When participants ignore instructions and requests from the training team
The reasons for this can be so very diverse that the only way to handle it is to try to find the root cause. If this happens during an experiential...
When participants find it difficult to distance themselves from evaluating their personal emotional experience of an exercise
Some people will need more time to “conclude” the process of emotional investment in an experiential exercise. Feeling unsettled is most often tied to being reminded of real life experiences,...
When individual group members or the whole group view the trainers as models of “nonviolent people”
As funny as it may be to be thought of as a model nonviolent person, it is also not really a laughing matter. Perhaps the best way to send the...
When a participant takes over moderating the discussion
When a participant starts asking questions of the group or team, expecting an answer before they continue, or when they start behaving like they are responsible for giving the floor...
Uneven distribution of shared time
When some individuals take up considerably more speaking time than others, it is possible and necessary to intervene in a number of ways. The intervention should aim to encourage those...
The participants are overly ‘politically correct’
When people are afraid of hurting others, they might resort to ‘political correctness’. There is nothing wrong with the intention, but if we are so restrained that we do not...
Subgroup(s) within the group
When some of the participants know each other from before or recognise that they have shared opinions, they may set up a subgroup of their own by always wanting to...
Prejudice and distrust towards the trainers from the very start (due to their age, nationality, gender, etc.)
It would be strange if there weren’t any reservations on the part of the participants, so if it seems to you that there aren’t, it may be a good idea...
Passivity, silence, drop in energy level
Trainers with less experience are particularly afraid of silence during a workshop, but there is no need for fear. If you do not understand why the group is silent, ask...
Participants preoccupied with themselves and the relationships within the group, excluding the training team is excluded to the detriment of the workshops
If the participants are more active in informal settings, for example during breaks, than during the workshop itself, this means that there is something wrong with how the training is...
Part of the group does not speak up at the workshop
If it is always the same people who refrain from speaking whatever the method or topic, it is important to consider why they may do so and to compare this...
Not listening to each other during plenary discussion
A good working atmosphere begins with the ability to listen to others. When participants are not listening to each other, you can choose to let this escalate so that the...
Looking for the team “leader”
Participants will very often try to rank the members of the team for various reasons. We do not practise assigning titles in the team, so we do not have a...
Great variation in energy levels among participants (one day they want more, the next they have no energy for any activity)
This is also quite normal. In the euphoria of a powerful interaction process, people easily lose sight of their own limits, which may result in exhaustion and prevent them physically...
Fear that the training team is taking up too much time and space at the workshop
First check with the team to see what they think. If someone from the team has indeed taken up too much time, discussing it will help resolve the problem. What...
Fear that the group may reject the methods
A group is a collection of individuals and it is uncommon for all of them to think and feel the same way. People may very well perceive some methods as...
Failure to uphold common agreement on cooperation/rules
If you follow the recommendation to have the group come up with their own agreement on cooperation, this will make it easier to deal with any failure to uphold the...
During verbal evaluation of the day/workshop at the training, a participant says “pass”
Given the rule of voluntary participation, this is simply the application of that rule in practice. Don’t worry about every little hang-up: it is not your job to find time...
Dominant individuals
If the same person keeps speaking up in open plenary discussions and/or speaks for long stretches, you can react by invoking the cooperation agreement or suggesting that a rule should...
Competitiveness among the participants
Competitiveness is to be expected, but it is not useful for the learning process if it becomes the dominant and permanent mode of behaviour because it can undermine the necessary...
Asking the trainers for the “point”
It is to be expected that some of the participants, especially at the beginning of the training, will view the trainers as teachers who will ultimately tell them what is...