Task 14 - Mumblers
When it comes to communication it's surprising to learn that
as little as 7 per cent of a communication's effectiveness can
be attributed to words alone — with voice quality contributing
38 per cent and 'non verbals' providing the remaining 55
percent.
Most people won't believe you when you give them these
figures — which kind of proves the point — so rather than
trying to argue the point, try this exercise which is also a great
deal of fun.
Divide the group into pairs and give one person in each pair a
card with a simple task that they should communicate to their
partner. Examples of the type of task would be: 'Close the
door', 'Open the window', 'Scratch my back' etc.
They can communicate with each other any way they like —
gestures, sounds, tone of voice — with the exception that they
can't use recognisable words. The exercise finishes when the
task has been completed.
Task 15 - What You Thought I Meant!
This is a good exercise for dealing with difficulties between two
indviduals or groups by exploring intentions, perceptions and
what was actually done or said.
The following description shows how to analyse the interaction
between two people by considering what was thought and
what was said. You could also consider the interaction between
two groups and analyse what was intended and what was
done.
First, identify a situation which is representative of the kind of
difficulty that is being experienced. Then draw a line down the
middle of a sheet of flip-chart paper. One half represents one
of the people and the other half represents the other person.
Now, draw out what the two people actually said during the
incident and write their words on the flip-chart paper (one
person's words on one half and the other person's words on
the other half). Leave a gap before each of the ‘speeches’.
Using another colour, fill in the gaps with what they were
thinking at the time. Pay special atttention to what was
intended and what the other person thought was meant. It is
amazing how many misunderstandings can be cleared up
using this simple exercise.
Task 16 - Influencing Exercise
This is a good exercise for practising influencing and
negotiating. Participants will also get an insight into their
influencing style. Participants work in pairs and take turns to
be the ‘influencer’. You also need an audio recorder for each
pair.
The influencers should choose something that they believe the
other person should do. It could be an activity such as:
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taking up some form of exercise
giving up smoking
joining a club or society
or buying a product such as:
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a DVD recorder
a swimming pool
an iPod
or agreeing with a strong opinion such as:
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politics
education
environmental issues
The influencers try to influence the other person in a manner
that they would normally use. The other person should be
moderately resistant to persuasion. Record the exercise.
After 5 minutes, the exercise should stop and the participants
should reverse roles. Again, record the exercise for 5 minutes.
After exercise the participants should listen to the recordings
and note how many times the influencer made a statement
(gave information) and how many times they asked a question
(sought information).
If the influencer gave information more than 5 times as
seeking information, the influencer has a strong ‘push’ style. A
ratio of between 3–5 to 1 indicates a moderate push style, and
a ratio of between 1–3 to 1 is an average level.
If the influencer sought information more times than giving
information, then the influencer is said to have a ‘pull’ style.
Task 17 - Non-verbal Introductions
Divide the group into pairs. Taking turns, each member of the
pair should communicate to their partner as much about
themselves as they can without speaking or writing (drawing
pictures is allowed). For example they might point to a
wedding ring or draw a picture of their house. To make the
exercise slightly easier, and to keep the group to time, the
facilitator could call out the topics and when to changeover.
Finish the exercise by having everyone introduce their partner (verbally). Also
allow the partner to make corrections and fill in missing details.
Task 18 - Creative Categories
This is a creativity exercise where participants generate as
many example as they can of a particular category.
Give each participant a sheet of paper with a different
category printed on the top of the page. The categories can be
specific such as 'TV Detectives' or more ambiguous like 'Stars'.
Ask them to write, in a column on the left of the page, as
many examples of the category that they can think of in a
minute.
After a minute, ask them to stop and pass the sheet to their
neighbour who will have another minute to add more
examples in another column. Repeat this process for as long
as it seems useful.
Debrief by asking questions like:

Did your your mind go blank at any time?
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How did you get going again?
Were there more examples in the first column than in the other columns?
Did you increase the number of examples by making use of the fact that
some of the categories were ambiguous?
Task 19 - Uses for a...
This is the classic brainstorming exercise where the class is
presented with an object - such as a brick or a plastic cup and the group is challenged to write down as many uses as
they can think of for the object.
Task 20 - Wordhunt
This is another creativity exercise. The group is given a letter
— such as ‘S’ — and they are asked to write down as many
words, which begin with that letter, as they can think of in five
minutes. Names and place names are allowed.
Task 21 - What if...
This is an exercise for developing creativity.
Ask a question that starts with: ‘What would happen if...’ and
see what responses you get. The first responses will probably
be the obvious consequences of the situation, so encourage
people to come up with more oblique, less obvious, counterintuitive or seemingly contradictory suggestions.
You could use questions like: ‘What would happen if the sea
level rose by three metres?’ or ‘What would happen if the
average world temperature increased by 3ºC?’
The first answers will be the ones that we have all heard about
on television or have read in the newspapers, but it won't be
long before you start getting responses like ‘Some houses
would increase in value because they would now be beachfront properties’ or the ‘The British Isles would have colder
winters.’
That last one I found particularly surprising — it seems that an
increase in the sea temperature of the Gulf of Mexico could
cause the Gulf Stream, which keeps the British Isles wet and
mild, to fail.
Task 22 - Mind Reader
Ask everyone in the group to:
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Pick a number between 1 and 10 and keep it secret.
Multiply this number by 9.
If this number has 2 digits, add them together.
Subtract 5 from this number.
Equate this result to a letter of the alphabet (1 = A, 2 = B, 3 = C etc).
Think of a country begining with that letter.
Think of an animal begining with the second letter of that country.
Finally ask ‘How many people were thinking of a grey elephant
in Denmark?’
Task 23 - Instant Survey
When we want to get feedback from a group on a number of
issues, most of us hand out questionnaires or ask for a show
of hands, but if you would like a method which also energises
the
group,
try
this
dynamic
survey:
First of all prepare a list of questions that are similar to those
used in a written survey and put the responses (e.g. 'Very
Poor', 'Poor', 'OK'. 'Good', 'Excellent') on placards around the
room.
Now ask the questions and ask the participants to move to the
part of the room that best matches their response. Draw the
group out on the reasons for their responses.
Task 24 - Spy Master
This is a good game to use as an energizer and it is also useful
to demonstrate the basic concept of Complexity Theory that
complex patterns can arise out of simple rules.
It's best to have a good-sized, open area. Begin with the
participants standing in a circle. Tell them that they are ‘Secret
Agents’ and someone in the group — a ‘Spy Catcher’ — is out
to get them. Everyone also has a ‘Cover’ who will shield them
from the ‘Spy Catcher’.
Then, quietly, without pointing, and without telling anyone,
each person identifies to themselves who their ‘Spy Catcher’
and ‘Cover’ are for this game.
After everyone has made their selections let them know that
they are now free to move around, but they must keep their
‘Cover’ between themselves and the ‘Spy Catcher’ at all times.
This can get pretty funny and interesting as people move
about. It often turns into utter chaos because of the odd
combinations of ‘Covers’ and ‘Spy Catchers’.
Task 25 - Anagrams
Make up anagrams of the participants' names and either:
display as pairs on a flip chart (for finding pre-allocated
partners and groups), or use them on name plates (for prearranged seating).
Task 26 - Ping Pong
This exercise randomly selects group members. You will need
as many ping pong balls as you have people. Decide in
advance how many groups you want and how many people
you want to be in each group.
Prepare the ping-pong balls by writing a group number on
each ball. For example, if you have twelve people who will be
working in three groups of four people, then write ‘1’ on four
of the balls, ‘2’ on another five balls and ‘3’ on the last five
balls.
Throw the balls to the participants until everyone has caught
or retrieved a ball. Then ask them to work with the people who
have the same-numbered balls as themselves.
Task 27 - Ball of String
This is a good exercise for winding up an event. It can also be
modified for use as an introduction or for ensuring that
everybody gets to make a contribution.
Everyone sits in a circle. One person holds the end of a ball of
string, shares their feelings about the event and then tosses
the ball to someone else without letting go of the string. The
person who catches the ball repeats the process. Continue
until everyone has made a contribution.
At the end there is silence and the strings, which are now
criss-crossing the circle, are cut to symbolise the end of the
group.
Task 28 - Catch Ball
This is a good exercise to use for introductions and for
reinforcing concepts.
Instead of going round the class in order when making
introductions etc, throw a ball (preferably a soft one) at one of
the students who then does the first introduction. This student
then throws the ball to someone else. Challenge the class to
complete the introductions without throwing the ball to the
same person twice.
Trainers often use questions to reinforce concepts. Instead of
using 'pose then pounce' or 'pounce then pose' techniques, try
asking the question as you throw a ball to the student ('throw
and pose' technique). Throwing the ball is not a gimmick: the
idea is to distract the student's conscious attention so that the
answer can surface from the subconscious. Suitable balls for
this exercise are either sponge balls or balls that have been
constructed from strands of rubber in the fashion of a
pompom.
It's probably a good idea to clear the coffee cups before
starting these exercises. Suitable balls for this exercise are
either sponge balls or balls that have been constructed from
strands of rubber in the fashion of a pompom.
Task 29 - Either Or
This is another great exercise for helping larger groups of
people to get to know each other better.
Get the group to stand in the middle of a large space. Then
ask an either-or question and request the group to split up
according to how they would answer the question. For
example, you could ask them whether they prefer a sweet or
savoury treat and then request that the people who have a
'sweet tooth' to go to one end of the room – and the people
who have a 'savoury tooth' to go to the opposite end of the
room. Ask another either-or question, but this time ask the
people to congregate at the sides of the room so that everyone
has to change position.
Choose a set of either-or questions that are relevant to the
event and let the exercise continue until feel that the
participants are starting to get to know each other.
Task 30 - Back-to-Back
Ask participants to find a partner and sit on the floor (or on
chairs) back-to-back with that person. Now ask them to take
turns telling the other person about an event in their life which
is particularly significant for them. The partner may respond
non-verbally, but not verbally. Allow at least five minutes for
each partner. At the end of the activity ask them to turn and
face each other and discuss the activity for five minutes.
Task 31 - Flying Eggs
Stand the members of the group in a circle, spaced 2m away
apart. The objective is for each participant to each throw a raw
egg to the next participant until a the egg makes a complete
circuit without being dropped.
Once a circuit has been completed successfully, the
participants should move three paces away from the centre of
the circle and try again.
The process is repeated until the group runs out of time or
they find it impossible to throw the egg around the circle. 20
points are awarded every time the egg is thrown round an
enlarged circle.