One example would be when a participant says, “I need more theory, there are too many games here.” There is no way to meet the needs of all the people participating in the training. And these needs change over the course of the training. What they feel today may turn into something else tomorrow, and this is quite legitimate: there is no inherent malice in it or a desire to undermine the training team. I like to be open about my attitude that the expressed needs of the group are not my major point of reference for setting up the training priorities. My major point of reference is the needs that I observe and that aren’t necessarily explicit. An example of this would be a conflict of opinion over some topic. Although people are unlikely to ask for this topic to be discussed, in my opinion the turning points of the training are precisely these kinds of conflicts. In my understanding, the point of the training isn’t to make everyone feel good, but to make sure everyone comes out of it enriched, empowered, with broadened horizons, and the way to get there is through various breaking points and grievances that allow for new insights.
How to constructively respond to criticism by a participant about the content of the training
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