This document provides tips and guidance for effectively training a group. It discusses setting up the training room, using audiovisual tools, greeting trainees, welcoming them and stating the purpose. It also covers creating an agenda, establishing ground rules, introducing trainees, scheduling breaks and energizers. Specific tips are provided for each element, such as making the room larger than needed, using flipcharts instead of PowerPoint, greeting trainees individually with eye contact and a smile. Sample icebreakers and energizers are described, such as a group drawing activity where trainees draw a picture about themselves and share it. The document emphasizes preparing content well in advance, rehearsing, maintaining engagement through movement and gestures, and thoroughly answering questions from trainees.

1. 1
Train The Trainer:
How To Train A Group
on Relay Stuff (Or Anything,
Really)
Pennsylvania Division Task Force Training
August 2002

2. 2
Stuff Good Trainers Do
• Set Up The Room Right! 
• Use The Right Audiovisual Stuff
• Greet Trainees
• Formally Welcome Everyone
• State the Purpose of The Training
• Prepare and Cover An Agenda
• Create and Follow Groundrules
• Introduce Trainees To One Another
• Schedule Breaks and Energizers And Take Them
• Use A Parking Lot
• Prepare and Know Your Content
• Answer Questions Well

3. 3
How To: Rooms
• Twice As Big As You Think
• COLD!
– You’ll Get Hot Otherwise
– You Can’t Please Everybody :-)
• No Podium
• Have Music Playing (Popular, Upbeat)
• Use Color Liberally with AV
• Use Your Walls: Immerse Your Audience
• Couches (I Dare You) or Theater Style

4. 4
How To: Audio Visual
• Use PowerPoint Only For:
– Note Handouts (2 or 3 per page)
– > 60 Attendees (Which Is NOT Training, By the Way)
– [It’s Too Passive]
• Use Flip Charts
– It’s A LOT More Work
– But Appears More Accessible
– You Can Modify Them Easily and Immediately
– They Don’t Have Technical Glitches 

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How To Greet
• Outside Your Room
• In Advance
• Make Eye Contact With Each Attendee
• Smile! :-)
• Shake Hands
• Step Forward Quickly
• Eyebrows Up
• Your Name
• Their Name

6. 6
How To Welcome
• From The Power Position
• A 5-Minute Item
• Feet Planted: Stand Still
• Eye Contact
• Smile
• Achieve Quiet
• Raise Your Voice and Brows
• Large Gestures
• Use Emotional Verbs and Adjectives
– “Excited”, “Different”, “Friendly Faces”
– “Fun”, “New Friends”, “Important”

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How To: Purpose
• Post It To Stay For The Whole Session
• A 5-Minute Item
• Move To It / Stand By It
• Use Your “Back” Hand
• Rephrase It
– “Why We’re Here…”
– “ Your Acid Test…”
– “Our Goal”
– “Our Aiming Point”

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How To: Agenda
• A 10-Minute Item
• Stays Posted (By A Clock!)
• Cover Every Item
• Discuss What and BRIEFLY Why
• Use Your Backhand!
• Sell It With Emotional Words
– “Fun”, “Surprise you…”
– “Easy”, “Challenging Stuff!”
– “New”
– “Valuable”

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How To: Groundrules
• Why: Better Expectations
• Have a Top-Labeled and Blank Flip Chart Made
• First Significant Interaction
• Reward Any Responses!
– “Thank You!” “Good!” “That makes sense”
– “Great!” “Sure!” “You bet” “Right!”
• You Act As Scribe & Let Them Lead
• Beg and Cajole, But Don’t Do It For Them
• Have Your Own
– Fun Parking Lot 1 At A Time Respect
– On Time On Agenda Open Minded Attend!

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How To: Icebreakers
• Why
– Get To Know, Create A Bond, Increase Emotional
Openness
• Have One PLANNED
• 3 Minutes Per Attendee On Agenda
• NEVER Shorten (You May Need to Go First)
• “I’m Bob…” [Response: “Hi, Bob!”]
• Puts Each In The Spotlight
• All Get Applauded (You May Need to Lead)
• Write Out Your Instructions

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How To: Breaks
• 1 Per Hour! (W/ Energizers)
– A.M. = 1B/1E
– P.M. = 1B/2E
– Between 10 and 20 Minutes (10 is Really Best)
• Encourage Movement - Get ‘Em Up
• State The Return Time
• START From Power Position
• Make Unscheduled Breaks Okay Also

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How To: Energizers
• Why: Positively Impact Break Times
– Increase Emotional Content
• Rehearse Your Wording
• Plan On More Than 10 Minutes
• Noise Is Better
• From The Power Position
• Raise Your Voice (and Brows)!
– More Gestures and Bigger
– Smile “C’Mon!!”

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Use A Parking Lot
• For Off-Agenda Issues
• Post It Visibly
• All Can Post To It - Don’t Need Approval
• Must Cover At the End
– Could Table
– Cover Quickly
– Maybe It’s Moot (Very Likely)
• [Or Use A Toy Horse and Gavel] /

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How To: Content Tips
• Elvis, Henry VIII, Richard Petty, and Content!!!
• Be Ready to Go As Many Days in Advance as Hours
You Will Be On the Podium
• Rehearse!!!
– On-Site
– Video or Friend
• Don’t Fill In For Someone Else!
• Focus On DO, Not Be
– Can You Hear, See, Touch or Measure it?
– What Words Do I Say? What Facial Expression?
– What Body Language? How Many Minutes?

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How To: Delivery
• Your “Style” is Almost Not Relevant - Sorry
• Move Side To Side
• Use Your Center Aisle
• Gestures Outside Your Body
• Tonal Changes: It’s Not Just Cheerleading
• You Should Be Tired
• Use Names

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How To: Be Vs. Do
• “Greet your class
warmly and
enthusiastically, with
high energy”
• Smile
• Make Eye Contact
• Stand Up Tall
• Step Forward Quickly
• Shake Hands
• Raise Your Eyebrows
• Say Your Name
• Use Their Name

17. 17
How To: Questions 1
• How To Answer Questions
– First, Encourage Them
– Stop! And Smile
– Move And Gesture Toward Them And Say “Yes!?”
– Maintain Eye Contact
– Lower Your Hands +++
– Keep Smiling
– Make A Gesture of Acceptance
• Like Catching A Medicine Ball
• Lowered Hands
• Bring Them Toward Your Body
– Say Thank You and Validate The Question
• “Sure, that’s a good point…”
• “Great point!”
• Glad you asked!”

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How To: Questions 2
• How To Answer Questions
– Back Away
– [Perhaps Allow The Audience To Try it First]
– Direct Your Answer To All With Eye Contact
– Re-establish Eye Contact with Questioner*
– Ask If The Question Was Answered*
– Move On (It’s Okay to Ask Where You Were)

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Extra Slides Follow

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Icebreakers and Energizers
• There are too many icebreakers to give you all of them. I have
captured here a couple of my favorites, that work with all groups no
matter what.
• After the Energizers section, I have listed several books that have
hundreds and hundreds of them.

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Icebreakers and Energizers
• Icebreaker: For groups of 5-15. You need 20 minutes minimum, 30 minutes is
better for beginners. Give each person a magic marker (have enough if it kills
you) and a piece of flip chart paper. Tell all that they have 3 minutes to “draw a
picture of some aspect of their life or their career that says something about
them.” [Might be a picture of them and their family (you’ll get lots of stick
figures), their house, their animals. But it works best if you don’t give them
suggestions!!! “Then, below the picture, write your full name, you role, and one
thing nobody here knows about you.” DO NOT TOLERATE PEOPLE SAYING
THEY ARE NOT ARTISTS. RESPOND WITH A SMILE AND: “NEITHER AM I,
DOESN’T MATTER, YOU GOTTA DO IT.” At this point, any such comments
are a power play, not a true concern about their art ability.
Give them a one minute warning. Then, ask each person to get in front of the
group, help them tape up their paper, and introduce themselves to the group,
describing their picture, their role, and their “secret”.
Be ready to help them take down their paper and whatever you do don’t dispose
of it: tape it up on one of the empty walls.
Clap for each person as they finish!!!!!!!

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Icebreakers and Energizers
• 1. GROUP KNOT: I use this one to show that it is hard to predict how things are going to turn out some
times. Ask the group to see if they can figure out what formation they will be in when they untangle
themselves (once you have them formed up and before you let them start untangling.)
• minimum of 5 per group, 6-8 is better. have each group form a circle. You don't participate if you are
facilitating (which is always a good rule). Tell each person to "reach across the group with your right hand
and grab the right hand of one of the people across from them. Then tell them to "now reach across with
your left hand and grab SOMEONE ELSE'S (a different person that the first person you grabbed) left hand. It
is not critical that the person be ACROSS from you on this pairing, you could clasp left hands with the
person right next to you." (NO MATTER WHAT YOU ARE TOLD, IT IS POSSIBLE AND WORKS).
• Then, tell them to "check to make sure that you do have a chain that you can trace from one person,
following hands and arms, all the way around the circle." This avoids you having 2 smaller circles because 2
people grabbed both of each other's hands and no one else's (they messed up that second step.).
• Now tell them: "Without unclasping hands in any way, untangle yourselves so that no one's arms are
crossed over another's, AND NO ONE'S OWN ARMS ARE CROSSED ACROSS THEIR OWN BODY."
Remember; "DON'T BREAK HANDS!!"
• They will end up in a circle with every other person facing out and every other person facing in. It IS a circle,
but perhaps not one they expected.

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Icebreakers and Energizers
• 2. SNAKE: Again, use this for showing that the future is hard to know for certain...It approximates a
snake eating itself starting with its tail.
• Form 2 groups (many energizers are better with some competition, particularly among more senior
people), with no less than 6 people. If you have 11 people, put all 11 in group, because more in a
group makes it better/harder. have them "form a circle, facing inward, clasping hands wit the person
next to you." (Start now trying to give all of these directions all at the same time, rather than waiting
until they reach a point to tell them what to do just when they need it) Then choose a "leader", and
break the circle to his/her right (have him/her let go of the hand of the person to hi/her right). Now
ask the leader to "turn to your left and stand directly in front of the person you are still holding hands
with (the person to their left)" They should be facing on another directly. Now have the leader "move
to your RIGHT, around the inside of the circle, pulling the rest of the circle with you as you go. When
you get to where there are no more people in front of you (you have passed the last person in your
circle), continue in a circular direction. STOP WHEN THE REST OF THE PEOPLE IN YOUR CIRCLE
ALSO HAVE NO OTHER PEOPLE IN FRONT OF THEM; THE SNAKE HAS RUN OUT OF ITSELF TO
EAT. Now the leader should be next to the person they had broken hands with at the very beginning,
and they should RECLASP HANDS WITH THAT PERSON, CLOSING THE CIRCLE. AND, WITHOUT
LETTING GO OF EACH OTHER'S HANDS, REFORM THE CIRCLE WITH EVERY ONE FACING EACH
OTHER." [they will end up facing one another but with all of their arms crossed in front of them.]

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Icebreakers and Energizers
• 3.. TRIVIA QUIZ. (my favorites): Choose any of these. Put some money on the outcome.
• What is the largest singular (one company), non-military office building in the world? USAA, San
Antonio, TX
• What is the last line of the movie Gone with the Wind? I'll think about that tomorrow. or Tomorrow is
another day. NOT “Frankly my dear…”
• What is a Terabyte? A thousand gigabytes (a gigabyte is a thousand megabytes).
• Where is the southernmost point in the U.S.? Ka Lae, Island of Hawaii (in the state of Hawaii).
• What is the connection between Dracula and Frankenstein? They were each written as part of a bet
made by the 2 authors, Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker, on who could write a better horror novel, neither
of them having ever written horror.
• What is the best-selling business book of all time? Iacocca, by Lee Iacocca.
• If you head due south from Detroit what is the first foreign country you come to? Canada.
• What state has the most counties? Georgia (all county seats are no more than a round trip day’s
carriage ride from any point in the county).
• What are the THREE rules for Leap Years? 1. All years divisible by four; 2. Except for century years
(1900); 3. Unless the century year itself is divisible by four (e.g., 2000).
• The eastern end of the Panama Canal empties into what body of water? Pacific Ocean (everybody
tries to figure out whether to guess Atlantic or Caribbean, but the canal runs Northwest to Southeast
because of how the isthmus of Panama is)

25. 25
Icebreakers and Energizers
• ANOTHER TRIVIA QUIZ
• Who wrote Wizard of Oz? L Frank Baum.
• What book begins with, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times? A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles
Dickens
• What is the name of the bar in Casablanca? Rick's, or more precisely Rick’s Café Americain, (after
Bogey's character Rick).
• What is the average number of computer chips in a new car? About 75.
• What character said, "Play it again, Sam.” No one. It was NEVER said during Casablanca.
• What company's computers were featured in Jurassic Park? Silicon Graphics.
• What is Darth Vader's given name? Annikin Skywalker.
• Who said, If you build it, he will come? The Voice, played by Himself, (this is how it appears in the credits)
in the greatest movie of all time, Field of Dreams.
• What "comes on little cat's feet"? Fog (in a poem Fog, by Carl Sandburg)
• What 2 brothers in Major League Baseball have the highest combined home run total? Hank Aaron and
his brother Tommy, who hit 13. Winning total therefore is 755 plus 13, or 768.

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Icebreakers and Energizers
• 4. STAR CHALLENGE: Good for groups of 5 or more, really need 5 to make it work. If you have 12 people, make two groups of 6,
or one of 5 and one of 6. DON'T have a group with less than five. If that is the case, just make one BIG group (it is harder and
more fun with more people.
• Get a rope about 30 feet long. One rope per team, so you nay need two ropes! A 25 footer would be okay. Tie the ends together to
make it a circle. Lay the rope on the floor as a circle. Have the team stand around the outside of the rope. Tell them you are going
to give them the instructions explaining the game all at once, and then they are going to start. THEY CAN'T PICK UPI THE ROPE
UNTIL YOU FINISH GIVING INSTRUCTIONS.
• The instructions are that each team member is supposed to pick up the rope simultaneously (not yet, not yet!) so that everyone is
holding the rope at waist level with both hands. ONCE THEY PICK UP THE ROPE, THEY CANNOT LET GO OF THE ROPE WITH
EITHER HAND AT ANY TIME, NO MATTER WHAT. [don't touch the rope yet!!!] And while it follows naturally if they can't let go of
the rope, still tell them that YOU CAN'T SWITCH PLACES WITH ANYONE AT ANY TIME. (they'd have to let go to do that, but they
will probably ask anyway, don't ask me why)
• Once they have grabbed the rope, they are then to turn the circle that the rope is forming into a five pointed star. They can't just
"pinch the sides in", they actually have to have the rope crossing itself to make the star. See the next slide for a picture.

27. 27
Icebreakers and Energizers

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• The Big Book of Presentation Games- John Newstrom and Edward Scannell
• Feeding the Zircon Gorilla-Sam Sikes - Many of my favorites are in here. Also,
many of these require more elaborate set up
• The Big Book of Business Games- John Newstrom and Edward Scannell
• 201 Icebreakers, Group Mixers, Warm Ups, …- Edie West
• Games Trainers Play- Newstrom and Scannell
• More Games Trainers Play- Newstrom and Scannell
• Still More Games Trainers Play- Newstrom and Scannell (these do become
repetitive after awhile, where you can figure out on your own the small
changes they make to come up with “new” stuff. But still full of stuff you can
use!
Icebreaker and Energizer Books