Fun & Joy At Work - Previous Centre For Change Management

ASKING QUESTIONS ENHANCES LEARNING

It forces participants to think critically and problem solve. Asking questions engages participants. It involves them in the learning. Best of all, asking questions forces them to create their own information, which is much more believable to them than anything you tell them.

What do participants learn from a trainer who tells them that the extra tissue paper they use to wrap their customer's purchase costs the company thousands of dollars each day? Interesting information? Maybe. Compelling learning? No.

Now consider what happens when you ask participants what they believe the cost to the company is. Sure, you'll flip chart a range of answers. But, then you'll probe further. What do you think a single piece of tissue paper costs? What is your average number of transactions in a month? How many stores do we have? Even as you offer the correct figures, you've got your participants thinking. And as they calculate the cost of tissue paper by number of transactions by number of stores, you'll see them creating their own information. Facts. Data. And, when participants create their own data, they believe it. It becomes real for them. But, without questions, they can't create their own data.

Asking questions and probing for answers is an art, not because it's a gift or a talent that few have. On the contrary, anybody can ask questions. It's how you ask and when you ask that makes it an art, one that requires:

When asking questions, you must have patience to wait for an answer, and trust that it will come. It's important to remember that your participants don't like silence any more than you do. But rushing to answer a question you've posed simply because no one has thrown back an immediate answer can short change your students. Don't be afraid to let a question hang in the air; or to repeat it. Without patience, you'll not only be answering a lot of your own questions, but you will be robbing participants of the deep rooted learning that happens when they are forced to process information for themselves.

It's important to trust that participants want to learn and want to participate. If you don't, they'll meet your expectations with blank stares. Sure, you need to encourage them, engage them, and make it fun. You need to help them understand the benefits of the training. But, when you trust them to participate and answer your questions, they will.

READ YOUR AUDIENCE

Learning is not static; it is a dynamic and changing process. As the facilitator, you need to know when to move on, when to continue, when to redirect, when to dig deeper, and when to tap into experience. Asking questions also serves as a barometer for you. Is there understanding? Are they with you? Where should you go from here? Consider the following.

If you continue to ask questions to reinforce a point and your group got it five minutes ago, you've lost them. The goal of facilitating with Q&A is for your participants to gain understanding. When they do, it's time to move on. If you have a training meeting in which there is one person who monopolizes the discussion or is quick to shout out answers, it will be difficult for you to know when it's time to move on. Other participants may get bored or frustrated. To encourage other people to participate, you may need to throw the question their way. For example, after saying something like, "You've offered a lot of great input" redirect your question by adding something like, "Now, it's time for us to hear from the other side of the room." Or, "How about somebody else?" Or "Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?" Then, repeat the question. Direct your probes in the same way.

QUICK THINKING

If you have a group that catches on quickly and understands the basic concepts, you may need to take the learning in a different direction. Recognize the experience they've brought and tap into it. Be prepared to go beyond what your notes say. Ask questions to dig deeper. Ask for insights, opinions, and experiences that support or challenge the learning points. Ask questions about transferring the learning to their job.

Thinking on your feet is also important when your participants turn the tables on you. Have you ever been challenged or asked a question that stumped you, even for a moment? What do you do when they ask you a question you don't know the answer to? Or what if they ask something you aren't sure you should answer based on the company culture or organizational politics? That's when a question redirect can buy you time to think.

For example, say something like, "Does anyone here have an opinion on that?" Or, "What do the rest of you think?" Answering their question with a question may give you the extra minute or two to formulate an appropriate answer. Or, someone else will answer the question or provide additional information you need to field the question accurately. This is also an effective way to handle a challenge. If someone disagrees with the learning point presented and challenges you, throw it back to the rest of the group so a peer can try to persuade or convince instead of you.

If asking a lot of questions of your participants seems daunting to you, start out slow. Prepare a few questions for each section of your next training meeting. Ask them with a lot of energy and reward answers with enthusiasm. Before long, asking questions will become part of your training style.

		You know the feeling. We've all been there. The presenter or keynote speaker is droning on and on and on and as much as you try you can't stop your chair from feeling harder; your eyes from glazing over, or your thoughts from drifting away to anything but the subject at hand. It can be torture, especially on a warm afternoon. Well as a trainer you're in luck. You needn't do much more than ask a few questions to save your trainees from a similar fate. But to excel as a trainer requires a bit more. It requires that you ask a lot of questions. It requires that you probe for more than just surface answers. It requires that you inspire participants to figure it out themselves. Why? Because adult learners are usually capable and experienced; and deserve to be treated as such. After all, a good trainer is really nothing more than a facilitator, or said another way, a catalyst for learning.
	ASKING QUESTIONS ENHANCES LEARNING It forces participants to think critically and problem solve. Asking questions engages participants. It involves them in the learning. Best of all, asking questions forces them to create their own information, which is much more believable to them than anything you tell them. What do participants learn from a trainer who tells them that the extra tissue paper they use to wrap their customer's purchase costs the company thousands of dollars each day? Interesting information? Maybe. Compelling learning? No. Now consider what happens when you ask participants what they believe the cost to the company is. Sure, you'll flip chart a range of answers. But, then you'll probe further. What do you think a single piece of tissue paper costs? What is your average number of transactions in a month? How many stores do we have? Even as you offer the correct figures, you've got your participants thinking. And as they calculate the cost of tissue paper by number of transactions by number of stores, you'll see them creating their own information. Facts. Data. And, when participants create their own data, they believe it. It becomes real for them. But, without questions, they can't create their own data. Asking questions and probing for answers is an art, not because it's a gift or a talent that few have. On the contrary, anybody can ask questions. It's how you ask and when you ask that makes it an art, one that requires: Patience and Trus The Ability to Read Your Audience Quick Thinking PATIENCE AND TRUST When asking questions, you must have patience to wait for an answer, and trust that it will come. It's important to remember that your participants don't like silence any more than you do. But rushing to answer a question you've posed simply because no one has thrown back an immediate answer can short change your students. Don't be afraid to let a question hang in the air; or to repeat it. Without patience, you'll not only be answering a lot of your own questions, but you will be robbing participants of the deep rooted learning that happens when they are forced to process information for themselves. It's important to trust that participants want to learn and want to participate. If you don't, they'll meet your expectations with blank stares. Sure, you need to encourage them, engage them, and make it fun. You need to help them understand the benefits of the training. But, when you trust them to participate and answer your questions, they will. READ YOUR AUDIENCE Learning is not static; it is a dynamic and changing process. As the facilitator, you need to know when to move on, when to continue, when to redirect, when to dig deeper, and when to tap into experience. Asking questions also serves as a barometer for you. Is there understanding? Are they with you? Where should you go from here? Consider the following. If you continue to ask questions to reinforce a point and your group got it five minutes ago, you've lost them. The goal of facilitating with Q&A is for your participants to gain understanding. When they do, it's time to move on. If you have a training meeting in which there is one person who monopolizes the discussion or is quick to shout out answers, it will be difficult for you to know when it's time to move on. Other participants may get bored or frustrated. To encourage other people to participate, you may need to throw the question their way. For example, after saying something like, "You've offered a lot of great input" redirect your question by adding something like, "Now, it's time for us to hear from the other side of the room." Or, "How about somebody else?" Or "Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?" Then, repeat the question. Direct your probes in the same way. QUICK THINKING If you have a group that catches on quickly and understands the basic concepts, you may need to take the learning in a different direction. Recognize the experience they've brought and tap into it. Be prepared to go beyond what your notes say. Ask questions to dig deeper. Ask for insights, opinions, and experiences that support or challenge the learning points. Ask questions about transferring the learning to their job. Thinking on your feet is also important when your participants turn the tables on you. Have you ever been challenged or asked a question that stumped you, even for a moment? What do you do when they ask you a question you don't know the answer to? Or what if they ask something you aren't sure you should answer based on the company culture or organizational politics? That's when a question redirect can buy you time to think. For example, say something like, "Does anyone here have an opinion on that?" Or, "What do the rest of you think?" Answering their question with a question may give you the extra minute or two to formulate an appropriate answer. Or, someone else will answer the question or provide additional information you need to field the question accurately. This is also an effective way to handle a challenge. If someone disagrees with the learning point presented and challenges you, throw it back to the rest of the group so a peer can try to persuade or convince instead of you. If asking a lot of questions of your participants seems daunting to you, start out slow. Prepare a few questions for each section of your next training meeting. Ask them with a lot of energy and reward answers with enthusiasm. Before long, asking questions will become part of your training style.
	IN SUMMARY... Asking questions to enhance learning requires: PATIENCE AND TRUST Let a question hang in the air, or repeat it and patiently wait for an answer. Trust that your participants want to learn and participate, and they will. READ YOUR AUDIENCE When participants gain understanding, move on. Balance discussion and redirect questions and probes. QUICK THINKING If participants have grasped the material, be perpared to go beyond what your notes say. If a participant challenges you, throw the question to the group to give you time to think on your feet