Most entrepreneurs don’t exactly look forward to employee training sessions. Yes, they are necessary for the continued success of an organization, but when things go haywire, headaches can creep in.
Read on for a few training stories from hell and tips on how to handle similar scenarios.
The Anti-Listener
John Goldberg makes his living as an employee trainer. He is founder of Sacramento, Calif.–based Interpersonal Trainer and about five years ago he was tasked with facilitating a mandatory two-day training seminar on diversity. While several employees voiced their dissatisfaction in being required to partake in such an activity, one worker’s defiance stood out.
“People were broken into small group discussions and everyone was encouraged to share a time when they’d felt discriminated against,” remembers Goldberg. “Just as one woman started talking, a man—probably in his 40s—stuck his index fingers in his ears and made very loud ‘la la la’ sounds. We couldn’t believe it.”
Following the session, Goldberg took the rude participant outside and told him that his behavior wasn’t acceptable. The man apologized to Goldberg and the woman he interrupted and went back to the session.
The Hand Crusher
It was during similar session that Goldberg’s training turned violent. Participants were required to gather in a circle and shake each other’s hands—an interpersonal exercise meant to encourage interaction between employees. One man (different from the anti-listener) stood up to leave and headed for the door. A member of Goldberg’s team followed, stopped him at the door and asked him to shake her hand.
“He then reached out and squeezed her hand as hard as he possibly could,” says Goldberg. “It really hurt her and we had to file a workplace violence report.”
In the end, Goldberg says the man’s supervisor was notified and he never exhibited inappropriate behavior again.
The Power Outage
About 10 years ago at a 100-person corporate kickoff training session in Southern California, trainer Barry Maher, founder of Barry Maher & Associates, was faced with a tough situation when the power went out.
“It was a full-day meeting and this happened around 1:30 p.m.,” he remembers.
At first, Maher kept the group in the room, telling jokes to lighten the mood. When, minutes later, the room was still dark, he decided to improvise. He opened the door and told the group to line up in single file. From there, he ran down to the exit door, opened it and then came back to lead the group into the sunshine.
“When we got to the parking lot, I saw a nice grassy area with a couple of trees,” he says. “We went over there and I ended up conducting the rest of the training outside, using a loud voice.”
Dealing With Cringe-Worthy Situations
It's not easy to prepare for difficult scenarios. Here are a few ways to stay on track in your training session.
Know your material. Chances are, things will not go exactly as planned. People will ask questions. You may go on a topic tangent. Navigate these distractions by preparing in advance, suggests Maher.
Keep your cool. “If you panic, they will panic,” he says. Take things in stride and keep going with your program.
Ask the audience. If you lose track of your place, lob a question to the audience about what you were talking about, he adds.