The first book I co-authored in the team building field was A Teachable Moment with Jennifer Stanchfield and Jim Cain. It was the first book of its kind that truly focused solely on activities for processing and debriefing. There were a few other books that focused on the philosophy of debriefing and theories on 'the why', but this was the first book that had over 120 activities on how to effectively get participants to reflect on their experiences.

This book came out in 2004 (gasp!?), and I have learned and grown so much as a writer and professional since then. This week Chris Cavert and I got together to record a new podcast episode, and we focused on Tales and Tips for Training Team Builders. One thing I highlight in this episode is a change to my writing style since A Teachable Moment came out. Most all traditional team-building books that have been written give bullet-point directions on how to facilitate the activity. What I have found in my experience as a trainer of trainers is that many people struggle with translating the bullet-pointed directions into facilitator speech. Especially new facilitators that have not ever seen or played the activity. What I do differently now, and will for the rest of my days as a writer of team-building books, is to not only include the bullet-point directions but also include a Facilitator Script. This will be a full paragraph of how the directions should (or could) be said when standing in front of a group. The intent of this is for you to hear it in a facilitator's voice to help set you up for success. It's not done with the intent for you to parrot back every word I say. That's definitely NOT it, especially since every activity out there could be tweaked and changed to fit your unique group's needs. It's intended for you to view it through a facilitator lens and help you to 'see it' as your participants will experience it.

What I have found is the transfer of knowledge is so much higher with this added step, and the feedback I get from facilitators is resoundingly positive. My newest book, Team Building From the Toy Aisle is written this way, as well as my Experiential Facilitation 101 facilitator guide that comes with registration to the course. Any book I write in the future will also be written in this style, and I will be slowly-but-surely be updating all of my activity sheets that go out with any props and activities purchased from our Online Store at Training Wheels.

Give this episode a listen to hear additional Tips for Training Team Builders!