Purpose: To demonstrate to future instructors how training changes individuals and entire organizations.

 Time Required: 5 minutes.

 Size of Group: Unlimited.

 Materials Required: A glass of water; a large pitcher of water; a magic marker.

 The Exercise in Action: Richard Yun, a trainer for Ontario Hydro, Tiverton, Ontario, stands in front of the group at the end of his train-thetrainer class, dips a marker in a glass of water, and swirls it around. As the ink from the marker colors the water, Yun explains how training has changed the skills, knowledge level, and attitude of each participant just like the marker changed the water. Then Yun pours the glass of now colored water into a nearby pitcher of water, and as the color dilutes through the pitcher (it will change the color of the water in the pitcher substantially, but it will be lighter than the water in the glass). Yun explains how each participant will have a similar effect as their training begins to change the workplace environment.

Yun sometimes takes the exercise a step further: He pours a glass of colored water from the pitcher, saying, “Suppose another person takes the training program.” Then Yun puts another marker in the glass to color the water darker and says, “That person also gains new knowledge, is energized, and changes his behavior, then returns to the workplace.” At this point, Yun pours the glass of newly colored water back into the pitcher, making the entire pitcher darker than before. Then he says, “If you repeat this process, slowly but surely, the entire organization will change.”