Staying Positive Step 8

Staying Positive: The ability to use tactics and strategies to overcome setbacks and achieve goals.

Step 8: I look for opportunities in difficult situations, and share these with others

Outcomes

To achieve Step 8, learners will show that they can identify real opportunities in challenging situations and then articulate them to others.

In the previous step, the focus was on how to look for opportunities in difficult situations. This step expands on that by also thinking about how to communicate those opportunities to others.

Learners need to be able to:

Effectively share the positive side of a difficult situation
Involve others in identifying a positive side for themselves

Introduction

When working with others to face setbacks there are some key stages which we have looked at in Steps 5 and 6:
- Firstly, we need to ensure that others are in the right emotional state to be able to respond appropriately to events.
- Secondly, we need to focus on others’ motivation and boost this through positive reinforcement.

Skill Starter

Downhill Start

In small groups, ask one team member to explain the activity they will be doing, but only using negative/daunting/fatalistic language.

“We are going to play this really difficult game that is impossible to play. We have to pass the ball one handed to one another, which we won’t be able to do because there is another player always trying to intercept the ball and mess it up it, and then your team will lose.”

After the game, in a team huddle, ask for feedback from learners on the instructions they received and how it made them feel.

Discuss how they would change this to be positive and motivating.

10 mins

Group activity

Active

Teach & Apply

In order for others to take you seriously when you present the opportunities of a situation, they need to believe that you take the situation itself seriously and acknowledge the difficulties.
You can then take them through the journey that you had and present your thinking about some of the positives or opportunities.
It can be also be effective to get people to work out what the positive side of a difficult situation is for themselves as this give a sense of ownership.
When we own anything, we feel a greater sense of wanting to protect and look after it, and this is exactly the same with ideas.

Optional Activity

Acknowledge, Why, Present

Give learners a difficult condition in your chosen game or activity.

For example: “They are playing a game of hockey, the goalie has just sustained an injury, therefore another player with no goalie experience must take their place.”

Team huddles discuss their plan of action using the three-part structure for explaining the positives (Acknowledge, Why, Present), before they execute the plan.

Praise the use of positive language throughout the game.

15 mins

Group activity

Active

Reflection & Assessment

Embed these strategies across your teaching and coaching to help learners apply what they’ve learnt.

As part of an end-of-session reflection huddle, ask learners to articulate what the greatest challenge was using the appropriate language and structure to highlight the opportunities as well.

Use these ideas for ways of assessing this skill step to help you check learners’ understanding and confidence.

You can also use observation to assess this step within the game or activity. What language do learners use when talking about a difficult situation? Can they articulate a positive perspective to others?
Ask these reflective questions:
- What can be the risk of sharing the positive side of a difficult situation?
- How can you avoid making the situation worse?
- How can involving others with identifying the positive side be helpful?