personal difficulties | CNA Priručnik

When I’m running an exercise, I’m not sure how far I can “push” the participant to get more out of them without them thinking that I’m pushing them in some particular direction

nenad — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 11:21:24 +0000

When I ask additional questions of one participant during an evaluation, these are also questions for those who will speak afterwards. If I have five people who have put their hands up to speak, and I expect that the second speaker will provide valuable insight, I will ask the question of the first person, letting the second have some time to think about it, and then I would repeat the question to them. You will assess each individual situation to decide how many additional questions and how much insistence is necessary, and you should rely on support. Glance over to see what the others think, perhaps they can chime in with an additional question so that you don’t feel like you are the one pushing too hard. Don’t forget to work together.

Stage fright when speaking to the participants as the trainer

nenad — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 11:10:42 +0000

I would suggest saying not just what you think, but also what you feel, as both dimensions are needed for human understanding. Honesty and transparency, even when you feel unsure of yourself, can only contribute to building trust between the team and the participants. If by some chance, a participant from the group ridicules your expression of insecurity and thereby tries to undermine the credibility of the training team, simply allow the group of participants to be the judge.

Loss of concentration/overexertion

nenad — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 11:11:44 +0000

The desire to contribute to the success of the training can sometimes make us go beyond the level of engagement that is good for us, making us work when we are exhausted or overestimate our current capacity. All of this is fairly common. Experience helps us calmly accept our limitations and understand that when we give it our all – that is quite good enough. If we are overexerting ourselves to the point of causing ourselves harm, then this is the ultimate alarm bell that we should stop and change tack.

Lack of experience

nenad — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 11:13:14 +0000

Beating myself up about my lack of experience will not actually help me gain any, nor will it help me understand and accept experience in a way that is best suited to my personal development, so all I can do is to accept things as they are. I cannot be experienced at everything, and the experience I particularly want to have is something I can gain.

How to constructively respond to criticism by a participant about the content of the training

nenad — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 11:20:25 +0000

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.

Fear of too much responsibility

nenad — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 11:05:42 +0000

Communicate your fears with the team. Do this during preparations and during the training itself, if necessary. Responsibility for the training is shared by the whole training team. If you feel like the responsibility is too great, you are probably expecting too much from yourself.

Fear of silence at the workshop

nenad — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 11:17:14 +0000

Silence is a wonderful thing and can have many different meanings. If the silence confuses me because I don’t know its cause, I can find out by asking the group about what is going on. Fatigue, emotional distress, the need for self-reflection, confusion over the issue or expectations may be some of the reasons behind fewer people speaking up, which is what I term “silence”. Whatever the cause, there are other working methods that may be better suited to the moment. Communicate with the group and you will find a solution.

Fear of psychological harm and self-harm

nenad — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 11:09:08 +0000

If you fear you may harm the participants or yourself, this is again an issue to be discussed within the team. It may be down to a fear of your own emotional reaction, or it may concern uncertainty about the suitability of the chosen methods of work. If the fear is related to the methods, the training team should re-examine them and make a decision everyone feels comfortable with. Creating and running difficult experiential exercises is justified when it aims to provide an opportunity for insights to help us overcome or cope with such difficulties. The aim is not to make everyone feel good during the training, but that by the end of the training everyone will feel that the effort invested in dealing with difficult topics was meaningful.

Fear of participants being overly motivated

nenad — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 11:08:25 +0000

Sometimes the group is so enthusiastic and energetic that they keep demanding more and more powerful experiential exercises. This should not be your main indicator when deciding how to continue the programme, because I know from experience that energy goes through cycles of waxing and waning and that intensive interaction should be followed by self-reflection or a rational analysis of what was learned, in order to incorporate new knowledge and skills. Distributing focus between content, interaction and self-reflection is a good guide for a balanced training that will offer not only a set of powerful experiences, but also a space for listening, expression, learning, thinking and personal growth.

Fear of mistakes and oversights

nenad — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 11:06:58 +0000

A responsible attitude is important, i.e. that a mistake or oversight is not the result of neglectfulness. Therefore, if there is fear, it is a concern that comes out of a sense of responsibility. You can’t turn it off – it would probably not be good if it was completely absent – but you also shouldn’t be too hard on yourself even if you make a mistake, because we are all part of the learning process, even when we are the ones running the training. A safe space within the team to openly discuss difficulties, as well as transparency towards the group about the difficulties that arise, can go a long way to helping build and maintain self-confidence, i.e. deconstructing fear.