3 Great Seminar Endings

How Difficult is it to change

This exercise can and does work with groups ranging from 6 to 600 and is an excellent way of driving home the point that changing is difficult. It is used to encourage seminar participants to take action and make some changes that will affect their lives. Many speakers use words to say this point but this exercise proves the point with action.
Ask the group to pair off male to male and female to female and find some space around the floor. Once they are ready, and this can take some time, announce the instructions. With a very large audience, you may wish to put the instructions on a slide.

Ask them to choose 2 items of clothing or accessories and swap them with the other person. Initially people will be reticent but most will soon get into the spirit.

Once the noise dies down ask the group how difficult it was to change. Encourage feedback if you have a small enough group or announce the difficulties if you have a large group. People will all agree that changing is a challenge.

Make your point now that as a result of the seminar you have been learning many things and it’s important to take action and change the way you act or perform to ensure all the valuable things you’ve learnt are put into practise.

Now carefully ask them to take their seats again. You will notice that virtually everyone will re-exchange their items with the other person before they sit down.

When everyone is comfortable, ask them why they returned their items to the other person, since strictly speaking you didn’t ask them to do so. People will be a little embarrassed and now you should make the point that change can be done but it is very easy to go back to the way things always were. We must ensure that any change we make continues and becomes second nature, like wearing your own clothes.

A neat exercise that will take about 10 minutes depending on the size of your group.

Who Wants the Tenner

This is a very simple exercise that’ll last a few minutes, if that, but has an incredible effect.

Towards the end of your seminar, hand up a £10 note (or fiver if it’s close to pay-day). Ask the question carefully, “who wants this tenner?” Your audience will all put up their hands politely and occasionally someone will walk up towards you and take it.
Occasionally you have to encourage people to take it since it’s polite not to and most people are polite.

Once someone has taken the tenner, applaud this person as they have taken action. Sometimes we literally have to get off our bottoms and make the changes that will affect our lives. Nobody else will do it for you and results don’t come on a platter. Waiting and sitting doesn’t always get you results.

I have occasionally colour photocopied a ten pound note and this works really well as most people can’t see the detail. However the person who grabs it will be a little cheesed off. By the way it is illegal to photocopy money so be careful!

The 7 Day Sprint

This is a slight variation on our traditional action planning that most of us do at the end of seminars but is rather clever.

Draw on a flipchart or whiteboard a box with 6 boxes within.

Ask the group to re-create this shape in their workbook or piece of paper. You are going to give them a 7 day sprint and they must complete each box during the next 7 days.
Now start putting the headings for each box. The headings can vary according to the programme you are running. For sales you might use:

Prospecting
Selling more
Social
Family
Me
Contact

As you write each one on the board, explain further what they need to write in the box. Prospecting here would mean that they need to write an idea in the box which will get them a new customer, social would be one thing they’re going to do socially, family is one hour of quality time with the whole family, me could be one thing that you’re going to do personally, contact could be one person they have lost touch with, to get back in contact. No regrets just get back in contact.

Here’s a finished example:

Further explain that they need to complete each box in a week i.e. 7 days. After the first week, they can change the headings if they wish, or continue with a fresh box.
People have all commented to me how motivational this has been for them. Encourage your group to do this and take it forward in their lives so they can benefit from positive action.

Paul is an international sales speaker, sales trainer, author and coach based in the UK.

He specialises in rapport selling and rapport coaching and can ignite his audiences large or small.

Sign up to my weekly eZine of sales and coaching tips and get a free report on getting the best out of 2009 plus a free hypnotic relaxation MP3 to download. www.archertraining.co.uk

01452 730276

paul@paularcher.com

Blog – www.paularcher.com

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