Difficulties in Preparing, Organising and Implementing Training | CNA Priručnik

When the workshop goes over time or is over too soon

nenad — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 09:49:46 +0000

Not all groups are equally sensitive to deviations from the planned agenda, but what matters most is a sense of being included in the decision making. If, when conducting a workshop, I notice that it may run over, I usually let the group know that is was a possibility, and if more than 15 extra minutes is required, I ask for their approval for the extension, explaining why it is important to finish the workshop. In my experience approval is always given, but there were many cases of dissatisfaction with the workshop running late when the participants were not informed of this beforehand. When it comes to finishing earlier, this usually happens when the participants are not as actively engaged as the training team expected they would be. In these cases, I do not hesitate to add a short break during which the team can consult on what to do with the extra time, whether to finish early or to slot in another activity that we assess as meaningful. More important than using up the time is understanding the origin of the discrepancy between the expected and actual level of engagement, and what it indicates, so that the rest of the training could be adjusted to fit the need identified. Perhaps the participants stayed up together the night before until the early hours and were too tired to participate fully, or perhaps they felt daunted by the topic, or maybe there was something else that disrupted the working atmosphere – are the relations with the team members not as expected, is the methodology aligned with the energy in the room, etc?

Poor working conditions (organisational problems)

nenad — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 09:55:38 +0000

Something that can help prevent organisational problems is for all logistical arrangements to be made in writing and in detail, because makes it more likely they will be honoured. Unforeseen situations are still possible though. Poor working conditions cause frustration among the group and the team. It is bound to bother everyone if it is too cold, too hot or too noisy in the workroom, but this need not necessarily be detrimental to the course of the training. Taking a bit of time to jointly complain and joke about circumstances that are beyond our control can, like any other common experience, be conducive to group cohesion. It comes down to how we deal with this external factor and whether we rally together to withstand it or not.

Insufficient time to prepare the training content in detail

nenad — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 09:56:58 +0000

At CNA, we practise a flexible concept of ten-day training, which in practice means that of the eight working days, we prepare a detailed plan for the first three, and we set up the principles for the rest of the training, i.e. we collect topics and workshop concepts that we can use. We assess needs on the spot, the most important questions for the group we are working with at the time. This concept is very demanding because it entails planning workshops in the evenings when everyone is tired and when time is very limited. This can only work properly in a team where at least two members have a lot of experience, because it is very demanding for less experienced trainers. That is why it is important that those with less experience assess their capabilities beforehand and find time to prepare for the exercises they will be running, while communicating any apprehensions or uncertainties to the rest of the team. Time is always scarce during the training, which is why we recommend taking the time to prepare beforehand, bearing in mind that after preparations are complete you will also need a break so as not to start the training already exhausted.

Instructions

nenad — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 09:58:13 +0000

For many of the exercises, precise instructions are vital: changing a single word can completely derail what was intended, creating either a new version of the exercise or completely ruining it. That is why it is so important that the whole team should follow the giving of instructions and react as needed to prevent misunderstandings. Another good way to avoid misunderstandings is to prepare and check the instructions with another member of the team. Writing down the main points or sentences from the instructions is a common way to insure ourselves against omissions. It is almost always better to read out prepared instructions and to have the exercise plan in front of you. If you notice a drop in your concentration and do not feel confident about running the exercise, it is better to hand it over to someone else on the team than to push yourself into a situation where you don’t feel confident.

For multi-layered exercises, getting to the desired level during evaluation

nenad — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 10:02:21 +0000

Experiential exercises often have multiple layers that can be evaluated, or the exercise may take an unexpected turn that will redirect the evaluation away from what you had initially planned. This may be the case for exercises devoted to communication or cooperation when the task is quite controversial in terms of content or entails multifaceted ethical dilemmas (see for example, the exercise Voting on a Verdict). The whole team should follow the situation and offer observations if possible, thereby supporting to the team member running the exercise. The sequence of steps in the evaluation is important, i.e. monitoring the primary need for emotional or substantive evaluation and the importance of wrapping up that segment of the evaluation before moving on to conclusions or the content-related part (this can be an analysis of the feelings that cropped up during the exercise).

Estimating time needed for exercises

nenad — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 09:59:35 +0000

Accurately estimating the time needed is practically impossible, but what you can and should do is follow the plan – keep abreast of how much time you planned, how much time you have left, whether you are running late or rushing ahead. You will also be busy moderating the discussion and monitoring the participants and your evaluation plan, i.e. checking whether you cover all the issues you planned, so this means concentrating simultaneously on three different levels: the technical (time, duration), interactive (monitoring the group and directing the communication process) and substantive (are evaluation issues opened as planned and is the group responding to them with the expected level of interest). It is quite natural that you cannot always be at the top of your game in terms of concentration and keeping everything under control. That is why you are not alone on the team. Deviations from the time schedule are quite normal when the process is set up to respond to the needs of the group. You can use the timing and tempo of additional questions to manage the sequencing and the flow of thoughts, wrap up issues and move on to concluding remarks. Steering a discussion means managing the process through interventions as opportunities arise. You cannot expect to exhaust your three evaluation questions by waiting until no one has anything more to say about the first in order to move on to the second, all the while expecting that the duration of the exercise will be exactly as planned.

Additional organisational or other tasks

nenad — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 09:53:50 +0000

Additional organisational tasks are a burden and take away from concentration and energy, so it is best to have a person outside the training team who can be responsible for all organisational tasks. If this is not possible, detailed organisational arrangements should be made before the training, and a working plan drawn up for things that have to be done when the training is in progress. It is important to make sure that other tasks do not preoccupy us to such an extent that it detracts from our involvement in the exchanges happening at the training. So, we must limit our tasks during that period and also prioritise effectively.