I am coming to the end of a two-year stint as chairman of the Richmond Group, a networking and self-help group of independent management consultants. We meet on Saturday mornings (six times a year) so people can be a little lethargic first thing. I have always hated those ‘talk-to-the-person-next-to-you-and-find-three-things-they-like’ exercises so beloved of trainers and came up with the idea of using a mini pub quiz. The room is usually laid out conference-style with tables of six or so and I set three or four brief quiz-type questions and give about five minutes for each table to come to a collective answer. The questions need to match the audience (no pop music or soap opera questions for this lot) and be ones that can be debated round the table.
The technique is well received and gets everyone up to speed in a light-hearted way. I look forward to finding an opportunity to use the technique more widely. For example, beginning a seminar or focus group with a quiz in which attendees have to come to agreed answers to a set of factual questions about the day’s topic seems a possibility.
Posted by Frank Hobson 