SERIOUSLY FUN ACTIVITIES FOR TRAINERS, FACILITATORS,
PERFORMANCE CONSULTANTS, AND MANAGERS.
Mission
To increase and improve the use of interactive,
experiential strategies to improve human performance in an
effective, efficient, and enjoyable way.
Editorial Roster
Author and Editor
: Sivasailam (Thiagi) Thiagarajan
Assistant Editor
: Raja Thiagarajan
Associate Editors: ** NOBODY **
Contributing Editors: Brian Remer and Matthew Richter
Copyright Info
The materials in this newsletter are copyright 2013 by The
Thiagi Group. However, they may be freely reproduced for
educational/training activities. There is no need to obtain
special permission for such use as long as you do not
reproduce more than 100 copies per year. Please
include the following statement on all reproductions:
For any other use of the content, please contact us (
thiagi@thiagi.com ) for permission.
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To sign up, or to donate and help us continue this
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Feedback Request
Thiagi believes in practicing what he preaches. This is an
interactive newsletter, so interact already! Send us your
feedback, sarcastic remarks, and gratuitous advice through
email to thiagi@thiagi.com . Thanks!
We have a system to start and sustain conversations among
you, me, and other TGL readers.
In this system, all comments are clearly visible to all
readers: You can comment on the articles, games, and your
opinions about activity-based training. You can comment on
other people's comments. You can comment on other people's
comments on your comments. And I can comment on your
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TGL is an exercise in co-creation. Please
participate.
Keep checking out the comments section frequently. Check out
my responses and talk back again.
In these days of constant change, adaptability and resilience
are highly desirable personal qualities. This activity enables
the participants to tap into their group wisdom and work on
their ability to flourish under frequent changes.
Synopsis
Participants work individually, with a partner, and in
teams to prepare a list of do's and don'ts
for increasing their ability to adapt to changes.
Eventually, each participant selects a factor that he or she
wants to apply immediately.
Purpose
To identify and apply factors that enable people to thrive
under constant change.
Participants
Minimum: 6
Maximum: 50
Best: 15 to 30
Time
20 to 45 minutes
Supplies
Countdown timer
Whistle
Sheets of flipchart paper
Felt-tipped markers
Masking tape
Flow
Ask the participants to select three
people. Tell the participants that they are going
to undertake a thought experiment. Ask each participant to
think of three people who handle major changes with
composure—and even seem to thrive under constant
turbulence. These role models could be public figures,
colleagues, friends, family members, or fictional
characters. Reassure the participants that they do not have
to reveal the identity of these people to anyone else.
Ask the participants to identify flexibility
factors. Invite the participants to think what
makes these three people so agile and adaptive. Ask them to
make a list of the flexibility factors on a piece of paper.
Point out that some of these factors could be common to all
three or they could be specific to one or two of the
selected people. Announce a 3-minute time limit for this
activity.
Ask the participants to select three other
people. This time, tell the participants to
select three people who cannot cope with even the smallest
change and who become agitated by the slightest discrepancy.
As before, these role models could be public figures,
colleagues, friends, family members, or fictional
characters. Once again, reassure the participants that they
do not have to reveal the identity of these people to anyone
else.
Ask the participants to identify the rigidity
factors. Invite the participants to think about
what makes these people break down at the slightest change.
Ask them to make a list of these factors on a piece of
paper. Announce a 3-minute time limit for completing this
task.
Distribute playing cards. Give a random
playing card to each participant. Make sure to distribute
equal numbers of black and red cards. (If you have an odd
number of participants, you may give one more card of either
red or black color.)
Pair up with a partner. Ask the
participants to pair up with someone who has a card of the
different color. If one participant is left over, ask him or
her to pair up with you.
Discuss coping and collapsing factors with the
partner. Ask the participants to share the
flexibility factors they had identified in the first thought
experiment. Ask them also to discuss the rigidity factors.
Announce a 3-minute time limit for this activity.
Form a team. Blow a whistle at the end of
3 minutes. Ask the participants to say “Goodbye” to
their partners and to form a team of three to five people
who have playing cards of the same color (red or black).
List Do's and Don'ts. Distribute a sheet
of flip-chart paper and a felt-tipped marker to each team.
Instruct the team members to share their ideas and to
prepare a list of do's and don'ts for increasing the ability
to thrive under continuous change. Announce a 5-minute time
limit for this activity.
Review lists from other teams. Blow the
whistle at the end of 5-minutes. Ask the teams to attach
their posters on the wall with pieces of masking tape.
Invite the participants to review the posters from the other
teams to discover common items and unique ones. Announce a
3-minute time limit.
Debriefing
Discuss the items from the posters. At the
end of 3 minutes, blow the whistle and assemble the
participants for a debriefing discussion. Conduct this
discussion by asking questions similar to these:
Which flexibility factor appeared in most
posters?
Which factor is unique to a single poster?
Which factor is most frequently neglected in your
professional life?
Which factor can produce the most increase in the
flexibility level for you?
Prepare an action plan. Invite each
participant to individually select one of the flexibility
factors for immediate action. Ask the participants to
prepare a plan for applying this factor to increase their
ability to flourish under changing circumstances. If time
permits, ask the participants to pair up with a new partner
and share their application ideas.
What is common among these three training games published
recently in TGL?
Who and
Why (August 2013). An activity for
improving trustworthiness.
Who is Creative and Why?
by Dimis Michaelides (December 2013). An activity for
improving creative potential.
Quick-Change
Artists (January 2014). An activity
for improving personal resiliency.
Here's the answer: They are all based on the same framegame.
We kept the structure of the framegame and changed the
content.
Here's the template for the basic Who and
Why? framegame:
Step
Facilitator
Participants
1. Positive role models
Ask the participants to work independently to select
three positive role models.
Select three people who demonstrate high levels of the
quality associated with a desirable characteristic
(example: trust).
2. Positive qualities
Ask the participants to work independently to identify
positive qualities.
Analyze the characteristics and competencies of the
three selected people. List three items.
3. Negative role models
Ask the participants to work independently to select
three negative role models.
Select three people who demonstrate high levels of the
quality that is opposite (example: distrust) to
the earlier characteristic.
4. Negative qualities
Ask the participants to work independently to identify
negative qualities.
Analyze the characteristics and competencies of these
three selected negative role models. List three
items.
5. Two groups
Distribute equal numbers of red and black tokens
(example: playing cards or colored dots), one to each
participant.
Receive and display your identification marker.
6. Pair work
Ask the participants to pair up with people who have
an identification marker of a different color.
Pair up with a participant who has an identification
marker of a different color. Share and discuss
characteristics and competencies of positive role
models.
7. Team work
Ask the participants who have identification markers
of the same color to form teams.
Form a team with participants who have identification
markers of the same color. Share and discuss all the
information collected.
8. Checklist
Ask the participants to prepare a checklist.
Work jointly to create a list of Do's and
Don'ts. Display this checklist on the wall.
9. Review
Ask the participants to review different
checklists.
Review the items listed on different
checklists.
10. Debriefing
Ask appropriate questions and conduct a
discussion.
Discuss checklist items that are common and
unique.
11. Action planning
Ask the participants to create a personal action
plan.
Identify one of the checklist items and create an
action plan for its implementation.
Design Your Own Game
You probably have several soft-skill topics (such as
leadership, management, active
listening) that can be effectively explored through
games designed with this template. We invite you to
creatively plagiarize the Who and
Why? framegame for your personal use.
Here's a piece of practical advice: When using a framegame
approach to design a training activity, think inside the
box. Don't make unnecessary changes to the flow of the game
or to the wording of the instructions. Pretend that you will
be punished for making unnecessary changes. Think of this
activity as a mindless search-and-replace task.
When you have designed your game, share it with others.
Send it to me (thiagi@thiagi.com) and I will publish it in a
future issue of TGL with your byline.
Ever heard the cliché, “It's not what you say, but
how you say it”? The Seven Words
jolt dramatically demonstrates this principle. It was an
activity from the American Accent Training program that I am
attending. My thanks to Ann Cook, a wonderful instructional
designer.
Synopsis
You demonstrate how the meaning of a sentence changes as
you emphasize different words. Later, you invite pairs of
participants to explore this concept.
Purpose
To explore the impact of word stress on the meaning of
sentences.
Training Topics
Communication
Presentation Skills
Small talk
Training
Facilitation
Participants
Minimum: 2 Maximum: Any number Best: 10 to 20
Time
3 to 5 minutes
Supplies
Pieces of paper
Pencil or pen
Equipment
Flip chart
Felt-tipped marker
Preparation
Practice with your sentence. Write a
seven-word sentence. Practice saying that sentence
repeatedly, emphasizing word at a time. See the examples
below.
Flow
Write a sentence. Write a seven-word
sentence on a flip-chart page. Make it a personal sentence
saying something about you.
Example: I enjoy designing and
conducting training games.
Say the first versions of the sentence.
Say the sentence from the flip chart, stressing and
emphasizing the first word. Ask the participants to comment
on the message they heard from the way you said the
sentence, going beyond the literal meaning of the words.
Pause to collect a few interpretations.
Example:
Emphasis:I enjoy designing and conducting training
games.
Possible interpretation: I am not
talking about other people. I am talking about me.
Say different versions of the sentence.
Ask the participants to listen carefully. Say the sentence
again and again, emphasizing different words. After each
time you say the sentence, invite the participants to share
their interpretation of the changed meaning.
Examples:
Second version: I enjoy
designing and conducting training games.
Possible interpretation: Many game
designers feel the activity to be frustrating. However, I
find it pleasant.
Third version: I enjoy
designing and conducting training
games.
Possible interpretation: There is
something special about the act of creating a game.
Fourth version: I enjoy designing
and conducting training games.
Possible interpretation: It is not only
the act of designing that is enjoyable. There is another
thing.
Fifth version: I enjoy designing and
conducting training games.
Possible interpretation: I am not just
an introverted designer. I also enjoy inviting the people
to play the game and watching them.
Sixth version: I enjoy designing and
conducting training games.
Possible interpretation: I am not into
trivial fun games. I am serious games kind of guy who
wants people to learn from the play.
Seventh version: I enjoy designing and
conducting training games.
Possible interpretations: I am not into
boring training exercises. I want people to play
interesting games.
Invite the participants to explore the
idea. Ask each participant to write a seven-word
sentence. (It does not matter if the sentence is longer or
shorter.) After a suitable pause, ask the participants to
pair up. Ask them to take turns to share different versions
of their sentences and appropriate interpretations.
Debriefing
Conduct a debriefing discussion by asking these types of
questions:
The meaning of what you say changes depending on how
you say it. What workplace examples do you have of this
principle?
How can you use this principle in your training
activities?
What precautions do you have to take in giving
constructive feedback to the others?
Do you feel that people frequently misunderstand what
you say? Could it be the way you say it?
Do you think non-native speakers of English run into
difficulties because they do not stress the key
words?
Learning Points
The meaning of what you say depends not only on the
words but also on the tone, stress, emphasis, and
intonation that you use.
The tone of our voice carries the emotional aspects of
what we say.
We have to pay attention not only to what we say but
how we say it.
At the end of the pre-conference workshop, one of the younger
participants stayed behind and offered to help me pack up my
stuff.
“Hi, my name is Matt,” he said.
Unlike other people, Matt did not continue with testimonials
about how much he enjoyed the workshop and learned from it. He
cut to the chase.
“I want to work for you.”
I thanked him for his enthusiasm and told him that I am not
hiring any employees. I added that in my culture, we establish
family businesses and the only person who worked for me is my
son Raja.
“I believe in nepotism,” I said, “As long as you keep
it within the family.”
I thought it was a funny line, but Matt did not laugh. Little
did I realize that he was already plotting the next move in a
battle of wits and wills.
A couple of days later, my wife Lucy told me, “A nice young
man called me and asked me to adopt him.”
Lucy was very impressed. She said the Matt was very polite
and well-informed about Hindu families. She claimed that he
behaved more respectfully and loyally than Raja.
Eventually, I compromised. I told Matt that he could work as
an informal associate of our professional group. He could use
my name but he has to get his own clients and projects. He
could keep whatever money he makes for himself. He does not
have to share any of the money he makes. And I will not pay
him a regular salary.
Matt proclaimed that he wanted to give all the money he made
to the company and take only a appropriate share. I figured
out this was a ploy to get paid during the months when he had
no clients work.
Anyhow, I decided to be nice to Matt and trained him on all
the nuances of the marketing professional services.
The first month after Matt came on board, I sold $30,000
worth of our services. Matt sold $120,000 worth.
I should have known.
The next month we rented a booth at a national conference.
The first day, Matt was absent, working for a client. Raja and
I sold $35 worth of my books. The next day Matt came to the
booth and took over. He sold $2000 worth of our products. I
worried that he might start selling the carpet off the
floor.
During the past 5 years, Matt has been generating most of the
revenue for the “corporation”. He has established a
reputation for delivering on all the promises he makes during
the sales pitch.
I keep mumbling platitudes about pursuing one's passion, the
spiritual value of our services, and the possible evils of
capitalism. And I keep hoping that one of these days, I will
train someone who is not smarter or more talented than me.
We're celebrating the arrival of 2014 with a discounted
collection of books by Thiagi.
This
collection contains nine books by Thiagi on games,
simulations, and training activities. Whether you are a
newcomer or an old timer in the training profession, you will
find hundreds of ready-to-use learning activities and
practical advice on facilitation and debriefing in these
books.
Here's what the collection includes:
Creativity Games. This
collection contains 12 games that deliver playful
techniques for solving problems and utilizing
opportunities. The games provide a structure for
individual and teamwork through different steps in the
creativity process. They can be speeded up, slowed down,
divided into phases, or combined into a total creativity
project.
Design Your Own Games and Activities:
Thiagi's Templates for Performance
Improvement. This 400+ page book by
Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer is a collection of Thiagi's most
popular books: Interactive Experiential Training,
Interactive strategies for Improving Performance, and More
Interactive Strategies for Improving Performance. If you
are a performance consultant, instructional designer,
facilitator, or trainer, you will repeatedly use the 30
powerful practical tools in this collection of Thiagi's
techniques.
Framegames by Thiagi. This
collection of six different framegames, each with several
applications and variations, explores
Classify,
Envelopes,
GBG, Group
Grope, Matrix Games,
and Take Five.
Interactive Techniques for Instructor-Led
Training. This book forms the basis of
Thiagi's workshop on interactive techniques for
instructor-led training. The modules in the book explore
openers, interactive lectures, textra games, jolts,
debriefing techniques, flexible facilitation, handling
disruptive participants, and closers.
Jolts! Activities to Wake Up and Engage
Your Participants. Jolts are experiential
activities that lull participants into behaving in a
comfortable way and then suddenly deliver a powerful
wakeup call. Jolts force participants to re-examine their
assumptions and habitual behaviors. A typical jolt lasts
for less than five minutes but provides enough insights
for a lengthy debriefing.
More Jolts! 50 Activities to Wake Up and
Engage Your Participants. This collection of
well-designed games engage and energize participants,
clarify complex ideas, and solidify concepts in
participants' minds. These brand-new ready-to-use jolts
share new ways to capture participants' attention; smooth
transitions; keep participants alert even after a break;
tap the wisdom of the group; and spice up lectures with
relevant activities.
Simulation Games by Thiagi.
This collection of more than 50 simulation games includes
Cash Games, Diversity
Simulation Games, More Cash
Games, Seven More
Simulations, SH!,
Teamwork Games, and
Triangles.
Thiagi's 100 Favorite Games.
This is a first-of-its-kind collection that represents
game play at its very best. Thiagi offers the
“how-to” and the “lowdown” on his all-time
favorite games. With this resource, you'll never be stuck
for a fun, innovative, and effective activity.
Thiagi's Interactive Lectures.
This collection offers 27 field-tested interactive lecture
activities capable of turning any stand-up presentation
into true two-way communication.
A Special Offer
If you bought these nine books separately, it would cost
you $407. Our special discounted price for the
collection is $299.
Wait, there's more! If you bought these books separately,
the shipping would cost you more than $60. The regular US
shipping cost for this package is $20. As a
TGL reader, you can get free US shipping
for this package (or $20 off international
shipping). To take advantage of this offer, visit
our online store and enter TGL-TCFS
as the coupon code when you check out.
Interactive Techniques for
Instructor-Led Training: A 2-day
workshop
We have begun scheduling our workshops for 2014. Here are some
details:
WHAT:
Interactive Techniques for Instructor-Led
Training: A 2-day workshop
FOR WHOM: Trainers, facilitators,
instructional designers, performance consultants, and
managers
HOW MUCH: Regular registration rate:
$1099. As a reader of the Thiagi
GameLetter, get $150 off by entering coupon
code TGL-WS14 when you
register
online.
WHEN AND WHERE:
February 26, 27: San Jose, California
KLA-Tencor Corporation 1 Technology Drive
Milpitas, California, 95035 USA
Decide: A
Simulation for Making Better Business
Decisions
This senior management training workshop incorporates a
real-world simulation of decision making, resource allocation,
strategic thinking, and business acumen. Participants lead a
corporation over a simulated two-year period. They receive
appropriate briefing, make decisions, receive immediate
multi-variate feedback, and participate in appropriate
debriefing discussions. The workshop will be facilitated by
Tom Pray,
the award-winning business professor who designed the
simulation, and Thiagi Group President Matthew Richter.
This workshop has been conducted in-house in various
corporations for the past twenty-five years. This is the first
time in many years it is available as a public workshop.
Come individually, or send three to five people from your
organization to participate as an intact team!
FOR WHOM: Managers, business leaders,
consultants, and executive coaches
WHEN: April 29-May 1 (three days)
WHERE: Hilton Garden Inn San Francisco
Airport North 670 Gateway Blvd South San Francisco
Bay Area, California 94080 USA Telephone: (650)
872-1515
HOW MUCH: Regular registration rate: $1599. As a reader of the Thiagi GameLetter, you
will be eligible for a $200
discount.
More details will follow. Or pre-register by calling (812)
332-1478.
Thiagi is continuing to conduct workshops outside the USA.
Check our online calendar at http://thiagi.com/calendar/ for details.
Hong Kong: January 6, 2014.
Interactive Training
Strategies.
Singapore: January 9-11, 2014.
Interactive Training
Strategies.
Paris, France: April 22-24, 2014.
Interactive Strategies for Training
Teaching / Les
jeux-cadres de Thiagi: Des stratégies interactives
pour la formation et l'enseignement. In
English with simultaneous French interpretation.
Paris, France: April 25, 2014.
Interactive Strategies for Training: The
Fundamental Tools /
Stratégies interactives de formation: Les outils
fondamentaux. In English with
simultaneous French interpretation.
Stockholm, Sweden: May 14-15, 2014.
Interactive Training
Strategies.
Stockholm, Sweden: May 16, 2014.
Advanced Interactive Training
Strategies.
Winterthur (near Zurich), Switzerland:
June 24-26, 2014. Interactive Training
Strategies.
Winterthur (near Zurich), Switzerland:
June 27, 2014. Thiagi's Tools for
Intercultural Training.
Sometime in December, Thiagi tweeted this piece of advice. It
was retweeted several times:
Learn this important facilitation behavior: Keep your mouth
shut. Pauses and silence are powerful tools.
Every day, Thiagi tweets three ready-to-use pieces of
practical advice on such HR topics as building trust, customer
service, management, leadership, feedback, and listening
skills.
Join the thousands of people who follow @thiagi on
Twitter.
Discrepancies Jolt Us To Learn More by Brian Remer
Even though we crave consistency, it's the differences and
inequalities that spur us to action and new learning. Increase
your impact as a leader or educator by challenging people to
question their mental models and develop new theories to
explain changes in their work environment.
Power Tip: Scan the environment for hidden
clues that may hide a more complete interpretation of
events.
Did you see the instructional puzzle on training topics earlier in this issue?
Did you read it? Did you solve it?
We have published several instructional puzzles in earlier
issues of TGL.
Poll Question
How often do you solve instructional puzzles in
TGL?
Never
Sometimes
All the time
(The poll opens in a new window.)
In our training sessions, we frequently use puzzles to
explore different topics and to achieve different objectives.
We have used these puzzles as review activities after a
lecture presentation, a reading assignment, or a video
segment.
We have also published articles on how to incorporate
instructional puzzles in your training activities.
Open Question
What is your opinion of instructional puzzles? What are
the potential benefits and possible dangers of using
them?
(The survey opens in a new window.)
You may include your name along with your response, or if
you prefer, keep it anonymous.
In the november 2013 issue of
TGL we ranted about objections to training
activities. We conducted a poll asking who is most likely to
object to training games.
Ninety-eight people responded to the poll. Thirty one of
you (32%) pointed to subject-matter experts. Participants
received 27 votes (28%). Trainers and clients who hire
trainers received 20 votes (20%) each.
Open Question
As a follow up to the poll, we asked this open
question:
What objections do people have toward training
activities?
Here are some sample responses:
[Games] would not be efficient enough. If you just
explain the concept with a powerpoint, it is much
quicker!
[Participants] have to get up from their
chairs.
Don't see them as value-added—more a waste of
time.
My experience is not so much a why as a context:
objections I've experienced/heard almost always relate to
the past--a bad history of poorly delivered or constructed
or even (sniff) conceived trainings. It is nice to be a
trainer in these circumstances and do much
better….
When the activity does not reinforce the skill or
concept just acquired—or does not seem to have a
purpose.
Thanks to everyone who responded.
You Can Still Participate
This survey is still open. Feel free to add your comments
by visiting the survey page.
Are you a member of the International Association of
Facilitators (IAF)?
If you are not, I strongly recommend that you join this
professional organization dedicated to growing facilitators
and encouraging the use of group process methodologies
worldwide.
Even if you are not a member, you can gain a lot by visiting
their website, http://iaf-world.org/ . Check out the IAF Resources
in their Tools & Resources Section.
Author and Editor
: Sivasailam (Thiagi) Thiagarajan
Assistant Editor
: Raja Thiagarajan![[covers of 9 books]](../graphics/thiagiCollection2014-500hi.jpg)
This
collection contains nine books by Thiagi on games,
simulations, and training activities. Whether you are a
newcomer or an old timer in the training profession, you will
find hundreds of ready-to-use learning activities and
practical advice on facilitation and debriefing in these
books.
