Abstract

This effective practice from Mosaica's newsletter, TrainingBriefs: Dealing with Difficult Training Situations, suggests strategies for dealing with challenging group training conditions that arise from individual participant behavior.

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Issue

A trainer or facilitator's task is to guide participants through a set of learning objectives while maintaining group cohesion. Very often, however, they are faced with the delicate task of managing individual behavior while maintaining the group dynamic. When faced with this kind of circumstance, trainers and facilitators must think fast and on their feet.

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Action

Experienced technical assistance providers suggest these practices:

• Address the behavior, not the person, when handling a challenge from one or more individuals
• Be flexible in your training design to address unexpected questions
• Find ways to rechannel energies of participants who dominate the group by encouraging cooperative roles and establishing ground rules for participation
• Use diverse training techniques to engage participants who have different levels of experience and expertise
• Establish and use ground rules for resolving inter-group conflicts
• Maintain a positive attitude
• Follow up with members of the group after the training session to determine any larger issues that require attention

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Citation

Mosaica. (April 1999). Dealing with difficult training situations. TrainingBriefs. no. 13. Washington, DC: Corporation for National and Community Service.

*TrainingBriefs were produced by Mosaica under Cooperative Agreement #98CADC009 with the Corporation for National and Community Service during July of 1997 through October of 1999.

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Posted On

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For More Information

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Source Documents

Related Practices

• Using small groups to maximize training
• Grouping purposefully for effective training

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Related sites

Mosaica: The Center for Nonprofit Development and Pluralism

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