep in mind is that both trainers and learners benefit from participatory activities. Trainers benefit because they get real-time feedback about what the participants learned. Learners benefit because they are more engaged and, therefore, more likely to learn and retain what they learned.

May your learning be sweet.

Deborah

Tip #333: It Helps to Lighten Up: How Humor Can Enrich Any Learning Situation

"The human race has only one effective weapon and that is laughter. The moment it arises, all your irritations go away, and a sunny spirit takes their place." Mark Twain

It might surprise you to learn that there is an actual Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor. It certainly surprised me! According to their website, therapeutic humor is: "Any intervention that promotes health and wellness by stimulating a playful discovery, expression or appreciation of the absurdity or incongruity of life's situations."

I have found that humor is a vital training tool.

Humor can help individuals feel more comfortable participating in different learning activities. For example, when the assignment is to answer a questionnaire, I offer the participants a choice. They can either work alone or in a group. I warn them, however, that I will be calling on individuals to give an answer. If the person worked alone and gives an incorrect answer, there is no one else to blame. However, if the person worked with a group, it is possible to blame the group for an incorrect answer. In that event I will offer (tongue in cheek) to move the person to a smarter table. This adds humor and provides a safe way for individuals to save face if they do not have the correct answer.

I also try to include at least one humorous statement on the questionnaire, to further relax the participants so that they will respond to the statements in a more complete and honest manner. For example, a questionnaire about different aspects of conducting performance evaluations may include the statement: "Performance evaluation is a royal waste of time!" I always know when I hear their laughter that they have reached that part of the questionnaire. it also gives them the freedom to voice their real concerns in a lighter context.

I use humor to prompt participant responses when no one volunteers to answer a question that I've posed. Sometimes, they really don't realize that I would like them to respond. I'll say:"I'm sorry, perhaps you thought that was a rhetorical question. Let me explain our process- I ask a question and then you answer it!" We all can laugh about that and then they will start answering my questions.

When I want to get participants in a more creative frame of mind for a brainstorming activity, I will start them off by posing a humorous question. For example, "How is coaching like a water sprinkler?" Because it is unexpected and unusual, the question generally elicits both funny and wise responses. This experience primes them to brainstorm more effectively about a more serious question.

The idea of a role-playing activity always tends to worry and even frighten some participants. If they voice an objection to role-playing an issue of concern to themselves, I merely ask them to help other participants with their issue by assuming the role of the other individual in the role-play. In this case, I give them instructions to be as extreme as possible in their responses, in order to give the person who is working through the issue sufficient opportunity to practice their new skills. They usually have so much fun playing the extreme role that they relax and volunteer to work through their own issue.

When you are giving a lecturette or providing instructions for an activity, it helps to have a sense of humor when you forget what you were about to say. At one time or another, trainers will get distracted and lose their train of thought. We have a choice- to get upset, which will further disrupt our thought process- or to laugh at ourselves. I prefer to laugh at myself, because it gives the participants permission to relax and laugh along with me. I will ask if anyone was listening to me, because I wasn't- or say that I'm going to go out of the room and then start again when I come back in.

All of this does not mean that you should run out and buy a joke book or schedule an operation to graft on a funny bone. Just keep in mind that humor can be a very effective approach to training- and lighten up!

How do you use humor to enrich learning in your training programs? Please write in with your own methods of using humor and I'll print them in the next Tip.

May your learning be sweet.

Deborah