Change Of Habit Course Closure Exercise

Brief Description/Purpose

It's important that at the end of the course, participants understand that whatever they "learned", must be practiced after the course, and that they must replace the old habits with the new habits. That's what this exercise is for.

Type

Whole Group

Age Appropriate

Teens, Adults

Ideal Group Size

Any size from small to huge sized groups since this is an individual exercise.

Time For Exercise

10-15 minutes

Topic/Subject

Closure, Applying seminar learning

Detailed Instructions If Needed

Request that each person have a pen and paper ready. e.g. "Please pick up your pen, and when I say go, sign your regular signature". Then say go.

After they have finished, ask them to again get ready for the next task: "When I say go, sign your regular signature but this time drop out every second letter. Ok. GO."

There is usually some buzz, laughter, etc., as people struggle with disrupting the old habit, and starting a new one.

Debrief:

Explain that the sum of small habits results in the performance of excellent skills. Changing habits is at first difficult but becomes easier with practice.

Discuss what habits trainees need to introduce into their daily work routines to learn the skills from the course.

Suggest attendees focus on two or three things to change.

Make sure to suggest that it can take 2-6 weeks for the old habit to at least partially die out, and the new one to become dominant.