1. ----------BEFORE YOU BEGIN-----------
Make sure you have the following printed and on hand
Instructor Packet including sheet of all 34 strengths
Enough student packets for each person

2. Agenda Overview First Reactions Synthesis Scavenger Hunt Next Steps
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Have students get out their StrengthsQuest results
If students do not have it, give them a chance to go print or bring up on device/laptop ( login with /password)
If students have not taken it, give them handout with all 34 talents listed and have them pick what they think are their top 3-5. Have them take strengths after they have done this course.

3. Learning Objectives Understand the concept of strengths
Learn the importance of understanding others’ strengths for successful interactions
Learn how all strengths have different applications in and out of the classroom
Recognize that focusing on strengths leads to greater success than focusing on weaknesses
Discuss the learning objectives to give students a general idea of the takeaways from the lesson

4. Overview What is StrengthsQuest? How was it developed?
Helps identify top talent themes
How was it developed?
Created by interviewing successful people to determine what made them stand out
How will StrengthsQuest help you?
Recognizing your strengths is the first step to realize your full potential
StrengthsQuest helps you find out your strengths so that you can leverage talents in your life to help make you more successful in your life, academics, and career.
What is strengths?
StrengthsQuest is an online personality assessment. Based on your responses, it will determine your top five talent themes. These talents are innate ways of thinking and behavior patterns that you excel in.
How was it developed?
The Gallup organization interviewed successful people in a variety of career fields to understand what they did differently, to make them stand out.
How will StrengthsQuest help you?
StrengthsQuest helps you to discover and identify your top talent themes in a variety of settings. By becoming aware of these talents, you can develop them into strengths. Strengths can be utilized for success in all aspects of your life, including career planning and in the classroom. The assessment is all about focusing on your natural talents to maximize your potential.

5. Successful People: Build – on areas of their talent
Capitalize – on their uniqueness
Apply – talents to roles that fit them
Invent – ways to use them effectively
Talking Points
Gallup is the organization that created this assessment, and the theory behind it goes something like this: What would help you be most successful – focusing your time on building your strengths or fixing your weaknesses. You will be more successful if you spend the MAJORITY OF YOUR TIME building on what you already do well, then if you spend the majority of your effort fixing your weaknesses.
This belief is not suggesting you ignore you weaknesses. It is saying to spend most of your time focusing on your talents and spend enough time on your weaknesses so you can manage them and not allow them to get in the way of your growth.
Greatest potential for growth in areas of your talent.

6. First Reactions
Review your StrengthsQuest results and learn more about your report
Pair Up for 5 minutes
Share your top 5
What intrigued you?
What theme fits you like a glove?
Example of using your strength?
Overview
If you have not had your strengths interpreted or had little interaction with your results, this helps get the gears turning by allowing you to find how your strengths directly apply to them.
5 to 7 minutes. Leave ample time for discussion. It is important that students have brought report to class that is highlighted so they can do this activity quickly
Implementation
Pass Out Handout: Pass out the First Reactions handout to the class and have them work in groups of two asking each other the questions listed on the paper. This is intended to get them to started thinking about strengths very generally.
Come Back Together: As a large group come back together and discuss the questions. Ask students to share something you learned about their partner. If students need prompting, share something you learned about yourself after reviewing your results.
e.g., “I learned that my partner has adaptability in his top five. He uses it to help him when problems arise to find creative solutions instead of getting stressed.”

7. Discussion In what types of settings can you apply your strengths?
Why does your top strengths shine above the rest?
What is your favorite strength?
How do your talent themes make you unique?
As a class have a discussion surrounding these questions
Question 1:
Talents are unique and can be applied in many ways. Have students give examples (classroom, work, student org, teams, social relationships)
Question 2:
Have a few students share about describe and use that talent
Question 3:
Describe why it is their favorite, and ask other students if they share that theme. Those students can then compare and contrast how they use that theme that may be the same or different.
Question 4:
Your combination of talents makes you very unique: there are 267,000 combinations of top 5 talents!

8. Synthesis Individual Reflection (5 minutes)
Recall a time in the last year where you have used each of your talents in your life
Write down an example of each
Overview
Write down your five talents and look for specific examples of how these five talents play out your life.
Implementation
Pass Out Handout: Pass out the Synthesis handout to the class. Pick an experience from the past where you have used each of your talents and be as specific as possible.
For example: “I used my strategic strength last month to make a schedule to balance my school work and new part time job.”
Come Back Together: As a large group come back together and discuss the activity. Ask students to share some of the answers they came up with. To start the conversation you can offer an example of your own.

9. Takeaways
Recognizing how you have used talents in the past will help you determine how to use them in the future
Giving specific examples of how you use your talents provides a tremendous advantage in resume/cover letter writing, interviewing, and networking
As a group have a discussion surrounding these questions.
This activity provides great information to help you prepare for future interviews or other times where you need to talk about yourself.
Note that this information is valuable to employers and should be included in resumes, interviews, cover Letters, etc.).

10. Talents are:
Motivating - You are more inclined to excel when using your talents
Energizing - You feel a sense of purpose and conviction
Helpful - They provide a framework for you to become a better:
student
employee
team member
leader
Talking Points
When you are working in areas of your talent, you feel energy, motivation, and in many cases, lose track of time because you are feeling like you are in the groove. Find ways to associate tasks, activities, or interactions where you felt this motivation and pinpoint what talents went into you being successful at that task.
Using talents in this way can help you be a better student, a better employee, better team member, a better leader, and more. Find ways to apply StrengthsQuest and you’ll get in the habit of seeking out that positive energy.

11. Scavenger Hunt
Introduce yourself to others and find out about different talents
Large Group (15 minutes)
Stand up
Go around room and introduce yourself to 3-5 people (NOT those sitting next to you)
Tell them your name, a talent, and share a benefit of that talent
Avoid discussing talents you both share
Overview
For the Scavenger Hunt activity you will need to move about the room and introduce yourself to 3-5 other people you don’t know well. You will take turns, sharing one talent theme your partner does not possess and the benefits of that talent.
Implementation
Scavenger Hunt: Pass out handout and have students walk around the room talking to other students. Record three to five people who have a different strength than you and how they use it.
-Conversations should start with a basic introduction of who each person is.
-Each person should compare their strengths to find ones they do not share.
-Take turns explaining how you use that strength to benefit them.

12. Discussion
What talent theme did you learn about you didn’t know about before?
What did you learn about yourself?
How could you benefit from partnering with people who have different themes?
Bring the class back together as a group and then have a discussion surrounding these questions
Really focus on the third question – talk about working in diverse groups and how each person brings a specific skill set that can be leveraged to help the group in different ways 
You are motivated and energized by your talents: they are just “how you work.” Just the same way, another person has their set of talents and that is how they work. You can’t turn them off. They are all good…just different. This helps to understand others, and recognize how you might work better together and benefit from each other’s talents.
Understand that you have many talents that complement the talents of others. Achievers might work well with Focus or Discipline to use your energy as efficiently as possible, or Adaptability might partner with Strategic or Futuristic to help think about long term goals so you can deal with day-to-day variations.

13. Making Talents Into Strengths
Talent alone isn’t enough: effort and practice are necessary to be successful and build them into STRENGTHS
Practice in college, apply to your career
Talking Points
Practice in college, and reflect on ways you can apply them to a role that fits you in a field you are interested in.
Talent: your predisposition
Investment: practice and effort
Strength: when you continuously use your talents to where they are almost flawless
“Knowledge consists of the facts and lessons learned. Skills are the steps of an activity. These three (talents, knowledge, and skills) combine to create your strengths.” 
Ask students:
- How are you using your talent to____________ (fill in the blank based on your class goals)?
Really drive this point home…this is the takeaway they should keep asking themselves over and over: How am I using my talent?

14. Next Steps Visit Strengths.Missouri.edu
Go back to
Read full report and action items
Share with others!
Recognize when you use them
Incorporate into resume/cover letter, interviews and networking
Now what? Here are some things you can do to keep the positive energy going:
Direct students to strengths.missouri.edu there is a wealth of additional activities and answers to questions
Post your results where you can be reminded to them from time to time. This also helps spark conversations with others.
Go back to StrengthsQuest.com and view your in-depth report, action items, and other resources to help you come up with new language, challenges, and to help you prepare to write resumes, cover letters, and to interview and network
Share them with people who know you, and others who have taken the assessment.

15. Conclusion
“Here’s the thing about talents – they’re only strengths if you put them to use all the time.”
- Brandon Busteed
Executive Director of Gallup Education
Present a challenge to students: Recognize your talents, use your talents and build them into Strengths.

16. Lower Level, Student Success Center career@missouri.edu
(573)