Good for

Creating a positive state of mind, as it allows participants to focus on the good things about their role in the organization and more broadly and personally about the way they view their role in life.

Length

Allow each person in the group two minutes each for this exercise. You may also wish to contribute yourself as a trainer, if appropriate and if you feel it will benefit the group and the training process.

You will need

Just the training participants, and the ability to create a positive environment for people to gain the most from this exercise.

Instructions

This exercise is very simple, ask participants to introduce themselves to each other, and ask them to include one or all of the following:-

• The best thing about my job
• The best thing about my company
• The best thing about working with customers
• The best thing that’s happened to me in the last week ( you set the time-frame)

You may be concerned that some people may not have anything positive to say. Here are some tips to help you

• Model how you want them to talk about “the best thing” – You are showing them how it’s is done

• If you have any idea who might be the negative people make sure they speak later. In group situations there is quite a bit of pressure on us to conform to what goes before us, so this will reduce negativity

• Welcome it! As a trainer one of the benefits of the introductions is that you are starting to build relationships with your participants. If someone is negative, and you understand that from the beginning you can work with that. Don’t let it disrupt the group, but do acknowledge how they are feeling.

Trainer Tip - you can use a variation of this as an energiser. If you feel energy dipping ask them to think about of "the best things" on the list above.