Activating Mental Velcro: Facilitating Learning That Sticks!   Activating Mental Velcro: Facilitating Learning That Sticks! AEA Coffee Break May 3, 2012 Cassandra O’Neill, Wholonomy Consulting www.wholonomyconsulting.com Amy Schaller, University of Arizona

Six Secrets to High Impact Presenting What we’ll be sharing today is part of an e- book called Six Secrets to High Impact Presenting Available for purchase at www.ideaencore.com

Whoever does the work does the learning. Thought for the day   Whoever does the work does the learning.

Why Do We Need the Six Secrets? People don’t walk into a presentation or training ready to learn. They are often thinking about other things. There are simple steps to help people focus and get ready to learn.

High Impact Evaluation Presentation Think about the next evaluation presentation you will make with clients, stakeholders, or at a conference… Would you like to be able to hold your audience’s attention and gather insightful feedback? Would you like to know at the beginning what they expect from your presentation instead of at the end?

Secret 1: Focus and Activate Positivity Positive Psychology research tells us that if you want people to be creative, and to be able to see both the big picture and the details - forest AND trees - positive emotions must be activated!

Simple Ways to Help People Focus Ask them appreciative questions Strengths based approach to change called Appreciative Inquiry Think of a time that something was going well, you were successful, you felt alive, excited, and engaged.

Sample Appreciative Questions Think of a time you: …learned something that made a difference …made a contribution to a team or group

Strategies for Effective Sharing Write down and share with one other person Share with whole table Share with whole group Share what you heard from a partner with table or whole group

Get Creative! Use cards to prompt sharing Group cards Pause Cards by Inspired Mastery Zen Cards by Daniel Levin Group cards Make your own quotes Ways to share: have people pick and read a card, and make a connection with the message Share at tables or with larger group

Quick Tip: Short on Time? Ask people to share a quality they are bringing to the group People share things like: humor curiosity creativity flexibility

Secret Two: Establishing Learning Goals Step 1: Share the presentation or group learning goals Step 2: Ask people to identify and share their own learning goals

Crafting Questions Crafting the inquiry determines the outcome Avoid asking “Why are you here?” Instead invite learning by asking “What do you want to get out of this session today?”

Prompt Questions When you think about what you want to get out of our time together, what comes to mind? If you imagine our training is over and you’ve gotten something valuable, what have you learned?

Sharing Personal Learning Goals Have them write down one of their personal learning goals first to make it easier Have people share their learning goals in pairs, with the table, or with the whole group

Step 3: Respond Does what you have planned align with what people want? If not, can you adjust? If you can’t adjust, develop a plan for getting people what they want at a later time.

Usually… What people want is aligned with what is planned. When it is not, it is best to get this surfaced in the beginning.

Why it Works! Every person has identified something they want to learn, shared it with others, heard what other people want, and are clear about what they’ll get You’ve just invited them to be present, be positive, and as a result they are ready to learn!

Back to Your Evaluation Presentation Think about the next evaluation presentation you will make with clients, stakeholders, or at a conference? What might you try or do differently?

Summary How does this create readiness to learn? Engages participants in learning about evaluation processes & outcomes Creating an environment that fosters flexible thinking Clarifies goals and prepares participants to engage with evaluation findings

Resources Pause Cards and Book Books on Appreciative Questions www.inspiredmastery.com Books on Appreciative Questions Appreciative Teambuilding The Encyclopedia of Positive Questions For more information: http://www.wholonomyconsulting.com/

Contact Us Cassandra O’Neill cassandraoneill@comcast.net Amy Schaller aschalle@email.arizona.edu