Active Opening Questions

This is a great technique to help you open your next workshop. It’s an amalgamation of an opening I’ve used many times and an idea I read in Thiagi’s GameLetter. What I like about it is, it can be tailored to any workshop content.

Just a quick reminder, an opening should achieve all of the following:

• Bring learners into the room mentally as well as physically
• Connect learner to learner
• Connect learner to content

How to facilitate this opening

• At 9.00 am (or the start time of your workshop), hand out 1 index card to each learner. Use 2 colours eg blue and pink ensuring that the same numbers of blue and pink index cards are distributed. To ensure this, simply stack your index cards one blue, one pink, one blue etc prior to distribution.
• Show 2 flip chart sheets, one blue (or with blue text), one pink (or with pink text) as shown below:

• Ask learners with blue index cards to read the blue flip chart then jot down on their index cards, “What specific things they can do during this workshop to maximise their learning”.
• Ask learners with pink index cards to read the pink flip chart then jot down on their index cards, “What key skills and knowledge they need to take away from this workshop to enable them to improve their performance in the workplace”.
• Allow 3-5 minutes for learners to consider their question and jot down 2-3 ideas.
• Ask learners to partner with someone who has the same coloured index card as they have ie if they have a pink index card, they should partner with another learner who has a pink index card.
• Ask them to share what they’ve written, adding additional ideas from the other person onto their own index card.
• Repeat this several times.
• Ask learners to partner with someone who has the different coloured index card as they have ie if they have a pink index card, they should partner with another learner who has a blue index card.
• Ask them to share what they’ve written on their index cards and add any additional ideas the other person can suggest.
• Repeat this one more time.
• Ask learners with blue index cards to gather around the blue flip chart.
• Ask learners with pink index cards to gather around the pink flip chart.
• Ask learners to share the ideas they have on their index cards and select from all the ideas their top 3 and add these to the lower part of their flip chart.
• Ask learners to return to their original seated teams.
• Explain that you will ensure their learning needs are met during the workshop (expand upon their 3 top suggestions).
• Explain that the top 3 requests from the Skills and Knowledge flip chart will form part of the objectives of the day and that you will ensure that they leave with all 3.

This then leads into you outlining the agenda for the workshop, tying as much as possible back to the requirements on the ‘Skills and Knowledge’ flip charts and linking their learning needs to the techniques that will be used.

Alternative questions

• The questions suggested for this tip can of course be changed to suit your own workshop eg:
• List 3 things you already know about xxx (the workshop subject eg customer service).
• What problems or issues do you currently face while managing your team (for a management development workshop)?
• What areas of xx (your content) would be of least value to you today?
• What causes you problems when facilitating a workshop (for a train-the-trainer type workshop)?

Etc

What you’ve achieved

• You’ve brought your learners mentally into their workshop and let them know that it will be tailored around their needs.
• You’ve connected your learners together, without having to inflict the, “Stand up and tell us about yourself”, creeping death upon them.
• You’ve connected your learners to the content of the workshop and link their requirements to it.