Immersive Learning and Role Play at Mazars – Part 2

Guest post from Robert Welling, Communications Trainer at The Method. You can read Part 1 here.

The world has been tipped upside down and landed in a self-isolating box. But how do businesses carry on?

The role-play course that we implemented for Mazars was a prime example of how face-to-face can be translated to the virtual form, and with great success.

Taming the fear of role-play

The nerves and anxiety that I spoke about in the previous blog are of course still apparent virtually. However, one of the participants put it brilliantly when they spoke about the fear factor being lessened due to the personal surrounding of their own environment. It put them at ease, which is, of course, a brilliant thing coming into a role-play. It gave them a freeness which then allowed them to jump straight in and approach the task with a real focus and clarity that was absolutely reflected in their work.

Struggling to navigate the changes

One of the key bits of learning that came from the session was that we are all undergoing huge changes in which we are struggling to navigate through. Whether that’s our children bursting into our highly sensitive meeting, or having to create a makeshift office with what resources we can. In this participants’ case, it was the latter, carefully balancing on a bouncy exercise ball, and leaning forwards into the camera.

After we had played out the scene I posed a simple question to the delegate, “Would you have rested your head on one hand in a face to face meeting of this nature?”… “No, definitely not!” was their response. More revealing still was the consolation that this slumped stance had been ever-present in every single meeting that the delegate had attended over the past week!

Something fascinating has shifted in this aggressive merging of our work and personal surroundings, where our behaviours are becoming just as confused as our daily routines!

We have to work much harder to consider and ask ourselves the question – have my professional behaviours become misaligned? We are all adapting and discovering new ways to have a virtual impact, but coaching through this is absolutely vital to ensure that the top performance you strive for in your usual work scenario is attainable in any form, virtual or live.

Immersive learning with The Method

If you or your team would like some extra help embedding your learning, our fantastic Immersive Learning services. Delivered face-to-face or 100% remotely they will really help you practice and apply new skills and behaviours in your day to day interactions.

Practice makes perfect as we always say. However, it’s not always easy to do. So our immersive learning provides a unique opportunity to rehearse, practice and test new behaviours in real-time under the normal pressures of a working day.

Interactive Rehearsal APP – more than a nudge

Now your learners can practice new skills and behaviours beyond the training room and on their time-frame using our new interactive rehearsal mobile APP.

The Rehearsal APP delivers interactive, real-time challenges to your smartphone that you can easily integrate with your working day and help you embed the learning delivered in our programmes. You’ll be able to easily test new techniques, evidence the impact and measure the results.

If you’d like to find out more and have a specific face-to-face or remote learning and development request get in touch here. We’d love to help!