A lot of training can be done through the use of Forum Theater. However, the first thing that has to be answered before any discussion on how forum theater can be used is the question - what is forum theater?

Forum theater comprises of several scenarios that are acted out by professional actors, while employees watch. The scenarios are based around issues that the staff have to deal with regularly. However, the staff can get involved in the scenarios as directors and in some cases even as actors. Staff can tell the actors what to do, try parts of the scenario again but getting the actors to use different tones of voice or responses, the possibilities are endless. This allows the staff to make the scenario as close to ones that they have to deal with as possible and help them to clarify their own experiences.

Forum theater allows complex issues to be dealt with easily, while also allowing a degree of subtly into the mix as well. The scenes can be either scripted or improvised, and as long as the actors are good enough, staff attending a training session using forum theater should learn more than from a standard presentation based training session.

Being able to be assertive when required is a very important skill for all members of staff to have. However, it is important that people understand what being assertive is. It isn’t making people do things the way you want, it isn’t ignoring what other people are saying. What being assertive means, is that people do not take you for granted, do not expect you to do stuff and in the end respect you rather than ignore you unless they need something from you.

Areas you can look at when helping people to be more assertive include:

• How to look at and deal with you own feelings.
• Letting other people know what the boundaries are.
• Finishing conversations that you do not want to be involved in.
• Learning how to say and mean no.
• Increasing confidence.
• Managing awkward situations.

How people respond to assertiveness training depends on what kind of personality they have and how assertive they already were. This sort of material could be good taught in an employee workshop environment, utilising role play, so that people can get used to saying no and increasing their confidence levels.

Time management is something that is talked about all the time, yet is never really explained in any detail. You hear all too often cries of you need to manager your time better or make a list, but this does not solve the issue of time management. Sometimes the main cause of a waste of time is an outside influence that you cannot avoid (i.e. a manger or colleague) , however there are ways of managing the time you do have as well as possible.

A well researched and present workshop on time management will help all staff who attend it to realise how they are failing at time management, and why they are not making as much of the time they have available as they could. the workshop will vary from company to company, depending on what interactions staff have , who the company deals with and what industry they are in. However, one thing that does not change is the fact that all employees of a company can benefit from improved time management skills. No one is perfect, and management can be just as bad if not worse at time management as the rest of the staff.

The process of creative thinking is not something that can be taught. However it is something that can be encouraged. There are a few steps to encouraging creative thinking. First of all, you must break your current mental habits. If you approach things in your mind the same way every time, you are not going to come up with a creative and possibly better solution to an issue. Then you must understand your own why you do things the way you do. Finally you must then try to come up with new ideas and solutions by approaching problems differently to how you would normally.

This is an area where group participation in a workshop will work very well. When in a group, people find it easier to come up with new ideas, or to take other people ideas and change them into something else. The more people discuss problems, the more they are able to approach these problems from different directions, to come up with creative solutions to problems.

It is important that people realise that you cannot be trained in how to think creatively. All that can be done is to provide exercises and training on different ways to apply and practice the skill rather than train how to think creatively.

Communication is one of the more important things in a company. Staff members practise it on a daily basis, from talking to clients, to team members, to managers and everyone else involved with the company. However, it is still something that can fail. Miscommunication can happen, with one party to the communication not understanding the other, which can, in extreme cases, lead to major issues within the company, or worse, with a client.

It is essential to make sure that everyone in the company has communication skills of a high enough level that miscommunication does not occur. There are a wide range of things that can be taught in an employee workshop on training, from how to give and receive praise, to how to communicate effectively in an email. It is important that people understand how to listen, as that is 50% of communication. It is difficult for people to listen to another person talk, especially when they have something to say that they feel is very important.