As a trainer or a performance consultant, you can use a variety of interactive tools and strategies. Each month, the Tool Kit section explores a specific type of activity and presents practical suggestions and field-tested examples.
Interactive stories are fictional narratives that involve participants in a variety of activities.
In one type of interactive story, the facilitator presents the story and discusses its significance in a debriefing. In another type, the facilitator pauses at critical junctures in the story and invites a listener to play the role of a character who must make decisions. In yet another type, participants themselves create and share stories that illustrate key concepts, principles, or procedures. Here is an example of an interactive story. You expect a dull, philosophical presentation or a boring legal lecture, so you are pleasantly surprised when Paul, the facilitator, launches into a science fiction story.