AhaSlides — Day 1
ahaslides.com | Code: DAY1
Word Cloud · Poll · Pick Answer · Scales · Open Ended
Day 1 — Foundations (March 27, 2026)
Today's Focus:
- NVC (Nonviolent Communication) as the backbone of the training
- OFCR Framework — Observation, Feeling, Consequence, Request
- Identity & status recognition as the relational layer
- Team foundation — two awarenesses, shared expectations
- Working Agreement & SLA introduction
| Time | Session | Type |
|---|
| 8:55–9:00 | Tech Check | Setup |
| 9:00–9:30 | Welcome, Land Acknowledgement & Introductions | Interactive |
| 9:10–9:25 | AhaSlides: Icebreaker — Word Cloud & Poll | AhaSlides |
| 9:30–10:00 | Positionality & Workshop Overview | Lecture |
| 10:00–10:45 | NVC & OFCR Framework | Lecture + Practice |
| 10:45–11:00 | Break | — |
| 11:00–11:45 | 5 High-Stakes Characteristics | Lecture |
| 12:00–1:00 | Lunch | — |
| 1:00–1:30 | NVC / OFCR Recap | Review |
| 1:30–2:15 | Team Foundation — Two Awarenesses | Lecture + Discussion |
| 2:15–2:30 | AhaSlides: Role Composition Poll & Scales | AhaSlides |
| 2:30–2:45 | Break | — |
| 2:45–3:30 | Shared Expectations & Working Agreement Preview | Workshop |
| 3:30–4:00 | Day 1 Closing & Reflection Round | AhaSlides + Wrap |
📌 Bring to Day 2:
- Your comfort scale scores from the AhaSlides closing activity
- One phrase from your professional practice you want to examine
- Any Q&A questions submitted — we open Day 2 with them
Opening — Word Cloud
ahaslides.com | Code: [update before Day 2]
"How do you currently coordinate with your partner mid-assignment?"
Closing — Open Ended
ahaslides.com | Code: [update before Day 2]
"Which linguistic issue do you encounter most?"
Day 2 — Signposting & Road Mapping (March 28, 2026)
Today's Focus:
- Three functions of signposting — Intra-Team, Consumer-Facing, Process
- Seven practical techniques from Mindness, Holcomb, Moyers & Langholtz
- The 3-Signal Protocol (Signal A, B, C) and back-channel feedback
- Activity: OFCR in Practice (Breakout Rooms)
- Activity: Language to Unlearn / Relearn (Deontology → Teleology)
- Pre-assignment protocol — what gets agreed before going live
| Time | Session | Type |
|---|
| 8:55–9:00 | Tech Check | Setup |
| 9:00–9:20 | Opening + AhaSlides Word Cloud | AhaSlides |
| 9:20–10:00 | Three Functions of Signposting + Intra-Team Protocol | Lecture |
| 9:45–9:55 | AhaSlides: Which Function? Poll | AhaSlides |
| 10:00–10:40 | Signal A/B/C Protocol + Back-Channel Feedback + Chunking | Lecture |
| 10:35–10:45 | AhaSlides: Which Signal? (Pick Answer) | AhaSlides |
| 10:00–10:45 | ★ Activity: OFCR in Practice — Breakout Rooms | Breakout (20 min) |
| 10:45–11:00 | Break | — |
| 11:00–12:00 | Consumer-Facing Signposting — Identifying Function, Q&A, Highlighting | Lecture |
| 11:45–11:55 | AhaSlides: Consumer Explication Scenario | AhaSlides |
| 12:00–1:00 | Lunch | — |
| 1:00–1:45 | Information Management — Context Balancing + Linguistic Issues | Lecture |
| 1:40–1:50 | AhaSlides: Most Common Linguistic Issue (Open Ended) | AhaSlides |
| 2:00–2:45 | ★ Activity: Language to Unlearn / Relearn — Breakout Rooms | Breakout (20 min) |
| 2:45–3:00 | Break | — |
| 3:00–3:45 | Process Signposting — Pre-Assignment Protocol (5 clauses) | Lecture |
| 3:45–4:15 | AhaSlides: Comfort Scales — 4 ratings | AhaSlides |
| 4:15–4:30 | Day 2 Closing — What to Bring to Day 3 | Wrap |
| 4:30–5:00 | AhaSlides: Open Q&A (MCDHHQA) | AhaSlides |
Signposting Quick Reference
Three functions, seven techniques — from Mindness, Holcomb, Moyers & Langholtz
Real-time signals between team members. Invisible to the consumer. Non-negotiable.
- Back-channel Feedback — nod, palm, index, head shake
- Chunking — frame → chunk → full thought → fill → output
Deliberate communication to the Deaf consumer. Used strategically, not habitually.
- Identifying the Function — what is this message doing?
- Question & Answer — genuine vs. rhetorical, embedded, multiple
- Highlighting the Point — topicalization, spatial anchoring, eye gaze
- Context Balancing — foreground what is new, background what connects
- Handling Linguistic Issues — 11 sub-strategies (see below)
Pre-assignment protocol. Lives in the SLA. Not improvised.
- Signal system — both directions
- Handoff protocol — timed or triggered
- Consumer explication threshold
- Feed protocol — how to request and deliver
- Monitoring agreement
The 3-Signal Protocol
Signal A
Slow Down / Hold
DI signals HI to reduce pace or hold while processing a structural or syntactic challenge.
Signal B
Feed Me
DI needs vocabulary, a proper noun, a number, or technical term. Immediate, discrete, targeted.
Signal C
Handoff
DI ready to resume, or passing to HI. Direction pre-agreed before the assignment.
Linguistic Issues — 11 Strategies
- Yes/No Questions — restructure for ASL marking
- Double Negatives — resolve to clear polarity
- Ambiguity — flag and manage; do not guess
- Tag Questions — genuine vs. rhetorical
- Passive Constructions — identify agent; restructure
- Non-Manual Signals — carry the full NMS grammar
- Explaining by Example — concrete before abstract
- Contrasting Features — mark explicitly in ASL
- Reiteration — strategic repetition for emphasis
- Couching — qualifier follows the claim
- Semantics — meaning level, not word level
📌 Bring to Day 3:
- Your AhaSlides comfort scale scores — Day 3 opens with the same 4 questions
- At least one Working Agreement clause drafted from today's activities
- Your most common linguistic issue — named and with a resolution strategy started
- One specific thing you will do differently in your next assignment
Opening — Scales (before/after)
ahaslides.com | Code: [update before Day 3]
Same 4 comfort ratings from Day 2 — see what shifted
Closing — Word Cloud
ahaslides.com | Code: [update before Day 3]
"One word for what you are taking away"
Day 3 — Taxonomy Mastery & Integration (March 29, 2026)
Today's Focus:
- Comfort scales revisit — before/after comparison from Day 2
- Full 5-Category Taxonomy — Cat. 1&2, 3, 6, 8, 9
- Applied scenarios — setting-based practice (Legislative, Legal, Press)
- Activity: Maverick Interpreter scenario (Breakout Rooms)
- Federal Press Event case study — full 4-condition analysis
- SLA finalization — connect Day 1 draft to Day 2 & 3 learning
- Working Agreement completion
| Time | Session | Type |
|---|
| 8:55–9:00 | Tech Check | Setup |
| 9:00–9:20 | Opening + AhaSlides: Comfort Scales Revisit | AhaSlides |
| 9:20–9:45 | Training Arc Recap — NVC → Identity → Signposting → Taxonomy | Review |
| 9:45–10:30 | 5-Category Taxonomy — Cat. 1&2, 3, 6, 8, 9 (one slide each) | Lecture |
| 10:15–10:30 | AhaSlides: Identify the Category (Scenario Poll) | AhaSlides |
| 10:30–10:45 | Break | — |
| 10:45–11:15 | Applied Scenarios A & B — Legislative & Legal Settings | Discussion |
| 11:15–12:00 | ★ Activity: Maverick Interpreter — Breakout Rooms | Breakout (20 min) |
| 12:00–1:00 | Lunch | — |
| 1:00–2:00 | Federal Press Event Case Study — 4-Condition Analysis | Case Study |
| 1:45–2:00 | AhaSlides: What Taxonomy Decisions Were Made? (Open Ended) | AhaSlides |
| 2:00–2:15 | Break | — |
| 2:15–3:00 | SLA Finalization — Connect Days 1, 2, 3 | Workshop |
| 3:00–3:20 | AhaSlides: Final Self-Assessment Scales | AhaSlides |
| 3:20–4:00 | Working Agreement Completion — Google Docs (live) | Collaborative |
| 4:00–4:20 | AhaSlides: Closing Word Cloud | AhaSlides |
| 4:20–5:00 | Closing Reflection + Q&A Final Session (MCDHHQA) | Wrap |
5-Category Taxonomy — Quick Reference
Density management. Decisions about what to add for access or omit to preserve flow. Every addition/omission has an access consequence — name it in OFCR terms.
Register decisions. Replacing source terms with equivalents that carry meaning without requiring institutional knowledge the consumer may not have.
Team coordination meta-layer. Intra-team signals, consumer-facing techniques, and pre-assignment protocol. This is Day 2's entire focus — carry it forward.
Choice vs. system failure. Repeat interpreting is a deliberate strategy; copy-sign is a collapse into mimicry. Knowing which is which is the professional distinction.
Pre-brief spatial protocol. Establishing physical and relational space before the assignment. Who is where, how that maps to ASL space, and what the team pre-agreed.
📌 Leave with:
- A completed Working Agreement — specific, behavioral, ready to use
- Before/after comfort scores — visible shift from Day 2 to Day 3 scales
- Named taxonomy decisions from the Federal Press Event case study
- One commitment to your team partner for the next high-profile assignment