Dealing With Difficult Delegates

Occasionally you end up having a confrontation with a delegate. There are a variety of forms of the "Difficult or Challengimg Delegates"

The Heckler: The Know All: The Whinger/Griper: The Whisperers: The Sphynx/Silent One:

When all conventional methods have failed, then why not try "Psychological Judo?"

1. The Heckler - Appoint them as the class "Devil's Advocate". Insist that he/she criticises whenever he/she feels that you are leading the class astray. Encourage negative remarks.
2. The Know-All - Agree with and amplify "know-all" contributions. Ask the "know-all" for expert judgement when none is forthcoming. Invite him/her up front to teach a short module. Refer constantly to their expertise in the subject.
3. The Whinger - Ask for a written list of whinges/gripes to help the class keep a sense of reality. Get him/her to read the list at the end of the day. Add to the list whenever possible!
4. The Whisperers - Tell them that time is short and ask those who don't understand not to interrupt, but to ask their neighbour!
5. The Sphynx/Silent One - Make the point that some people are shy and dare not participate. This doesn't mean that they haven't understood. Encourage shy ones not to participate.

By changing the "push" into "pull" you use the energy of the participant by giving them more of the spotlight than they wanted and they will use this energy to "pull back" to avoid ridicule or overkill.

Thanks to Trainers Pocketbook.

The Reality Of Role-Play

Having conducted hundreds of workshops throughout the length and breadth of Britain, I have usually found that there is always some form of resistance to the dreaded "role-play!"

"It's not real world!" "I wouldn't do it like that in real life!" "I hate role-plays!" These are just a few of the responses I have come across.

Let us just examine what role-play is.

Role-play is a form of a case study which is dramatised so participants can enact a human relations scenario under guidance of the trainer who will then elicit an evaluation of the performance in relation to previously taught principles and techniques.

Some guidelines for a succesful role-playing exercise:

- The scenario should be as realistic as possible

- It should be one that the participants can identify with; characters should be similar to those that exist in the organisation or represent typical customers (if it is a sales based role-play)

- Participants should live their parts

- The role-play should not be a threat for "timid" participants

- Trainer should play the "challenger" role

I prefer to refer to role-play as "real-play" or "simulation" as it is in fact, reality practice.

How would you feel if you had to have some major surgery and the surgeon told you that he / she had never done this before, but had "read the book?"

How confident would you feel in their ability?

I am sure that you would at least have wanted them to have had a practise or two, or may be more, wouldn't you?

Preparing to train

Questions you should ask yourself:

WHY? Why am I doing this training in the first place? What are the participants objectives? What should they be able to think or do differently as a result of the training?

WHAT? What can I communicate in the time available? What is the level of competence and commitment of my audience? What methods will I use? What audio/visual aids do I need?

WHO? Who am I training? Age? Nationality? Level? Language abilities? Prior experience? Expectations? Mind set?

WHEN? Is the timing of the event good for them and for me? Period of the year? Weekday/weekend? Morning? Afternoon? Evening? Business requirements?

WHERE? What will the environment be like? Location? Building? Room? Layout? Seating patterns? Interruptions? Temperature? Noise? Travel requirements for participants? Facilities for special needs?


A lot to think about!