Dealing with Difficult Behaviors in Virtual and Face-to-Face Learning Environments

What do I mean by difficult behaviors?

We’ve all been there. There is usually at least one trainee in a training group that will find some way to go against the grain. When it comes to training, this cannot be ignored. Interruptions in a tightly scheduled training session detracts from the group’s ability to achieve its objectives. Every time there’s a delay, lost time accumulates and makes it more difficult to recover the momentum. It is important every trainer knows how to deal with difficult behaviors.

Among the skills needed by every trainer is the ability to interact with and reset disruptive individuals. There are different types of interruptions, and each can cause grief in many ways. The worst outcome is the disruption of the learning environment. It not only impacts the individual being unruly, but also everyone else in the classroom trying to learn. Fortunately, these incidents are rare. When they do surface, there are ways to deal with them.

There are basically three cardinal rules every trainer needs to be familiar with and adhere to when dealing with difficult behaviors:

• Never put anyone down (i.e., call attention to a trainee’s behavior or chastise a trainee in any way, especially in front of others in the room). It’s okay to be firm, but always be polite and understanding. Loss of credibility as a trainer goes hand in hand with loss of one’s cool during training.
• However, people act and whatever they do, remember that they have their reasons. You’re not in a position to make judgments. You need to respect that there’s a reason for the behavior.
• Treat every learner with dignity and respect at all times!

Now that we know what the three cardinal rules to follow are, let’s look at the different types of individuals trainers may be dealing with in the classroom - Individuals who will be difficult to deal with, and what can be done to help overcome these challenges.

There are five types of challenging individual trainers can expect to eventually need to interact in the classroom:

1.??????Know it All

2.??????Silent one

3.??????Wanderer

4.??????Magpie

5.??????Skeptic

Let's look at each type in detail, identifying the characteristics of each and strategies for overcoming the challenges that each type presents during the learning transition.

The Know it All

?There’s an excellent possibility that in training session, at least one trainee will be exceptionally or pretend like they are about the topic being discussed. This person will have much to say and can easily take too much time saying it. Some people simply like to talk a lot, and a training session gives them a captive audience.

Whether the trainee is unusually knowledgeable or simply like to talk, he or she can detract from your mission to achieve specified learning objectives.

Sometimes the other members of the group let the Know-it-All know, in subtle or not-so-subtle ways, to be quiet. A trainer should never wait for this to happen, but if it does, it’s usually okay to let it be so—without encouraging it. Let the group tend to its own business and intervene only if it looks as if there might be a problem.

As a learning practitioner it is imperative you effectively identify, understand, and manage the underlying character traits of the Know-it-All so that you can effectively manage the behavior. The traits are:

• Exceptionally knowledgeable.
• Has much to say.
• Takes up a lot of time.
• Tends to monopolize the learning experience.
• Likes to let everyone in the room know they are present.
• Can be into themself.
• Wants the attention to be on them.
• Irritates other learners.
• May attempt to impact a trainer’s credibility in the classroom – calling the training out, etc.

You must do something to prevent Know-it-All’s from taking over your training, even more important, keeping others from being able to participate. What can you do to minimize the negative behaviors of the Know it All?

• Reset expectations.
• Identify possible problems for the behavior and work with the learner to improve.
• Establish communication ground rules – make it clear you are seeking meaningful and purposeful interactions.
• Recognize the person’s contribution; then call on someone else.
• Intervene, thank the person for the answer; then say you want to give someone else a chance.
• Institute a practice of having trainees hold up their hands to respond.
• Call on specific individuals, rather than allowing people to speak spontaneously.

The Silent One

One of the most frustrating moments for a trainer is a silent response to a challenging, well-developed question. There are plenty of reasons for lack of response: Perhaps no one knows the answer; perhaps no one understood the question or request; perhaps the group is bored or believes the question or response is beneath them or is unimportant’ or perhaps there is a monopolize in the group and other members are intimidated to the point of not bothering to respond. Or perhaps they just don’t want to say anything (e.g., they’re ready to go home and don’t want to prolong the session), they are shy or just simply do not care.

I’m asked often if the silent one inhibits their own learning by being silent. The answer isn’t that simple. Silent ones may just not be that talkative or want attention to be on them. However, silence can stem from an individual not understanding the content that is being delivered and they are afraid of raising their hand for fear everyone will think negatively of them for not understanding the content or knowing what to do in each learning situation. The character traits of the silent one can include:

• Does not know the answer to a question.
• Did not understand the question.
• High achieving learners utilize silence to cement their position as a highly knowledgeable learner for the subject matter being delivered.
• Is bored or believes the question or response in beneath them or is unimportant.
• Intimated by the trainer or other learners.
• They don’t have anything to say, or they don’t want to respond.
• They may be an introvert who prefers to work alone.
• Unclear on what to do within a virtual learning environment.
• Waiting on a que from the trainer to participate.
• Not invested in their job or company – they are just there for a paycheck.
• Fear of making mistakes.

As a learning practitioner, getting the silent one engaged is not just about getting them to participate, it is also about providing them with the learner support and strategies needed to be successful while in the learning environment. Some strategies you can employ with the silent one is:

• Decrease group-based activities – offer more frequent engagement opportunities (for every ten minutes of instruction you should integrate two minutes time for a learning activity or discussion. Be mindful that you do not overplay this hand as it can become boring.
• Utilize activities that drive participation – Stand & Talk, Small Groups – Rotate group leadership, ask for and reward volunteers.
• Meet with the silent learner, understand why they are silent, integrate strategies for achieving more active participation in their learning plan.
• If delivering content virtually, allow learners the time to think about and formalize a concept or their answer – do not rush a response.
• Let it be known at the beginning of training that you appreciate and expect responses from everyone in attendance.
• Call on the silent ones, give them prep time by letting them know you will be calling on them – let them know before class or during a break.
• When asking questions, require learners to respond via chat or collaboration board – monitor the silent one’s openness to responding via the alternate communication method.
• During online learning replace open ended questions with interactive polls.
• Check in with learners regularly.
• Focus on the positive.

The Wander

The wander is the person who takes the training session downside roads and gets off onto topics that have little, if anything, to do with the learning objectives. The behavior is not always intentional, either. In fact, it’s quite easy to go off on a tangent and get sidetracked from the original purpose. People bring their own agendas to the training session. The ability to keep things on track is one of the many talents of a good trainer. It’s of little matter whether the wandering is intentional; it must be dealt with immediately. Wasted time adds up quickly, especially in the minds of participants. Character traits of the wanderer include:

• Can take training down a rat hole.
• Speaks about topics that are not relevant to the learning objectives and curriculum map.
• ?Asks questions about something that has nothing to do with what is being learned.
• Often gets sidetracked.
• Utilization of technology in the learning environment (Internet, social media, Phones, etc.)
• A learner has ADHD.

Learning practitioners can minimize the impacts of the wanderer by:

• Setting appropriate expectations for participation at the start of training, reinforcing daily at the start of each learning day.
• Removing distraction blockers from the learning environment.
• Making delivery relevant to real life experiences.
• Redirecting the learner rather than reprimanding them.
• Accommodating the different learning styles.
• Utilizing strategic seating.
• Leveraging learner interests in your delivery.
• Being aware of symptoms and learning management techniques for ADHD learners. You cannot ask the learner if they have ADHD, however, if you understand the symptoms of how ADHD impacts one’s ability to learn, you can better manage the learning environment and provide a tailored game plan to help the learner be successful. This is especially important in lengthy courses.
• Using visualization activities.
• Integrating games to get learners competing against each other.
• Varying instructional strategies. These should be changed approximately every 15 to 20 minutes.

? Has much to say.

? Takes up a lot of time.

? Tends to monopolize the learning experience.

? Likes to let everyone in the room know they are present.

The Magpie

Every group has these people—those who, usually have vantage points toward the back or side of the room, whisper into one another’s ears during training. There’s a more severe version of this: Those who don’t whisper as they talk about everything from what they think of the training to where they will go for lunch. The behavior can be innocent, as when two people have work aligned business to attend to and don’t know when there will be time later to exchange information, to thoughtless, as when the Magpie doesn’t care if they disrupt. They also tend to always sleep in class, which demonstrates a lack of concern for what is being trained. Either way, it’s distracting to the rest of the training group.

Character traits of The Magpie include:

• Usually having vantage points toward the back or side of the training room.
• Whispering in one another’s ears during training.
• Can be thoughtless.
• Tends to talk out loud about what they think of the training.
• Often talks over the facilitator or trainer.

There isn’t a simple or fast solution in managing the Magpie. They typically don’t care if they distract the class or during delivery.?

• Communicate your expectations regarding talking in the training room at the start of the training program and at the start of every day if required.
• Investigate why there is chatter in the training room before doing anything else. Be sure you understand the situation prior to taking any additional measures.
• Provide opportunities for learners to talk regularly.
• Keep learners engaged and the delivery moving. Do not spend to much time in any one topic if not integrated into the learning plan/outline.
• Do not start delivering content until talking has been eliminated and all learners are focused.
• Move in the direction of the Magpie while you continue to present your training content. Post up and stand in a location where the Magpie can see you. Stand there for a minute or two, making eye contact with the Magpie. Continue to move around the room and post up throughout the room and each isle in an unpredictable manner and vary where you stand during your delivery.

The Skeptic

The Skeptic is one that needs to ask questions for personal clarification. They tend to collect evidence and need to see proof before believing something they are being taught is accurate or correct. Whether delivering training in an online or hybrid environment, the skeptic tends to be the most difficult behavior to manage because it will be your responsibility as a learning practitioner to convince the skeptic that what you are training is in their best interest, and that the techniques and skills you are developing in the classroom are the correct ones to apply on the job. The skeptic is going to take everything you do and say at face value until you can demonstrate value to them. Skeptics also tend to be individuals that have worked a similar position previously that they are undergoing training for within your organization. They view the training as a waste of time – after all, to the skeptic, time is money. Some of the strategies you can employ to better manage the skeptic is:

• Utilize creative story telling in your delivery that reinforces the content being delivered.?
• Leverage every learner’s personal prior experience and feeling about a specific event that ties to the topic being trained. For example, if you are training content on customer service you can ask, who can tell me about an experience they had when they had a customer service issue and what feelings you had at the time?
• Identify the learner’s individual learning goals. Meet with the skeptic and lay out a plan for how the content being trained helps the skeptic achieve their goals. Tie in how the training can help them expand their current skill levels making it easier to achieve performance bonuses, additional recognition, etc.
• Coach the learner on how they can change their beliefs around the training – give them the tools to learn effectively.?Promote a growth mindset.?

One solution I have put into place that assists my teams in better supporting learners and managing difficult behaviors is through behavioral analysis. The learning staff utilize this data to better align delivery modalities and content to support a more inclusive learning population.