Responding to reluctant participants...

Community members share their experiences of dealing with particpants who are reluctant to take part.

This discussion took place at our Yahoo Group - a great place to find out more about Improv in Business.

Jennifer Atieno: I'd like to hear from the group: what is a good response to "Certain people will just REFUSE to participate in this type of activity." I'm pitching action methods to a group of facilitators and am anticipating...

David Matthew Prior: 1 Ask them “Why would they refuse?” Then design an improvisation exercise that addresses the answer that you get, or an exercise that celebrates refusal and resistance.

2 Say, “Good point”. Context it as cutting edge training that is only designed for advanced level groups.

3 Investigate the anticipatory “refusal to participate” as an opportunity for coaching facilitators around fear.

4 DO the exercise you are talking about with the facilitators you are pitching to. See what happens…

5 Let the refusers opt out of the exercise, make them observers of the exercise, and then let them know that you will be calling on them after the exercise to give observational feedback to the group. They stay involved and are on the line, without being made wrong

Judi Piggott: Without knowing more of the specifics, my response may be off the mark, but I will give it to you anyway!

In corporate training, we often get people who have been 'sent' to the training (who don't really want to be there, or resent the idea that they need training) or who come to get away from their desk but are not really 'there' with you. If you don't try to force those folks, sometimes the point can be made anyway and all the learning can be had by those that participate or those who observe.

Many people who are functioning in structured environments are deeply wounded, and when put in instructured or unusual situations become deeply anxious. They do not want to be exposed to ridicule or put in a situation they cannot control (oh yeah, those 'trust' issues). What seems like safe fun for us is highly threatening. They may even try to spoil it for everyone else by making comments that denigrate those who are willing to 'play games'. Treat their fear with respect, but don't let it derail your training.

Be prepared to facilitate a group discussion to uncover the real issues if that is appropriate. And make sure you know why you are doing the exercise and how effective it is in achieving the learning goals, and be prepared to explain that. When people know that there is a substantive purpose behind the exercise, they are more willing to try.

I find that if you make it OK and safe to refuse, understanding that many people in business are very careful about what they are willing to reveal about themselves and for good reason, you may actually get them to participate at some level. At least they may not be seething with resentment and fear, or sabotaging everything you try to do. Try easy things first to warm them up to it.

Remember that when people come to improv shows and get hauled up on stage or asked to participate, they kind of know that might happen. In business training and even corporate events that are supposed to be 'fun', you have a very different kind of participant. Find a way to put the 'refusers' in charge of something they can do (and might seem like the lesser of two evils), such as 'stage management' or 'props' and often they will start to engage. On the periphery, they can still learn something.

However, most groups have folks who are willing to take risks, have some experience, or are just extroverted. Get them to help model the exercise and how useful and fun it is....

Michael Rosenberg: I have never had that problem. Out of over 1500 people I have facilitated for, only 1 person would not do 1 exercise. The reason: You have to a) slowly move them out of their comfort zones; b) create a safe environment; c) give them a context for the exercise. If you don't know your 'stuff' cold (i.e. the debriefs for everything are not right on), people react negatively. The problem with a lot of people - and this goes back to my original conversation with Alain and Paul 2 years ago - is that many facilitators have people do difficult (i.e. embarrassing) exercises right up front (before trust is built) and have not fully thought out the reasons why (i.e. the debrief) ahead of time. Then people simply get pissed off. Learning comes not from succeeding or failing - it comes from debriefing!

Alain Rostain: Jennifer, I would concur with Michael. Out of >100 sessions and thousands of participants, only 1 has ever not participated in an activity. And all of Michael's points are right on. I would add a couple of things. When I do an exercise that has less of a point (energize, for example), I make that clear up front. I also often let participants know, in advance, that they might feel silly or weird doing an exercise, and that that's OK. Also, by modeling making mistakes gracefully, I give them permission to do the same.

Ultimately, with confidence and in a relaxed way, I tell potential clients "I have tons of experience and that it's very likely everyone will participate. I'm good at making that happen. And if someone doesn't participate, that'll be OK" and they trust me. And the concern doesn't come up very often any more.

Judi Piggott: Oh, as if I didn't have enough to say already! I just wanted to add that in my program (SEARCH: an employment assistance program for artists and other cultural workers) the sessions are delivered by past participants who are facilitators and come from all kinds of artistic disciplines. Those who are actors occasionally make the mistake of making a session like an acting class (lost of risky work right up front) because that is what they are used to. It really backfires because it shuts down the folks who are visual artists or writers, not used to being much in a group, let alone have such in-your-face challenges.

Obviously, when theatre people want to make the transition to use their skills in the training realm (corporate or otherwise), they need some professional development to help them understand their own mindset and assumptions, and prepare for that of the participant group.

Hey, this is fun! I get to blah blah blah, and you get to choose whether you want to listen or not.

Katherine Lawrence: I'm no expert in this, but at the last Improv in Business Summit, Izzy Gesell made the wonderful point that the best way to alleviate fear (and resistance) is to tell everyone at the start, "You don't have to participate," or "I don't care if you participate." But the catch is twofold: (1) You have to be prepared if no one participates (but aren't we improvisers ourselves?) and (2) you must help the first volunteer to look and feel good, as he/she is the proxy for the rest of the group. If no one volunteers, you can explore this by taking a moment to ask/discuss why no one wanted to volunteer--this teaches the participants that the point of the class is to investigate their thinking, not to be embarrassed.

Personally, for the few workshops I have done, I have focused in the beginning on warm ups and exercises that were less physical and more verbal/cerebral, in keeping with the audience I had. I did a warm up like having a group count to 20 without visible coordination (I don't know the name of this exercise, but they have to start over if two people say a number at the same time). This gets everyone laughing and it is very non-threatening. They also start out the exercises feeling successful (most of the time). As a first game/exercise, the word-at-a-time story is easily demonstrated with a few bolder volunteers, and then I have the rest of the audience do it in small groups. They are not worried if they are only "performing" for a few people in their group, and most people consider themselves good enough at talking/telling a story.

Izzy Gesell: When the subject of "what if they don't/won't/haven't ever participated" comes up I reassure the buyer that the ones who won't participate don't have to. The activity is aimed at bringing out ways to address the issues that I am being brought in for, not for getting people to participate in that activity. Even if no one participates at first, the discussion goes to "what is keeping you from participating."

I also often play a game with the buyer, even on the phone so they see how it works.

Of course, this method mandates you understand why you are using any particular activity.

Even in cases where there is a great lag in volunteer participation...eventually someone steps up..if only to "get it over with"

Gary Schwartz: The fear of being judged or self judging is the biggest obstacle. Even promising not to judge them sets you up as judge who's willing to hold back judgment.
When coming up with this kind of resistance, ask if they would participate as audience players. If this is a series of workshops you'll find the most resistant player when viewing what Improv actually is vs. what they think it is will not feel so terrified and most likely join in after a while.
Confronting the fear in a counseling session or with verbal assurances is much less effective than having the player decide after watching the fun to join in. Then when they do join, it is of their own free will and they will feel much freer to participate fully. If they do not join in, they will contribute by their presence and they will enjoy watching others and will most certainly provide some suggestions if asked. On that level, they will be audience players and thus part of the process.

Bev Knox: THANKS to all for taking the time to share your insights. I’m a resounding and appreciative YES! to everything that’s been put forward so far.

In the true “yes and” spirit of improv, here’s my “and”:

In my work delivering experiential leadership and coach training workshops, one thing I’ve learned (via The School of Hard Knox) <wink> is the importance of my own mindset/belief system right from the get-go. For example, when I approach a selling and/or facilitation situation with an unconscious belief that “this could be hard and there may be resistors”, then…. Voila, resistance often shows up. Of course, when I walk in with the true mindset “this is fun and easy and they’ll love it”, then they usually do!! I know this sounds simplistic, however I’ve proven it to myself far too many times.

Another quick point…

Last year, I designed and delivered a leadership training program for top execs of a large investment bank in New York. The sessions were experiential in nature and based on improv and coaching principles/techniques. I used a circle-up improv game as an icebreaker to get them out of their chairs and out of their heads as well as direct their attention to “being present”. I introduced the opening exercise as one of the games Improv Actors use for warm up purposes before going on stage. This remark garnered immediate credibility, smiles and an “ok let’s go” attitude among participants.

Jennifer Atieno: Thanks to everyone who responded! The exercise went well. I led a warm-up for an all day meeting. A bit of empty chair and sociometry. No one asked the question I was warned to be prepared for -- "This won't work with my German clients."