Ask, Not Tell

I was in Taipei last week delivering 2 SPIN programs.  I went there very often 4 years ago during my regional sales role.   Despite the political change, Taipei remains pretty the same to me.   One interesting thing is that there are more and more people riding bicycle there.   Partly a fashion, and partly promoted by the government.

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Look at the furry wire in the photo.  You could not imagine how useful it is in the training rooms.  At least I did not realise it before I tried it out.  During the international induction program I mentioned in the last post, there was a session which we asked the learners to reflect in pair for stories happened in the week.  And there were asked to play with the wires to form a shape representing their stories.  I found it rather weird in the beginning.

But it worked!    I saw the learners actively playing the wires whilst they were sharing the stories.  When they all came back together in the big group, they all came with wires of all different shapes.  In addition, the wires promoted them to share as they were eager to show their own (and even others’) wires to the others.

This interestingly illustrates that everyone has a kinesthetic learner within. I call the wire a ‘Thought Provoking Device’!!

• Course: Induction Program
• Date: 1-5 Sep 08
• Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• # of Learners: over 150
• I am feeling: Great

I am writing this post in the Kuala Lumpur International Airport….   I just finished an international induction program for the graduate trainees in our bank.   It was a large scale event with over 150 learners.  
 
To me, this is an experience of ‘diversity’.   First, it was a great experience to facilitate sessions for learners coming from some 20 nationalities – Mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia, Pakistan, Egypt, UAE, Indonesia, Philippines, India, Kenya, UK….   I had all different attitude, knowledge and viewpoint in the classroom.   It is fun to just observe, but even more fun to facilitate their learning.
 
The second aspect of ‘diversity’ is my 4 co-facilitators.  It was amazing that though we were very different, we worked along very well!!   Whilst some are creative and spontaneous, some are structured and detail-oriented.   Through this program, I do realize more the power of a team with diverse capabilities.   Of course, having appropriate soft skills is essential to ‘bridge’ the difference.   In addition, I learnt a lot from them including new facilitation techniques and thoughts behind designing a session.
 
OK, time to catch my flight back to Shanghai!!