What are your best practices for managing disruptive behavior during training?

Try to find out which needs are not met. Ask the participant what he or she wants or needs. Fullfill that need or tell the participant if this needs to be postponed (because now something different is on the schedule) or if there is maybe no room for that need in this particular training and why.

I'm with Connie. Most of the tried and trusted Stakeholder management and workshop techniques work well in this situation. Proximity to the person acting up, parking lot, breaks, peer pressure or escalation to their leadership chain usually resolve the problems. Letting them have their say is a good starting point.

Technique: Proximity control is a favourite practice of mine. Its a simple behavioural management technique where the instructor stays close to a specified student or group of people. It's been proven to reduce a number of disruptive behaviours, keeps students on task, and is cost effective as requires no formal training.

Expectation setting starts even before the training session begins. Work with leadership and front line managers to ensure they are supporting the session and reinforcing how this training benefits the participants. Also, be sure to clearly outline the session objective and benefit for participating right at the start of the session. Don't keep them guessing why they are there.

Co-create a working agreement early in the training. This provides a framework which the group can use to regulate behaviour. If something occurs which is not covered by the working agreement, pause and ask if the agreement needs to be changed in the light of the new behaviour.

As I deal with adults in often changing work environment, in many cases the disruptive behavior is not about the training, but all the other circumstances that are happenining. My first step is to give people a time to "vent". Use that first disruption to clear the air, reset why we are here and what we can and cannot cover. If disruption continues, I try to engage the disruptor in private (for example breaks or chat). If that doesn't work I will be calling them out in the group or if needed request their manager to step in. As they are adults, rewards with badges or points for good behavior is not something that works. Knowing they are listened to is what will work.

Positive reinforcement is essential when dealing with disruptive behaviors. First, find out what the child finds most engaging and remind them what they're working towards. Using the "first and then" is also effective in shaping behavior ex: FIRST we clean up our toys, THEN we can eat gummy bears. When the child understands what is expected, they can learn to modify their behavior to gain access to the preferred item or activity.

The old saying "firm but fair" applies here. Clearly and kindly, but directly, make sure the participant understands they are impacting other people's ability to learn and invite a dialog to understand their behavior choices. If they are acting out for reasons unrelated to the training they may not realize how disruptive they are being. If they are acting out simply to be disruptive, calmly & dispassionately, but firm resolve, look them in the eye and give them the boundaries and consequences of continued disruption.

Make your training engaging and interactive to reduce the likelihood of boredom or restlessness that can lead to disruptive behavior. Incorporate discussions, activities, and hands-on exercises to keep participants actively involved.

I would do the following to manage disruptive behaviour in trainings: 1. First, identify where the behaviour is stemming from? 2. If it is not disrupting the class overall, I ignore it. 2. Is it within my control to address it or not? If not, i speak to the person during the break, understand what is causing the inconvenience and inform the organizers about it. 3. In all cases, I will not insult or show the delegate down in front of everyone in the classroom. 4. I will certainly speak to the person during the break, Mentor and Coach him / her as the case may be about the consequence of that behaviour. 5. If after that also, they continue to behave in a manner to disrupt the class, I will certainly take a call and ask them to leave.