Establishing Good Working Conditions

N. Zimmermann

The more diversity there is within a group, the greater the potential for exchange, inspiration and learning from peers. People however are only willing to activate this potential if they feel safe and respected. Therefore before engaging more deeply with the content of a seminar, facilitators establish appropriate ground rules based on basic democratic and human principles. When facilitators demonstrate that they take the democratic principles they are promoting seriously through their actions, this raises the feasability that participants will as well.

Ground for Trust

Trust is a condition for that people feel safe and empowered to involve. Especially in heterogeneous groups in which participants and facilitators may feel uncertain the facilitation needs to build a ground for trust development.

Trust is the certainty that at any stage of the shared learning process, everything will happen according to the values of mutual respect, autonomy, and personal freedom.

This necessitates that everyone is allowed and free to monitor his or her own goals and needs and decides what to do based on these values.

Transparency

Trust may develop when people are informed or if they can inform themselves about the motivations, goals and decisions of others. Only those individuals who have all the relevant information can and want participate in an optimal way. This includes transparency in terms of our motivations and goals as facilitators and of the institution providing learning. The second important aspect of transparency is clarity about conditions and rules on how to work together.

Rules and Conditions

Both facilitators and participants have certain rules in mind, which is fine. But even if as facilitators we think that our rules might be the best for the group, what makes us think that way? Instead of imposing rules on participants, participatory learning processes enable participants to discuss their wishes for rules and goals and expose facilitators to negotiating them.

Three basic rules

We provide a STOP, discretion and disagreement rule as basic agreements on the working style.

Code of Conduct

A seminar is an island and we imagine ourselves to be stranded on this island. Now we have to find our own rules.

Trustbuilding: What facilitators can do

Trust helps people get involved and to integrate in a seminar group. What can facilitators do to support participants in mobilizing trust and a willingness to

cooperate?

Methods for Trustbuilding

A collection of methods mostly including body contact help to build relations among participants.

 

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Creating Ownership

Tips for Increasing the Participants' Levels of Ownership and Involvement

Here come five easy and straightforward methods for boosting the participants' involvement in the training organization, delivery and evaluation and thereby increasing their sense of ownership.

The Nail Game

The following activity provides an opportunity to discuss the attitudes in team work and prerequisites of a fruitful team work.

 

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Name Games and Getting to Know Each Other

You’ve already learned a lot about your participants by discussing their needs and basic working principles. It is essential to a good working atmosphere that both the trainer and the participants know everyone’s names and the correct pronunciation. The deeper sense behind these name games is that learners may interconnect independently of the teacher, and that they build trust, which is a precondition for deeper experiential learning later on.

Name Games

A collection of basic methods to support participants in remembering each others names.

First Evening

A collection of methods for a common first evening for a good start of your training.

Games for Getting to Know Each Other

As the title says: A collection of games for getting to know each other.

Creative Hunting

An activating method for teambuidling.

Cultural Shock

This method is a brief introduction about intercultural differences and cultural shock.

Time Machine – updates in group

This method facilitates the process of coming together as a group.

 

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Navigation:

During

• First Steps
  • Establishing Good Working Conditions
    • Three basic rules
    • Code of Conduct
    • Trustbuilding: What facilitators can do
    • Methods for Trustbuilding
    • Tips for Increasing the Participants' Levels of Ownership and Involvement
    • The Nail Game
    • Name Games
    • First Evening
    • Games for Getting to Know Each Other
    • Creative Hunting
    • Time Machine – updates in group
    • Energizers & Cooling Downs

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Related:

• Teamwork and Group Dynamics

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"One of the most decisive factors for a successful training is the group and how individuals feel in the group and on the training. That is why we work always on this level."