Hi all
I'm a bit of a 'lurker' on forums (fora??) and this one is no exception. I peruse plenty but post little, as a rule. However, I'm seeking therapy for that, so you may see more of me as time progresses!
As for this posting, I'm trying to make up for my reticence in the past. So if you have 10 mins (20 if you're going to answer me!), grab a coffee, put the phone on divert and plough through the following…
I use, and have always used, a smattering of brain friendly techniques (small 'b', small 'f' ) in all my training.
I attended Maximising Impact recently and had a whale of a time - and learnt a whole load more Brain Friendly bits (big 'B', big 'F'!!) It was timed perfectly, as I have some softskills courses to develop during the Summer, and I'm looking to consciously use far more BFL elements than I have done in such courses in the past.
My actual question ("what so soon?" I hear you ask) is:
> What are some of the ways to make the PRACTISING of soft skills more brain friendly?
I'm talking about the exercises / role-play / writing activities etc - where participants seek to APPLY & DEMONSTRATE their learning, as distinct from the bits of a course that are to do with participants actually ABSORBING and MAKING SENSE of the learning itself in the first place.
An example:
1)
Participants are to learn a "5 P's MODEL" for writing persuavsive documents (eg reports / recommendations / proposals):
Position - Problem - Possibilities - Proof - Proposal
2)
You use BFL techniques to help people learn, understand and reflect their grasp of the KNOWLEDGE itself:
Some sing it, some act it out, some discuss it in pairs, and some draw a poster.
3)
Now you want participants to actually write a brief one-page report, or sales pitch letter or whatever, using this approach. Perhaps you want to review these as a class, or leave people to review their own, or maybe you'll discuss them one-on-one with each participant. But the point is, they're supposed to be trying to USE their learning, not LEARN it.
QUESTION (reprise!): are there any ways to make THIS part of a course explicitly more brain friendly than the same exercise slot in a non-BFL course would be?
Similar examples would be:
> a 2-minute presentation seeking to use more eye contact and fewer 'ums' and 'ahs';
> a demonstration of handling an irate phone call by matching vocal pace, volume, speed etc, then leading to a more relaxed tone, slower calmer pace etc
> a similar demo showing the use of active listening skills
... indeed any demonstration of the use of things like a communications model, the stages of a process, the elements of a best practice skill, etc.
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So, there you have it. My inaugural question on the forum.
If you've read this far, my deepest thanks.
If you've got a comment, answer or opinion - still more thanks, in anticipation!
Bye for now.
Jonathan
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