Every training has a few students who love to talk. These students will be the first to raise their hands to answer questions, dominate discussion groups, and talk at length about their experiences.
Students can be big talkers for different reasons:
- They process information by verbalizing it
- They like the validation of being in the spotlight
- They want to be good students and contribute
- They hate to leave the class in silence
While having some good conversation starters is useful, it can sometimes be frustrating to manage a classroom environment when you want to hear everyone’s voice and the same students continue to hold the floor. Introverts want to think longer before offering a response, while extroverts tend to speak on the fly. If the discussion space isn’t moderated, your fast talking extroverts will almost always leap in to fill the silence first.
However, a yoga teacher will need to speak audibly and clearly when they are teaching their own class. Practicing speaking out during the training can help your students become more comfortable with holding the spotlight after they graduate.
Here are some of my favourite discussion tactics to help everyone be heard.
Set expectations from the start
I set expectations for discussion participation from the beginning of training by encouraging students to self-reflect on their habitual participation. I’ll usually say, “Teacher training is a place to learn to share your voice as well as hold silence. Both are important skills for a yoga teacher. Notice your habits. If you’re always jumping in to speak, consider holding space and silence. If you are not speaking to the group, then consider stepping in sooner.”
Setting expectations early can also help you avoid wounding egos if you ask certain members to practice holding back. After all, holding space for silence is also an incredibly important skill for a yoga teacher to cultivate.
Choose students to speak
To avoid having your fast talkers jump in first, you can call on certain students to share. However, I will only call students out to share when I know there’s no danger of them not knowing the answer to a question. For example, I’ll ask them to share their reaction to a sutra or give a personal response so they don’t feel they are being ambushed.
Put them in partners/ small groups with timers
If you put people in partners or small groups and give each person a certain amount of time to talk, everyone will have a designated space to participate free from interruption.
Assign them to speak…tomorrow
One great tactic is to assign students to share on a topic the following day. For example, you could give each student a sutra to share or a homework assignment to present. By giving the topic in advance, you make sure that your students have time to prepare and feel ready.
The classic, “Let’s hear from someone who hasn’t shared yet.”
When facilitating a discussion, it’s perfectly fine to ask to hear from students who have been quiet. Be willing to hold the space and silence until someone is ready to speak.
Have students raise hands to speak
While it’s common in many trainings to let students “popcorn participate” in group discussions (where they pop in their voices into the discussion without raising their hands), it can be useful to have a more formal discussion structure where students ask to speak. You can then choose to call on students who may have not been as forthcoming, and spread the verbal sharing around.
One last note:
For your students, taking a yoga teacher training provides an opportunity to address and overcome a fear of public speaking. Even students who are taking the course for self-development (and not to teach professionally) have the chance to hold space to be heard. Helping your students learn to share their voice in a public space can help the build confidence and develop life skills that extend far beyond the yoga classroom.
