Your Highway to Success

An Introduction to Road-Tested Activities

As workplace learning and performance (WLP) professionals, we are always looking for the best solutions. We want tried-and-true activities, ones that work every time, ones that always lead participants to learn what is required. We are looking for “road-tested” activities.

So when Mark Morrow came to me with this project that he had initiated with Pfeiffer, I did not hesitate to say “yes.” I was sure it would both be fun and produce a practical product. Now how can you make a project better than that? By inviting ASTD members to participate. And thus ASTD and Pfeiffer partnered to create an exciting opportunity for ASTD members to be published.

Chapters-For-Chapters

A call went out to ASTD chapters everywhere. We were looking for activities that work—every time. ASTD held a Chapters-For-Chapters contest, giving away four books to the chapters that submitted the most road-tested activities in the large, medium, and small chapter-size categories. The winners with the most submissions were:

• Large Chapter—Metro Washington, D.C., Chapter
• Medium Chapter—Houston Chapter
• Small Chapter—Space Coast Chapter

We received a tremendous response, with excellent submissions from which to select. We had submissions from international chapters as well as chapter members living abroad. The book grew to be a bit larger than we intended, but we think that the result is worth it. Included are more than one hundred activities that your ASTD colleagues have taken to the finish line with excellent results every time.

A Powerful Design

This book has a special design. Like a high-powered engine that is finely tuned, it provides activities that will perform for you again and again, driving you to training success.

What is in a high-performing activity? What do trainers need?

• Participation. Activities should create a high degree of participant involvement, either physically (movement) or psychologically (visual or mental thought). Participants should “experience” something. In fact, that is the point of activities—they should be active!
• Results. Activities should ensure that learning occurs in every situation, every time. While they may be fun, that is not all that activities should produce. Participants need to learn something. They need to gain knowledge or skills or improve their attitudes. Activities should make your learners focus attention, think, react, and/or do something better than they did before their involvement in the activity.
• Adaptability. Activities should be able to be adapted to fit many situations and still retain their original character; allow trainers to modify them to meet many needs: needs of their companies, needs of the participants’ career, participants’ level in the organization, and the training topic.
• Application. Activities should have a “so what” factor. Learners should be able to connect the activity and what they learned to themselves and real life. Learners should be able to state or model what they will do differently as a result of the experience they had during the activity.
• Proven. Activities should be effective—every time. They should have completed a trial run, be road tested, and verified that they deliver what they promise. The trainer should have minimal risk when implementing an activity; trainers want to trust that the activity will work.

The true value of conducting activities comes when you use a thoughtful, bold debriefing. Don’t be afraid to ask the hard questions. You want participants to confront their issues and to make the changes required. This debriefing for every activity is vital to the results you desire and the learning your participants will gain. Since your colleagues have road tested these activities, you can trust that, with an excellent debriefing discussion, you will be successful in your final “time trials” and that first lap around the classroom track.

What’s in This Book?

The book is made up of two sections. The first section includes activities that address specific content and topics that trainers deliver to their customers. The second section provides training tools and techniques that trainers use to deliver the content. These activities will help you avoid wrong turns and potholes in your training travels.

Section I: Training Topics

The first section is a collection of activities geared toward specific workshop topics. Within the section, activities are grouped by topic into chapters. We did not predetermine topics, so we can only assume that the ten topics are those that are used most often by trainers.

It is important to note that many of the activities cross over to topics in other chapters. For example, many of the activities in the teamwork chapters are also focused on communication or could be adjusted slightly for opening icebreakers. Be sure to use the Activity GPS in the back of the book to locate activities that may be appropriate for your needs.

Selecting an Activity

First read the objectives. Then read the debriefing questions to determine whether the activity will accomplish the goals you desire. You may also find that you can expand or change, or even add new questions to facilitate the discussion. If necessary, review the guidelines for facilitating an experiential learning activity (ELA). You will find information in the Pfeiffer books and Pfeiffer Annuals or in Training for Dummies.

The ten chapters are

Section II: Training Tools and Techniques

The second section represents a collection of trainer tools and techniques such as icebreakers and review activities. We are excited to present the six activities that address online learning. One of the advantages of being the editor is that I have an opportunity to road test some of these tools myself before the book is published. I have tried several already and am more than pleased with their performance.

Five of the chapters in Section II address specific trainer skills:

The last chapter, “Ideas for Your ASTD Chapter,” provides ideas for your chapter to use during and between meetings,

Every time you pull this book from its parking space on your shelf and take it for a spin, you will have a great ride. You will find exciting yet practical activities you can build into your training events. I hope that you enjoy using this book as much as I have enjoyed compiling it for you.

Elaine Biech

ebb associates inc

April 2011