Does the perennial ‘ice breaker’ used at the start of training sessions leave you cringing?

Apparently, it is no longer a good way to start off your session with these so-called relaxers.  As they have been around for such a long time, participants almost come to expect them and others just heave a sigh – hoping the first 15 minutes will go past quickly.

Lenn Millbower explains the three reasons why NOT to use icebreakers:

• Ice breakers suggest a frivolous training will follow – Forcing involvement in an activity with little seeming connection to the subject being taught implies a lack relevance in the training as a whole
• Ice breakers risk learner alienation before the subject has been introduced – Communication experts suggest that people, upon meeting someone new, make up their mind about that person and their message within seconds. The same dynamic holds true in the training environment. Ice breakers waste those precious seconds on seemingly mindless activity.
• Ice breakers squander valuable time on non-essential information – The short attention spans of modern learners brought on by the endless barrage of TV commercials and the point-and-click ease of the Internet make it difficult enough for learners to maintain a continued focus with on-target content. Activities that don’t readily connect to content send learners channel surfing.

Lenn further suggests that training sessions fall into one of two camps – broccoli or brownies.

If you don’t like broccoli then you will find the session boring and tedious.  If you prefer brownies, great, except you can have too much of a good thing.

Listen to him explain a better way forward http://www.offbeattraining.com/learnertainment/home.html

Now consider, does this make you hungry for high quality training and learning?

The OFQT Team