Life Skills & Leadership: Unit 2, Session 3: Making Decisions | Page 44 of 127change the names and details within each story so they make sense for your participants. Assign one to three situations to
each group.- Give the groups about 15 minutes to work, then ask each group to share highlights of their discussion
about at least one situation. Invite other groups to make a short comment about the situations if they
came to a different conclusion.
Note: You can refer to Trainer Material 1: Ideas for Using PAUSE for some suggestions in interpreting the different stories.- Choose discussion questions for the whole group, as appropriate, from the following:
Which of the stories was most difficult or challenging?
How difficult was it to think of different options in the “Ask” step?
What challenges did you have in thinking about the possible consequences in the “Understand”
step?
What were some decisions made by groups other than your own that you liked?
What do you think about using PAUSE?
What are some lessons you can learn from using PAUSE?
How easy do you think it would be to use the PAUSE steps in your own decision making?B. Summary
Conclude the exercise by saying:
“It’s really important to recognize when a decision needs to be made and to think through the options
and consequences so you can achieve the best outcome.”IV. Application (30 minutes)
Materials:
Sheets of paper cut into fourths
Pens or pencils
Flip chart, markers or crayons
Handout 2: PAUSE for Better Decisions
A. When to PAUSE
Participants apply PAUSE steps to their own situations.
- Invite participants to think of a time they might use PAUSE. Say:
“I’d like to give you a chance to use the steps of PAUSE in a situation that’s more specific to you. Please
take a moment to think of a situation from your own life when using PAUSE would be helpful. This could
be a decision that you made in the past that you’d like to review. It could be a decision that you will
need to make in the near future. Or it could be a decision about a situation that happens to you a lot. It
doesn’t have to be as dramatic as some of the examples we’ve already looked at. It could be as simple
as choosing whether to go out with friends or to study for a test at school.”