Hello trainers. I have a brief exercise for you. Please check off all that apply.
Have you ever had someone:
A.____ Fall asleep in your class?
B.____ Check their email with their mobile device?
C.____ Say, “I don’t want or need to be here?”
D.____ Hold side-bar conversations?
E.____ Read material not related to your program? (e.g. the newspaper)
So, honestly how many items did you check off: one, two, or maybe all of them? Don’t feel bad, I used to experience many of these things in my own class, until I discovered the power of the “Q” for “Questions“ – an excellent technique to gain involvement and interaction in a class. Not your typical, “Do you have any questions?” cliché, but the real power of the “Q.”
You need to get people sold on your topic BEFORE you are going to present it. People need to see the value and personal benefit of the information. Your learners will pay much better attention to you when they see the value. So, how does the question (the power of the “Q”) accomplish this challenge, you may ask?
Unleashing the power of the “Q” is all about asking WHY and HOW questions. Let’s use a scenario to clarify this point. We have a group of unhappy campers on our hands – let’s call them prisoners. They do not want to be there, nor do they have any desire to listen to anything we have to say. We can introduce the topic by asking them WHY they feel the topic is important. Place them into smaller groups, and have them brainstorm as many reasons as possible. We can even turn the exercise into a friendly game/competition. This exercise will erase their “stinkin-thinkin.”
The beauty behind this approach is that they, and not we, came up with these benefits. It is vital for people to come up with their own benefits, because people do not argue with their own data. Now that we’ve got the group energized, involved, and most important, sold on the topic, we can all learn in a very positive and enjoyable fashion. The group will have no desire to fall asleep or check their emails.
Now that w have experienced the positive impact WHY questions can have for our audience, let’s look at the second half of the power of the “Q” – that is asking HOW questions. Let’s continue with this scenario by explaining how we can use the power of the “Q” AFTER we’ve covered some of our need-to-know content. We can ask the group HOW the information will benefit them back on the job. Once again, we are allowing the group to sell the benefits. This approach is far more effective than asking, “Are there any questions?” and all we get is blank stares.
I have used HOW and WHY questions for years, and have had incredible success. Give the power of the “Q” a try then re-take the brief exercise above. What’s that you say? You did not check any of the boxes?! Congratulations!!!
Ron
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