Challenges are the exercises that stay in your memory the longest after you complete the training. These are the exercises that the participants of the training want to tell their friends and colleagues about. These are exercises in which bright realizations and insights are born. Coaches collect powerful challenge exercises like treasures, carefully putting them in their coaching “chest”, periodically opening the lid and admiring them.
So what are these exercises? What is their essence?
- These are exercises, the purpose of which is to draw the attention of the group to certain topics of the training, to bring participants to important insights, to increase the motivation of participants for learning.
They are also called problematic exercises.
They do not train specific skills. They have other tasks:
- Show the training participants that they are not doing very well so far (selling, managing, solving team problems, performing in public, building relationships with children…). What is there to grow.
- To bring the participants of the training to understand that it is necessary to use this or that method, because it really works.
- Demonstrate clearly to the group the difference between several approaches so that it becomes obvious which one is more effective (for example, that the “win-win” strategy is more effective than the others).
Imagine that we are conducting a team building training, and in the first part of the training we give a certain team task with which the group cannot cope, although it is definitely possible to cope, the result is achievable. This will be a challenging exercise. During this exercise, participants realize that they are not yet a super-efficient team. Then we conduct training, discover the intricacies of teamwork, and train. And at the end of the training, we give the same exercise, and the group does an excellent job, and in record time. Agree, a very visual result of the training!
Or a classic call for sales training.
After getting to know the group, collecting expectations, setting rules, we ask 2 brave participants to come to the center. We invite them to decide who will now be “number one” and who will be “number two”. The first will play the role of the Seller, and the second will play the role of the Buyer. The task of the Seller is to sell the marker to the buyer within 5 minutes (we give him the marker in his hands).
The sale will either not take place, or it will be difficult, not very smooth (otherwise why are they at sales training?). Actually, we as coaches are satisfied with both of these options. Because we want to teach participants how to sell effectively in any situation, and how to sell easily and smoothly…
After this exercise, even those who worked in the center feel that it was not so easy to sell a seemingly completely simple product. And the observing group members experience the same sensations, because. each of them tries on how he would act, being in the center of the circle.
The only thing is that our classic training example with a marker after the recent film «The Wolf of Wall Street», unfortunately, has become completely «pop», so I recommend using a different subject, the main thing is simple.
Yes, yes, you understood correctly. In challenges, our coaching goal is for the group to fail or turn out obviously badly. And then, if, of course, the call was carried out competently, professionally (which, oh, how not easy!), The group forms an internal question “But how is it right? How to? How to achieve greater efficiency? How can I make it easy for me?
Today, trainings without challenges do not work!
Why? We live in a time when knowledge is not valued. Previously, when there was no Internet, or even good books, important knowledge was obtained with great difficulty (and sometimes even at risk) and therefore was highly valued. And then even the simplest recommendations from Dale Carnegie’s book seemed like a revelation, «secrets of psychology», appreciated, passed from mouth to mouth. The first rare books on NLP were given out to friends as a «secret map of buried treasures», each technique seemed like an insight …
Now everything is different. All knowledge is readily available. Everyone knows everything. Only no one does. And this is the huge complexity of modern education, modern trainings.
You come to the company to conduct sales training. You start talking about the 5 classic stages of selling, and the group yawns: «We know all this …». You give an exercise for working off — you see that everyone works at all according to these stages, they work inefficiently! Everybody knows. Nobody does.
But from the fact that “everyone knows everything”, the interest in learning is low, the training seems boring to the participants, because “there is nothing new”. The participants think: “well, the fifth time is the same thing, again nothing new, rather go home …”. The trainer thinks: “how can you give advanced topics if you don’t do basic things ?!”. The participants of the training «served», the trainer «reprimanded» the program. Everyone, smiling and thanking each other, parted. Only in sales and in the actions of sellers after the training, nothing has changed …
And why? Because we are residents of the era “Everyone knows everything. Nobody does!»
- Are there many sellers now who DO NOT know that you first need to find out the needs, and then make an offer of goods?
- Are there many negotiators now who do NOT know that you first need to identify the interests of the other side, and only then offer your position and argue it?
- Are there many managers now who have NOT yet heard about delegation and that it is useful to assign important tasks to their employees?
- Are there many people now who do NOT know that positive thinking makes life happier and health stronger?
Everyone heard. Everybody knows. Who is REALLY doing it? Units!
And so most of the trainings are ineffective!
The trainer gives a known theory (because the group does not do it in practice), works it out in exercises. The group has low interest and motivation (because it seems that all this is already known, boring) and in this state they go through the exercises. As a result, the skill is developed poorly. In real life, after training, little changes.
How can that be?
Use challenge exercises! Before giving the theory, we give the group a challenge exercise. Its task is to show the participants that they until this is done or not done effectively enough.
As we have already said, after a good, strong challenge exercise, the participants have a question “So how is it right? HOW could you sell in this situation?? And in response to this request, we give a theory. We explain what was not done by the participants according to the algorithm, which is why the sale did not take place.
A theory presented in this way is perceived in a completely different way, it falls on the fertile loosened soil of interest, involvement, and demand. The group is ready to receive information, it craves it. As a result, our mini-lecture, our algorithms and schemes will be remembered for a long time, and the likelihood that participants will actually use them in life will increase dramatically.
Say (or think) now that «we all know it» already the language does not turn. Rather, the participants will have an idea “Damn, I knew that, but why didn’t I do it?!”. And here the coach will say that knowing and doing are “two big differences” … You are experienced specialists and many of you have probably heard this, you know … But the main thing in life is to do, this is what we will practice today at the training …
And then the main exercise given after the mini-lecture to train our algorithm will be performed with a different level of motivation, involvement and will give better results.
So, challenge exercises give us 4 most important results:
1. Increase the motivation of training participants for learning, for developing skills;
2. Lead to better memorization of theoretical material;
3. Form important awareness, insights (for example, “you must first find out the needs !!”);
4. Make our trainings more vivid, interesting, memorable.
There is A great challenge for negotiation training is the «Oranges» exercise. It clearly demonstrates to the participants how important it is to find out the interest of a partner before voicing their position.
The group is divided in half. Some are told that they are inventing a way to protect against chemical weapons attacks (catastrophe threatens). The tool is almost invented, you only need to add an elixir made from the skins of oranges of the rare Sunny variety. 3000 of these excellent quality oranges are badly needed. The problem is that only 4000 of them were born in the world this year. Have you heard that your competitors are also hunting for these oranges. Plus you have financial restrictions on the purchase. Therefore, you decided to negotiate with a competing company in order to agree on everything in advance.
The second team is informed that they have recently succeeded in developing a substance that treats a serious, previously incurable disease. To complete the work, you need the juice of the pulp of oranges of the rare variety «Solnechnye». You need 3000 pieces of good quality. Only 4000 of them were born in the world this year. You have heard that your competitors are also after these oranges. Plus you have financial restrictions on the purchase. And you decided to negotiate with competitors in order to settle this issue in advance.
Instructions in practice are long, complicated, with many details and this is important. Naturally, one team does not know the input of another team (everything is like in life).
Then the teams are given 20 minutes to discuss the cases and develop their negotiation strategy. After 20 minutes, each team nominates one representative for negotiations. 20 minutes are given for the first round of negotiations. If not agreed, the trainer can give an opportunity to discuss the strategy again (10-15 minutes), perhaps replace the truce and conduct a second round of negotiations for 15 minutes.
How do you think the participants agree in this exercise?
For more than 10 years, my colleagues and I have been conducting this exercise in business training for an audience of experienced managers and fairly experienced negotiators. And there has never been such a situation that they agreed in the first round! Most often they do not agree in the second round. Although the “casket” opens quite simply. Some need «an elixir made from the skins of oranges», and others «juice from the pulp of oranges» …
Why don’t the parties agree? After all, everything is so simple! Because there is no habit, no skill to find out the interests of a partner. Although many of them have probably heard about it.
And you can’t imagine their eyes and their emotions when, at the end of the exercise, they find out how simply the situation was resolved! And all it took to solve it was start negotiations with detailed questions to the other team, and not with the argumentation of their position. And 99,9% begin to argue that they need oranges, that oranges should be given to their company, they begin to bargain. And they argue beautifully, bargain beautifully, they are experienced, confident! But the result is not achieved…
Beautiful. Powerful. Strongly. After such an exercise, participants remember for life that it is better to start negotiations with questions. That first you need to carefully find out the interests of the other side. After such an exercise, participants learn cheerfully and actively. And it’s all thanks to the challenge!
But there’s bad news
Challenges are the most difficult exercise to complete.
They require a high quality of work from the coach, awareness and thoughtfulness at every stage. Give instructions a little wrong — and you have already prompted the group to the “correct answer”. Set the task to the teams not quite clearly, and the group will rebel against the coach after the exercise: “so you set the task that way, it’s not about us, you formulated it incorrectly.” You start summing up the results of the exercise in the wrong tone: “Look, you’re not succeeding,” and the whole group will go into a defensive position: “this is just an exercise that’s not real, but in life everything works out well for us.” And most importantly — the exercise in this case will not work. Or it will work negatively. Participants will not come to the necessary conclusions, they will not form the awareness you need. But there may be resistance.
What to do?
There are always at least two options:
- Conduct training without calling. It is easier. Just less efficient.
- Practice making calls, constantly improving your skills!
30% of challenge success is knowing good challenge exercises. This is not an easy task, because coming up with bright challenge exercises yourself is much more difficult than, for example, basic exercises. It requires filigree craftsmanship. Challenges coaches often collect, accumulate, collect, cherish than invent.
And 70% of the success of challenge exercises is to be able to conduct them!
How to conduct the exercise in such a way that the group really comes to important realizations, and does not take up arms against the coach? How to modify the exercise for different group levels and different tasks? What to do in difficult situations?
In particular, among our exercises you can find a beautiful analogue of the “Oranges” exercise — the “Cones” challenge exercise. I like this version more, it is much less common and it is even more difficult to guess that groups need different parts of the bumps.
My friend and colleague Boris Polgeim, one of the best negotiation coaches, and I have an interesting story about this exercise. We prepared negotiation training for one serious company (Felix Office Furniture World). Training for 200 people, directors of Felix stores throughout Russia. The young ladies from the personnel department really wanted everything to go smoothly, and therefore they were very interested in the program. We met several times, showed them the program, told it almost every minute. And everyone joked with Boris that «we have never been so well prepared for training.»
And now there is one day before the training. The program is complete. The personnel department asks to drive up for the last time to discuss everything again so that they are calmer. And now the discussion is over, we are going to leave, and then they say the following phrase, “Well, we really hope that everything will be different for you like a year ago.” As they say, from this place in more detail, please))) It turns out that last year a trainer with a very famous name conducted the topic «Sales» for this group. And the group «ate» him. 40 minutes after the start of the training, 20-30 people got up and left at first with the words “nothing new, we all know this”, then another 20 people, more … And the training was disrupted.
We say to the young ladies “Thank you for what you said!”, We leave and rejoice that we still have a whole day and a whole night ahead of us! Saturated coaching days and nights when the program needs to be completely redone, at least the first part of it. Redo it in such a way as to immediately capture the interest of the audience, create motivation.
What have we done? Of course, we put a powerful challenge in the first part of the training. They took «Bumps», adapted it to a group of 200 people. It’s been very strong! The whole group turned on, got involved, became interested, wanted to know the solution. And then everything went like clockwork …
If we talk about good challenges, there is a fairly well-known challenge «Red and Black» (if you wish, you can find it on the Internet). Its purpose is to demonstrate to the participants that it is the “win-win” (win-win) position that gives the maximum efficiency. In life, in team work, in leadership, in personal relationships.
And there is its wonderful analogue — «Tic-Tac-Toe», which solves the same problem, just much more cost-effective in terms of time. If you need 3-4 hours for Red and Black, then for Tic-Tac-Toe it will take about 1 hour. Plus, Tic-Tac-Toe is much easier to adapt to business topics. I heartily recommend!