BEA Ignite Session

“Icebreaker”

A Semester‟s Most Important Lesson

From That Very First Minute of Class

Joe Champ

Dept. of Journalism and Tech. Com.

Colorado State University

The Boring Launch: Spend a minute…

-Welcoming students to class

-Referencing the syllabus…

…& dense readings packet (yuck!)

Savor the feeling of…

-summer ending!

-hopes dashed!

-reality…setting in!

Upset Student

“Can anyone share their…

NEAR

DEATHEXPERIENCE!?!”

Dramatically interrupt your intro…

…ask:

“My…whaaa?!?”

Don‟t be

unsettled by

moments of

disorientation.(This is the 1st

time they‟ve

had a class

start this way!)

Feel the…-tension leave the room

-stimulation rise

-emotions re-ignite

…as students ponder…

…their close calls!!!

?

Engaged Student

Pick one. Always plenty to choose from.

(Millennials lead exciting lives!)

Just in case…have a „close call‟ of your own ready…

…(your story will still work!)

The semi was headed straight

gunfire erupted

hail of bullets

as my friend

I could feel the rip tide

pulling me out to sea

But—in my 30 class starts, someone always…

…has a good Near Death Experience!

Story Over Time

Student

Stimulation

Level

After Near Death Experience tale…graph it on the board…

Boring

Class Start

Near Death Exp.

request Beginning….Middle…& End of Story

Ask: “What just happened?”Reflect on Lessons Learned:

LESSON #1: To effectively communicate, grab your audience‟s attention…(even when teaching a class!)

LESSON #2: Once you’ve got their attention, hang onto it by delivering compelling content.

LESSON #3: Your chances of success rise if you know your audience!!!

Please share your…

NEAR

RetirementEXPERIENCE!!!

Expanding on knowing one‟s audience…

…we ponder an alternative start to class:

Why is this less effective in most college classrooms?

Please share your…

NEAR

Denture LossEXPERIENCE!!!

Or…how about…?

Q: How did I know…

…Near Death will stimulate students?

A: 18-21-year-olds (hopefully) have lots of life

left to live.

Describing its near loss: ATTENTION GRABBING!

This lesson can be applied to…

…Every form of communication

COMMON STATEMENT DURING SEMESTER:

“If you don‟t at least try……to elicit the stimulation of...

…the Near Death Experience story…

…might as well just stay in bed!!!‟

The „Near Death‟ lesson comes up

almost every class session…

Boring work

that doesn‟t

stimulate? Swiftly condemned

for failing the

„Near Death‟ test

Stimulating work

that delivers?

Celebrated for

Effective Storytelling!

Thank-You!

Joe Champ

Colorado State University

joseph.champ@colostate.edu