Participants are more likely to apply learn when they have activities that connect a participant's real world to their classroom learning. We know people are more engaged when they're relaxed and having fun. We hope some of these DISC activities help your programs be more robust.
Spending a little time planning out activities is in your best interest. First, determine your audience. What's the objective of the session? What are you trying to help your participants achieve? Now, you can figure out the logistics and materials you need.
Also, consider your time and how many activities you can fit. It never hurts to have a few Plan B activities if you have extra time or want to ramp up the session's energy.
Another icebreaker is sharing a few personal things about each other. You're establishing group rapport for the session. You're also humanizing co-workers which helps when things get tense or frustrating.
You'll talk about these key elements, but something as simple as writing it down helps with retention.
We have training videos that can be used in different ways. Each animated video is 2 minutes long and covers D, I, S, and C styles to provide an overview to each style. We often use them in classes where we have at least an hour. The four videos total 8 minutes which means you have 52 minutes to get where you need to be. Other times we assign them as pre-work which is especially helpful with tighter session timelines. You can even send them out as post-session reinforcement partnering them with Reinforcement Reports.
Consider a quick check-in by asking some questions. It's a great way to engage but lets you know how much more you need to review and reinforce. You can create slides with multiple choice questions, online polls, or use a trivia app. You can also show 60-second YouTube clips of famous personalities/characters and ask people to identify their styles. Don't worry if they don't know the famous person you're showing. The goal is to recognize the style based on the behaviors they are shown.
The goal of Step 2 activities is getting people to interact with their report results and motivating them to continue to read and use their results outside of the DISC session. One effective activity is asking people to read their 'At a Glance' section which provides a descriptive overview of the DISC style. Ask people to read their attributes and select 2 that accurately describe them. Ask people to share and recognize that their attributes can be overused by putting the word 'too' in front of the attribute. How have they overused their natural attributes?
Another variation for the 'At a Glance' section of the report is to place checkmarks next to any attribute or statement that they feel describe them. Next, place a question mark next to any attribute or statement that they are not sure of and finally, an 'x' for any attribute or statement they disagree with. It gives people an opportunity to process the information and to share with others for additional feedback. You can actually use this process for all the pages in the report.
The bottom line is to use the Extended DISC® Report as a workbook; answer the built-in questions and Personal Action Plan, and talk about it. How can they utilize the information in their real-world setting; create accountability.
Lastly, don't use all of the reports at once. It can be overwhelming. Determine the goals of the session and select the sections that are most applicable.
Another activity is 'Choose and Defend.' Choose a topic area such as a famous person, an animal, a car, a well-known leader, etc., and ask participants to defend the style they selected to identify their choice. As the facilitator, you don't need to be familiar with the choices. Rather, you are listening to the way they defend their choices.
A quick activity is 'Guess My Style.' Select some images of famous people, objects, etc., and ask people to identify the style and defend their choice.
Your style works until it doesn't. DISC helps you identify the strengths of your style, but what happens when your style doesn't work? You adjust! DISC helps you understand, based on your style, how to adjust in different situations.
The 'My Communication Strategy Worksheet' helps participants create a simple behavioral action plan. You can have people do it in session or as homework. The activity takes them through the 4 Steps. The final step focuses on 'start, stop, and continue'.
Ask people to use their reports, specifically the section on how to and how not to communicate with each DISC style.
'How Do I Relate' is another activity to connect your real-world interactions with your classroom learning. Participants are asked to identify one person per style; considering who is easiest and most challenging to interact with. Step 4 is about creating that action plan for improving effectiveness when interacting with the person with the most challenging style for them.
The Light Switch' Activity is a great activity for larger groups. Divide up groups by their main DISC style. Ask them what lights them up and what shuts them down. Bring the 4 groups back together and share their results. Often, you'll see what lights up one style has the shutdown effect for another.
We also offer the Extended DISC® Play and Learn Card Game. There are 4 packs of cards. Each pack is a particular activity such as role-playing, identifying the style based on a descriptor, and trivia. What's great about the game is it's portable so you can bring it along and pull it out if you need a quick activity or a way to energize the group.
The activities may seem similar. That's because the concept of interaction and communication is intuitive and practical. We often need tools like DISC to raise our awareness and remind us to practice with intention and consistency. You don't have to create your activities from scratch.
The activities found here are located on our Extended DISC® - FinxS® Client Resource Center Site. As an active user of Extended DISC® Assessments, you have personal access to the resource site. The site contains, sample exercises, DISC session presentations, handouts, and more. We also post our infographics and videos on our social media sites including Pinterest, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Contact us at CustomerService@ExtendedDISC.org for more information.