Crucial Skills®

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Trainer Insights

How can I help participants better understand and benefit from the summary questions at the end of each section of training?

ABOUT THE EXPERT
Steve WillisSteve Willis is a Master Trainer and Vice President of Professional Services at VitalSmarts.
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Q I find that participants struggle to understand what the summary questions mean at the end of each section (“What would you be seeing…that would indicate that you should use this skill set?”). What suggestions do you have in helping them understand and really benefit from these questions?

A The purpose of this question at the end of the lesson is to get them to think about and identify cues. So often we have participants who walk out of a session with a good understanding of the skill, having applied it to a Acid Test scenario they’re facing, and then completely miss the opportunity to use their newly acquired skills back at their jobs or at home. One of the reasons is because they haven’t prepared themselves to generalize how and, more specifically, WHEN they should use their skills.

So with that in mind, you may want to try to reframe the questions a little to help the participants create cues with something like, “What would you be seeing in yourself or in others that would be a cue for you to employ this skill set?” or “See you if you can identify three early warning signs you could use to help you use this skill when it matters most.” or “When or where do you think this skill would work best?”

Hope this helps,
Steve Willis

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