For most of us, the thought of sitting in a classroom listening to an instructor regurgitate facts or read straight from a book gives us serious high school flashbacks. Bueller…Bueller, anyone?
Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Let’s be serious, we’d all prefer to be up and moving around, actually experiencing – it’s how we all learn best. It’s also how we continue to construct our training classes. We’ve ditched the Ben Stein-inspired lectures and monotone voices for hands-on experiences where attendees have the opportunity to participate in relatable activities that will leave a lasting impression.
The Mode of Transportation exercise is one of our favorite ways to kick off the experiential portion of a training class. To get started, we separate the class into groups of 4 and provide them with six different colored markers and a piece of paper. We then ask them to let their creative juices flow and draw what mode of transportation they believe their company resembles when they’re delivering legendary service. After each team has created their masterpiece, we invite the class to participate in discussing the characteristics of each drawing. We ask questions like – Does the car have wheels? Where are the customers? Do the vehicles have drivers? Are there doors on the bus?
After taking time to review each picture, participants have a visual starting point (whether it’s a slow-moving donkey or a fighter jet!) of their team’s ability to deliver legendary service. It’s a thought-provoking way to bring life experiences into the classroom to spark real life circumstances, problems, breakdowns and successes. Throughout the remainder of the training session, we’re able to refer to the drawings as a way to demonstrate progress. What mode of transportation is your company?