| Game |  Opener |
Team-building |
| Categories: | Energizer |
Review |
| Communication |
 Topical: Train-the-Trainer |
Purpose: To help new trainers avoid using mannerisms that can distract a class during a training presentation.
Time Required: 10 minutes.
Size of Group: Unlimited, but participants should work in small groups of five to seven.
Materials Required: Flipcharts with easels for each group.
The Exercise in Action: John Kane, manager of training and development for Traco Co., in Zelienople, PA, uses this flipchart activity in his train-the-trainer classes:
He first places a number of flipchart easels back to back, with the word “mannerisms” spelled out in all upper-case letters, vertically on each pad. Participants are divided into teams, and each team is positioned in front of a flipchart easel, blocking its view of what other teams are writing on their charts.
Teams are given 90 seconds to fill in words or phrases of common distracting mannerisms that begin with one letter of the word “mannerisms.”
If a team assigns a mannerism to each letter in the allotted time, everyone receives a prize—a small squeeze change purse—as a reminder of one mannerism to be avoided—jingling coins in the pockets.
The lists are then posted in plain view, to be used later as a reference when participants provide feedback to each other during videotaped practice sessions.