A great deal of planning goes into a successful leadership training retreat. Travel, lodging, food, agendas, content, etc. Isn’t it a shame when after all that planning the audience shows up and doesn’t seem to really care about what they are learning?

Quite often, the problem is that the group isn’t clear on *why* they should care. This isn’t their fault; it’s the fault of the presenters.

To make sure this doesn’t happen to you, follow the five simple steps below at the start of your next presentation or retreat. The whole process can be done in about ten minutes, and will go a long way to making your next retreat great!

1) Don’t *Tell* Them the Benefits (Yet) - The temptation is to start off by rattling off a list of benefits that you know the group will get from the retreat. This is a good way to get the group to zone out. Don’t tell them the benefits; that comes later.

2) Start by Having Them Think of the Benefits Themselves - Give a very quick overview of the topic you will be talking about (teamwork, sales, leadership, etc.) and then have the group as individuals take one minute to quickly jot down whatever benefits they think they will get by learning those skills.

3) Have Them Share In Pairs or Small Groups - Now give them a couple of minutes to share what they wrote down with others in the group in the form of pairs for smaller audiences or small groups for bigger audiences. They can also move around into different pairs and groups. Encourage them to add additional good benefits they come across to their list.

4) Collect Ideas in a Big Group - Bring the group back together and have people call out things they have written down. If appropriate, write down every unique benefit onto a flip chart or wipe board

5) Now Tell Them - Now is the time to tell them any additional benefits that you may know that the group hasn’t called out yet. This is your chance to “fill in the gaps.”

This simple five step process is a great way to start of your next retreat presentation. By starting this way, you accomplish the following things:

1) You Get the Group Moving and Participating - Starting this way gets blood flowing both in the body and mind. You are, in essence, “warming up” your team.

2) Opens up Their Minds - By having them share, they realize additional benefits from your session that they may never have thought of. Since the ideas are coming not from you but rather from their colleagues, they will be more open to them.

3) Tells Them Right Away Why They Should Care - Whether you are presenting for 20 minutes or a whole day, you need the group to care about what you are presenting. By starting this way, you give them a large list of reasons, in their own words, as to why they should care, right up front.

4) Gets Them Interacting With Each Other - Retreats often involve bringing people together who work in different offices and who don’t know each other. The interactive nature of this opening gets these different people to meet and interact with each other. These simple connections will pay off in greater cross-office teamwork after the retreat ends.

5) Creates a Safe Environment - By starting with solo brainstorming, then building to pairs or small groups, and then moving to having people call out their ideas, you remove the need for anyone to “stick their neck out.” Right or wrong, no one wants to be the “teacher’s pet,” and groups are very hesitant to participate at the start of a presentation or retreat. This building-up approach breaks down the walls and makes it safe for people to participate.

These techniques will work well for any interactive training, but are especially useful for training retreats, The next time you have to present at a retreat, use this five step process and get your audience on your side from the very beginning!

For more information on how to make your next training retreat a resounding success, visit http://www.MakeMyRetreatGreat.com

Avish Parashar is a professional speaker who works with organizations who struggle with rigid managers and staff and who would like their people to be more nimble and flexible on the job and open to opportunities to grow the business.

Avish specializes in delivering interactive, fun, and relevant workshops for retreats.

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