Bring in the Clowns

How do you handle the scoffers ... the cynics who are on your course but don’t really believe they’ll learn anything new?

I’d really like to know, because I find I use a lot of energy devising ways of avoiding coming up against them.

I was co-presenting with an industry tutor who was learning new methods of presenting material. He'd been doing well until he tossed a whiteboard marker to a participant (the course clown and vocal critic) and asked him to come up to the front to record the group discussion points.

This role had been shared around among a number of participants as a way of grooming them to be more confident as presenters themselves. The clown participant point-blank refused and threw the marker back. An embarrassed silence followed until another trainee stood up and grabbed a marker pen.

From that point on the clown lost his standing in the group. He had gone too far and the mood of the group changed. While the other trainees had been prepared to laugh at his loud asides early in the course, they now shifted their allegiances toward the presenters. It was subtle, but a relief.

I had earlier tried the: “Yes X. That’s a good point and we’ll have to address that later” tactic. After the session I went and discussed his objection and asked him to help redress it by sending in something in writing so we could include it in the next course. He did too!

Some people just need lots of attention, and they resent the focus being on the trainer. What tactics have other trainers found to work well?

Now's not the time to trim training

Invest Wisely
So often organisations facing tough financial times, as the world's markets appear to be creating at the moment, look to cut budgets in two areas - the advertising budget and the training budget.

This reaction is so short-sighted. In tough times the two vital things you have to make sure about are that:

1. People know about the value of what you have to offer so they choose your products or services
2. Your employees are committed to working their butts off to make the best product or service in the most efficient way

If a company has downtime, then use it to give your employees further training. Invest time in developing their so-called 'soft' skills:

• Communication
• Team work
• Report writing and presentations
• Problem-solving

Downtime means there is a better chance of taking employees off-line in a group, and group dynamics can improve through an enlightened choice of training activity. And surprise, surprise many of the training tools on the Net are 'problem-solving' activities. They're the activities that naturally include the other three skills.

But the big bonus for companies who see a lack of work as an opportunity to improve is that they build loyalty. Employees will start to utilise their problem-solving skills to do what the company desperately wants to do - survive. You'll find the 'bright sparks' in your organisation.

"Bright sparks are at every level of your organisation. Don’t overlook them, engage them in forward thinking. Bright sparks don’t know the limits so they push the boundaries and that's what moves the whole organisation forward. - Heather Sylvawood, EdutechKM Ltd"