Hostility
Problem situations may occur when student behavior is perceived by the trainer as inappropriate. A student may express hostility towards the trainer, the company, or another student. Don't assume that such behavior on the part of students is a reflection of their hostility toward you or your training.
What to do?
When the student appears to be overactive or inhibited in some way, there are three important strategies to consider.
- Carefully try to eliminate or reduce the problem behavior. Agreeing to disagree can go a long way in resolving the problem. It may be necessary to take a break so that you can have a private conversation with the disruptive student.
- Maintain the self-esteem of the student causing the disruption. Never belittle or criticize the student. Trainers should not assume or infer in any way that the student lacks motivation or is in some way mad, bad, evil, lazy, crazy or stupid. That will get you nowhere.
- Avoid further disruptions. Make sure the learning environment is relaxed and conducive to learning. Remain emotionally neutral. Don't get wrapped up one way or the other in the opinion of the student. Remain professional and objective.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
5-2. When dealing with hostile or disruptive behaviors in training, the trainer should _____.
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