Dealing With Resistance
What types of participant resistance are there and how do you deal with them?
You come into contact with resistance many times in life. Of course also in a seminar context. It happens that participants do not voluntarily take part in a seminar. Some are sent to seminars by their employers, others have heard the topic of the respective seminar a hundred times. Accordingly, the motivation of the respective persons will not be very high or not available at all.
The participants who do not want to actively participate in the seminar can quickly become a disruption. The sooner you counteract the disturbance, the faster and better you can continue with the actual training. The trainer should therefore prepare for any situations in advance and know how to deal with resistance correctly.
Common reasons for refusal and how to deal with them are described below.
Can Not!
Possible meanings of this resistance are:
The Participant Really Cannot Because He Still Lacks The Necessary Information. He Is Still In The Stage Of Conscious Incompetence.
The trainer should impart knowledge and skills to the participant. Through practice and training, the participant can acquire conscious competence .
The Participant Has Already Automated The Knowledge/Skill. He Is In The Phase Of Unconscious Competence.
Here it is important to bring the participant back to the phase of conscious competence in order to enable further development. See also: The unconscious competence in the seminar context
The Participant Can Solve The Problem/Task In A Different Way
It may happen that the participants will tell the trainer that they already know something. The trainer can show the participants new or different ways to solve a problem/task and thereby change their point of view. The participants gain new perspectives.
I Do Not Want!
The Participant Wants To Do Something Else.
The participant has no desire for the seminar or the topic. Here it is important that the trainer shows him the purpose and benefits of the seminar and coaches him consciously. This allows him to change the participant's attitude and take away their fear.
I Must Not!
It can happen that a participant in a seminar is not allowed to do certain things according to his own statement. This can happen for the following reasons:
- Religious reasons
- ethical reasons
- blockages
- prohibitions
Give Permission
The trainer should give the participant permission to fail. Only through practice, making mistakes and feedback can a participant develop further. Blockages can be released through conscious coaching.
Work Systemically
A person's point of view is formed and strengthened by external influences such as the social environment. As a result, people develop certain behavioral patterns and ways of thinking that they think are right. It can happen that the person gets a kind of tunnel vision and only thinks his point of view is the right one. By working systemically, the trainer can change the participant's point of view and open his or her eyes to new ways of thinking.