Praise for Jolts! "Only Thiagi and his co-author, Tracy, could have devised a list of 50 magical learning moments that are concise and certain to JOLT learners into new perspectives and profound insights. If you facilitate group learning or change management, you won't want to miss this one!"
—Elaine Biech, author of Business of Consulting and Training for Dummies
"Give your training sessions a jump start with Jolt activities in less than 5 minutes. These easy-to-use creative techniques help learners gain instant insights. Not just session starters, this collection is a valuable addition to any trainer's bookshelf."
—Jean Barbazette, president, The Training Clinic, and author of The Art of Great TrainingDelivery and Managing the Training Function for Bottom-Line Results
"As a Charter Member of BFT (Borrow from Thiagi) Club, I've been adapting Thiagi's training activities for decades. I have built college courses and training workshops around Thiagi and Tracy's jolts. Use the jolts from this book as a way to instantly and successfully engage your participants with your topic."
—Steve Sugar, author of Games That Teach
Jolt|jolt|: a powerful training tool that will help you engage your participants and focus attention on your learning event.
Master trainer Sivasailam "Thiagi" Thiagarajan and co-author Tracy Tagliati introduce a brand-new set of powerful training activities specially designed to get participants to sit-up, listen, and learn—to jolt them into a new level of participation, activity, and change.
The forty-seven games and activities in Jolts! are interactive and emotionally charged—carefully chosen for their ability to make participants think, and think differently.
When you really need to give your participants a powerful wake-up call, startle them into re-examining their assumptions and habitual practices, or encourage self-reflection, problem solving, and fresh perspectives—zap them with Jolts!
Table of Contents:
On the Website ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Part 1—what Jolts Are and How to Use Them
Chapter 1—What Are Jolts and How Can I Use Them? 3
Chapter 2—Story of a Jolt 7
Chapter 3—Types of Jolts 11
Chapter 4—Conducting Jolts 17
Chapter 5—Facilitating Jolts 23
Chapter 6—Debriefing Jolts 27
Part 2—a Collection of Jolts
Introduction to Part 2 43
Jolt 1—Alliances 49
Jolt 2—By the Numbers 53
Jolt 3—Clock on the Ceiling 57
Jolt 4—Dear John 61
Jolt 5—Decode 67
Jolt 6—Dollar Auction 73
Jolt 7—Don’t Lift the Pen 77
Jolt 8—Double Talk 83
Jolt 9—Double Your Money 85
Jolt 10—Draw a Hand 89
Jolt 11—Draw a Tree 91
Jolt 12—Ears for Smiley 93
Jolt 13—Enjoy and Learn 97
Jolt 14—Excited 99
Jolt 15—First Touch 103
Jolt 16—Free! 107
Jolt 17—Free Time 111
Jolt 18—How Fast? 115
Jolt 19—How Many Squares? 121
Jolt 20—Last Week 125
Jolt 21—Limits 131
Jolt 22—Long Words 133
Jolt 23—Me and My Team 137
Jolt 24—Memory Test 141
Jolt 25—Mingle 145
Jolt 26—New Word 149
Jolt 27—Newton 153
Jolt 28—Next Action 155
Jolt 29—Palm to Palm 157
Jolt 30—Paper Money 159
Jolt 31—Photo Analysis 163
Jolt 32—Positive Spin 169
Jolt 33—Psychic Cards 171
Jolt 34—Say It in Sequence 175
Jolt 35—Scrambled Words 179
Jolt 36—Sequencing 183
Jolt 37—Shapes and Colors 189
Jolt 38—Six Tiles 193
Jolt 39—Stroop 199
Jolt 40—Synchronized Clapping 203
Jolt 41—Team Planning 205
Jolt 42—Team Power 213
Jolt 43—Teamwork 219
Jolt 44—The Training Story 223
Jolt 45—Visualize a Tree 227
Jolt 46—What’s Funny? 229
Jolt 47—What’s Measured? 233
Jolt 48—Wobegon 239
Jolt 49—Workers and Watchers 243
Jolt 50—Your Choice 247
About the Authors 251
Index 253
About the Author :
Sivasailam "Thiagi" Thiagarajan, Ph.D., is Resident Mad Scientist at the Thiagi Group, a Bloomington, Indiana–based organization with the mission of helping people improve their performance effectively and enjoyably. Thiagarajan has published forty books, including Thiagi's 100 Favorite Games and Design Your Own Games and Activities (both from Pfeiffer), as well as numerous games, simulations, and articles. Tracy Tagliati, CPLP, is a Senior Associate at the Thiagi Group, where she specializes in designing and delivering training to international clients. Prior to working with the Thiagi Group, Tracy was a corporate trainer for Mercury Insurance Group and Mindset development, a franchise of Crestcom International.
