50 Creative Training Openers and Energizers: Innovative Ways to Start Your Training with a Bang!

This book has many energizers and openers that are very effective. They are easy to plan and prepare for, and different than most I have been exposed to in the past.

Honestly, I have no time for activities/events when I train or facilitate meetings that accomplish only one goal. So I look for things that simultaneously meet multiple needs, or desires. This book contains 61 such tools. Pike and Solem write clear, concise directions for each opener or energizer. With very little effort, each can be adapted to different needs by changing questions. (Instead of asking "What is your favourite hobby," for example, you can ask "What skill do you most use on the job?") In the opening pages, they provide a matrix so you can identify at a glance whether an activity is most useful as an Icebreaker, Networker, Team Builder, Task Tension Reducer, Relationship Tension Reducer, Personal Tension Reducer, or Focussing Activity. Better yet, each of the 61 activities falls into a minimum of three of these categories--accomplishing multiple goals for me in my meetings and trainings. The nine-page introduction offers hints and tips from Pike & Solems' years of experience. The combination of the matrix and the introduction are incredible added value.I have been consistently pleased with the results I get from these activities. The four-quadrant name-tent, dreams and nightmares, group milling, and uniqueness and commonalities are consistently useful for me. I have no hesitation in recommending this book to trainers and meeting facilitators.