How to manage boredom ?

This blog is one of a series of Facilitation Thoughts which look at various aspects of facilitation. 

Image edited from http://www.openclipart.com

"There should have been more games to liven things up" (Young person)

 "The best part for me was the games"

"There was too much group work "

"I am surprised that I did not fall asleep, I usually fall asleep during these workshops"

"The session was not as hot as the previous one"

People express boredom and their lack of interest in the discussion in different ways. I think a facilitator should empathise with any person who seems bored or distracted.

When I am bored or distracted in a session, I tend to day dream. I tune out of the proceedings. I might ask for an excuse to leave the room and go for a stretch. I read the handouts, or sometimes engage in side conversations. I sometimes will nod to pretend I am engaged. Out of politeness, I will fix my eyes on the speaker even as my mind wanders.
If I am feeling sleepy, I get up and go out of the room.

If I have a connection to the Internet, I would browse around while looking at the facilitator from time to time. 

I have learned from one of my Ramayana Gole members about meditating during periods of boredom. Some times, I might try to hint to the facilitator/presenter to change the tempo.

Some young people might show their boredom in more obvious ways. I have seen some wonderful doodles done while I was facilitating sessions.

There are many reasons why people might not be interested. Persons might have been 'forced' to attend the session. They might be tired after work . Some persons might have their mind on other things at home. Some persons might think it is rude if they leave.


These are some suggestions for managing boredom :-

• Let the participants know at the beginning of the session that it is okay for them to get up and take a walk if they feel sleepy 
• Do not be bothered if persons seem bored and find other things to do eg read handouts, browse the internet, text etc.  They should not be distracting others. I learned from Folade Mutota to put posters and other visuals on the wall which relate to the topic. I have seen where some organisers might have a display of books at the back so people can browse the books even as they listen to what is going on.
• If possible, change the  session every 20 to 30 minutes. With young people, the suggestion is 10 to 15 minutes since attention spans are shorter. The change might mean using a different presenter, switching activities, taking a break, doing some energiser activites etc  .  If you do not have energiser activities,  ask persons to just stand and take deep breaths and then sit down again.
• Check on the response to the activities and group work. Give clear instructions and ensure that they are understood. I was in a session recently in which the activity became too long and repetitive and participants started to mutter. Pay attention to the cues and be prepared to change the activity or make it more interesting 
• Plan the session so that the after lunch part has more interaction and activity.
• Be aware of the mood of the persons in the room and be ready to change it. Do not be afraid to ask for suggestions as to how to make the discussions relevant and interesting.

Energy monitor 
An organiser of a recent session with young people told me during the lunch break that I was not as 'quirky' as before. I took this feedback seriously as I had to suspend some activities to get through some content due to the time constraints.   I asked him to monitor the energy in the room for the rest of the day and to let me know when he thought there was time for a shift.
In another session, the participants were coming in after a late night work shift. They explained to me that their fatigue and tiredness were not because of the session. There was a light breeze in the room and many of them were falling asleep. We decided to have activities with more movement and standing.

In some sessions, a participant or more than one participant could volunteer to be an 'energy ' monitor to help the facilitator to gauge the energy in the room.  

Facilitation in a virtual session

Participants can find a lot of other things to do if they are bored during the session. The facilitators would not know if people are falling asleep or what they are doing outside of the session.

 

I read that it is good for any presenter in a virtual session to engage with the participants every 4 or 5 minutes.

 

Encourage any presenters to pause, ask questions, change the tempo, by showing a video, or taking a poll. 'Talking heads' for more than 10 minutes can be tedious for some people.

What other things would you do to manage boredom and encourage interaction?



Author : Vidyaratha Kissoon  contact : vidyak1 (at) gmail (dot) com

Have a look at the other Facilitation blogs