VSP audience in a facilitated training session
This past week, I participated in a VSP training course on how to be an effective facilitator. At the start of the class, we quickly reviewed some ground rules for participants. The rules are designed to aid facilitation, to ensure that everyone is equally heard, to make wise decisions with our time, and ensure we all get the most benefit from the course.
- Allow and encourage others to contribute.
- Appreciate the other person’s point of view.
- Enter into the discussion enthusiastically.
- Feel free to ask questions.
- Follow established timeframes.
- Give freely of your experience.
- Keep confidences and assume others will.
- Listen attentively.
- Practice learned skills.
- Provide constructive feedback and receive it willingly.
These groundrules aren’t rocket science. The rules are common courtesy, just gentle reminders of social graces.
I couldn’t help but notice how similar these rules are to the rules we give preschoolers. All right, they’re worded differently, for us grownups. But they are preschool rules nonetheless.
It’s refreshing to be reminded, as adults, of the things we first learned as kids.
So, with a tip of my hat to all those preschool teachers and parents, here are VSP’s ten ground rules for training participants, grouped under the three rules for preschoolers.
“Share.”
- Give freely of your experience.
- Allow and encourage others to contribute.
- Feel free to ask questions.
“Play nicely.”
- Appreciate the other person’s point of view.
- Provide constructive feedback and receive it willingly.
- Keep confidences and assume others will.
“Do what I say.”
- Practice learned skills.
- Follow established timeframes.
- Enter into the discussion enthusiastically.
- Listen attentively.
Hm, now that I see these ten rules in this new light, maybe we should just use these three?
What I need are some tips on not going ballistic when receiving constructive criticism. Sometimes I lie and tell people they are fabulous in hopes they will do the same for me. Although I guess that is not very constructive, or critical for that matter. These are great guidelines for conduct. My anger management mentor is always telling people how important it is to play nice and share.
It’s good to play nice. : )
[...] the ten groundrules for participants, and see how the simple geewhizkid brain translated them into three rules for preschoolers. (simplified on [...]
Studdavich, thanks for your comment about constructive criticism. As a writer, I expose my work to constructive criticism from editors, peer reviewers, and of course my readers. To succeed, I try to remember their criticism is only meant to help me, and I try to separate the intent of the words from the speaker.
If I am asked to GIVE constructive criticism to someone, I put my other hat on. I try to look at the big picture and only share suggestions to improve that bigger picture.
If you search for “how to handle constructive criticism,” you’ll find reputable professionals who can answer this one with more authority than I have. Best of luck!