Current Workshop Success!
My heart is full as I write today’s blog. I’ve in the midst of executing my 5-week workshop “Preserving Your Family Narrative” in Westminster. My workshop attendees are lively and engaged; I couldn’t have hoped for more warm and genuine people who are encouraging each other to share their life stories! 
As we wrestle with what to focus on in their stories, and what memorabilia to
include, we talk about not only organizing timeline facts, but telling what really matters – conveying passions, values, hardships overcome and wisdom to share.
My Super Training Memory
This reminds me of a memorable workshop where I was the attendee. The topic was improvisation. Most of the students felt like they were not born with the improv gene, and started out feeling shy and quiet. But the trainer soon had us all up and moving about together in a human train;
holding onto each other’s shoulders, following the leader as she slowly jogged us around the outside edges of the room to some musical beat. Our leader then yelled out the starting sentences to a story using just a few sentences.
The rules were:
- Keep the train moving
- Each person, in turn, yell out an additional sentence to the story
- You must yell out your sentence within 3 jogs (steps) of when the last sentence was completed.
- Your sentence must begin with the phrase : “Yes! And….”
We had to concentrate on moving and to the content of the person’s sentence in front of us. We had to yell out our own sentence, and having the time constraint made the outcome hilarious!
The Take-Away
The exercise proved many things to us. One of which was that we could all do improv, even when we thought we couldn’t. Another was showing us the power of the word “Yes”. It got to be a pretty wild and convoluted tale by the end of the line, but absolutely everyone was smiling! What I’ll never forget is the feeling of positivity, the laughter, and feeling of empowerment that I shared with all those perfect strangers. I believe these feelings bled over into many areas of my life where I was able to face new challenges with a positive outlook, humor, and faith that things would work out.
What’s Your Best Training Experience?
Have you ever attended a talk or workshop that really left an impression on you? What feelings did you take away? Were you motivated to take any action when you felt that way? What was the best training you ever experienced, and who was your teacher? Add your story in the comments field below.