Please don’t call on me. It’s what they’re thinking. At least some of your participants are scared to death that you will ask a questions and turn a wary eye their way, point them out, and demand an answer. One of the cardinal rules in my classes is never call on anyone to answer or pray.
I like small groups for a number of reasons. Give a small group a question and you will see the person who always jumps up with the answer…jump up with an answer. But then you will see something else. The shy, quite young lady with a spark in her eye will quietly add something critical. The borderline burnout with questionable social skills may add his two cents worth. Given time, everyone in the group will add to the answer or solution. So who gets to report back to the larger group how the discussion went.
What I usually do is break the class into small teams (4-6 people) and then use one of the following statements to choose a team leader:
- Once you have your answer, the person with the newest shoes gets to report back to the class.
- Once you have your answer, the person with the most recent birthday gets to report back to the class.
- Once you have your answer,the person who has been with the agency the longest gets to report back to the class.
- Once you have your answer, the person with the most pets at home gets to report back to the class.
- Once you have your answer, the person with the most keys on their person (yes a purse counts) gets to report back to the class.
- Once you have your answer, the person who most recently bought pants gets to report back to the class.
- Once you have your answer, the person who drives the oldest model car gets to report back to the class.
- Once you have your answer, the person who most recently saw a movie at a movie theater gets to report back to the class.
- Once you have your answer, the person who most recently went on vacation gets to report back to the class.
- Once you have your answer, the person who most recently went on a date gets to report back to the class.
A couple of considerations…
- When you choose the people with the newest model cars and the newest shoes back to back, you may get the same person. Considerations should be given as to which of these will result in the same person being chosen based on financial status, age, etc. Use a variety of these options to ensure a variety of people are given the status of group leader throughout the training.
- Sometimes you can choose a group leader and then have the group leader choose who presents back. One exercise I use is to have everyone at the table point their index finger in the air. Then, when I say “1, 2, 3 GO,” they then have to point to who they would like to be the group leader. Once everyone points and the votes are tallied, you can then say, “OK, the group leader can choose who reports back.” This adds a little humor to the event and the group leader can choose to report back themselves if they like.
Groups are a great way to include input from the participant who won’t say a word as well as the participant who won’t shut up. Creatively choosing the group leader can add a little fun and excitement to the session while allowing participants to network and learn more about one another in a non-threatening way.
Any other ideas on how to choose a group leader? Feel free to respond here or email me at poor trainer@gmail.com
