PLAY FOR PERFORMANCE: June 2005

A Note from Thiagi

The Mystery of the Missing Month

Many PFP readers wrote (and telephoned) to find out why the issues for the past four months are missing. I want to thank all these concerned readers and reassure them that PFP is back on schedule.

Two reasons for the missing months: (1) My mortgage was due and I had to take on a couple of projects with tight deadlines and (2) I finished writing (and compiling) a book on Interactive Lectures to be published by ASTD.

I am looking forward to our continued conversations.

[Table of Contents]

Commentary

Technical Training and Interactive Strategies

A consultant friend recently called to tell me that he has found a job as a technical trainer. He was ecstatic about the prospects of drawing a regular pay check. “The only thing I regret,” he said as he was putting the phone down, “is that I won't be able to use experiential activities in my training sessions anymore”.

Since when have experiential activities become inappropriate for technical training? My workshops on training games have consistently receive high rating for usefulness from technical training. My in-house workshops on using interactive, experiential approaches in technical training are popular. Historically, most technical training has been based on interactive, hands-on approaches.

I decided that my friend's apparently illogical statement is due to some semantic misunderstanding. Perhaps he assumed that experiential activities referred only to interpersonal simulations and soft-skill role plays. Perhaps he was worried that his engineer-participants will not tolerate playfulness and games or that he will not be able to cover the enormous amount of technical content in the limited time available. Whatever the reason, I hope that my friend does not regress to endless lectures and computerized slide shows. Because, if he does, he is going to be miss some of the most powerful approaches to technical training.

Four Approaches

Here are four interactive experiential approaches that I found especially useful in technical training:

Interactive Lectures. Lecture games facilitate two-way communication while providing complete control to the technical trainer. You can shift between a traditional lecture and the interactive variety with very little effort. If you know your technical content and have an outline for your presentation, you can easily convert the session into an interactive lecture. In the integrated-quiz type of this format, you insert quiz interludes in the middle of your presentation. In the interspersed-tasks format, you interrupt the presentation and ask participants to perform a task. In the participant-control format, you let the trainees dictate the content and the sequence of your presentation. In the teamwork format, you ask trainees to work with one another to produce a product based on your presentation.

Textra Games. This type of game combines the organization of technical manuals with the motivation of playful activities. Trainees begin by completing a reading assignment before participating in a game that uses peer support (and peer pressure) to encourage transfer and application of what they read. In the cooperative-learning format, trainees read and master one step of a procedure. Later, they form teams in which different members have mastered different steps. The team members now teach each other.

Structured Sharing. This interactive format enables practitioners to share their expertise with each other in the tradition of a medieval craft guild without its undesirable indenture system. Specially suited for advanced technical workers, this type of activity facilitates the sharing and analysis of participants' experiences, knowledge, and opinions. The primary source of information is the participants themselves. Recently, for example, I facilitated a group of people who worked with a software program (about which I knew nothing) to share their tips, tricks, shortcuts, macros, and strategies for working around known bugs.

Paired Learning. Technical training frequently involves manual skills. The best way to teach them is to use the coaching mode in which the “trainer” gives a personal demonstration, watches the performance of the “learner”, and provide constructive feedback. In a game called MULTI-LEVEL TRAINING, you teach a procedure to a few selected participants and give them the role of coach. Each coach recruits and trains as many of the other participants as possible. The trained participants are tested and certified by one of the other coaches. Certified participants recruit and train more participants. This process is continued for a specified period of time. At the end of this period, whichever team has the most certified participants win the game.

Framegames

The common element among the three approaches identified above is that they are all framegames. This type of game is designed to permit the easy replacement of old content with new material. So, once you have mastered a few framegames, you can load each of them with different technical content and create hundreds of training games. The other important thing about framegames is that they can incorporate various sources of technical content. In the above examples, interactive lectures incorporate presentations from subject-matter experts, textra games incorporate different documents, and structured sharing and paired coaching incorporate the knowledge and skills of participants themselves. Other frame games include Double Exposure which incorporates videotapes and audiotapes and WebQuests (created by Bernie Dodge) which incorporate online content resources.

What Next?

In the flattened world of tomorrow, technical workers will have to master interpersonal skills (as in the case of a medical technologist interacting with a patient). At the same time, salespeople will have to master technical skills (as in the case of helping a customer reset the VCR clock). The same is true of managers (when they want to send a memo through the company's intranet). We are all going to be teaching and learning increasing amounts of technical skills.

Aren't you glad there are alternatives to lectures?

[Table of Contents]

Guest Gamer

An Interview with Sonia Ribaux

PFP: Sonia, what would you say is your specialty area?

Sonia: I'm very interested in using games and simulations to create some learning around social issues. I recently developed a simulation on poverty reduction that is being used with new development officers at CIDA (Canadian International Develop Agency). I'm also very interested in environmental issues.

PFP: How did you get into designing and using games?

Sonia: I took a Gaming and Simulation course with Harold Stolovitch many years ago and decided to make games a focus of my practice. I soon discovered NASAGA and its wacky, warm and generous members. I learned about games and simulation by having to prepare and teach a university course on it. Initially, I really didn't know much more than my students when I first started.

PFP: How long have you been designing and using games?

Sonia: About 15 years.

PFP: Where do you use games?

Sonia: I almost invariably use games for warm-ups and reviews since they lend themselves so well to those types of activities. But I also try to use games to help participants discover content and make sense of it on their own.

PFP: How do your clients respond?

Sonia: When I suggest incorporating games in a design I usually get a very good response. I think that many clients already know about my interest in games when they contact me, so it's not really surprising that they are receptive. If someone else is facilitating my designs, I'm more likely to get pushback from the facilitators. I've learned that some facilitators need to be coached on how to facilitate games. I haven't lost one yet.

PFP: How do your participants respond?

Sonia: The best predictor of participants' response to games in an instructional setting is how comfortable and confident the facilitator is about using games. Enthusiasm is contagious. If the facilitator loves to play, so will the participants. Sometimes I get a participant who doesn't want to play. I make that person my assistant or give him or her a special role to play and leave it at that. It really doesn't happen often.

PFP: What has been the most embarrassing moment that you have experienced in conducting a training game?

Sonia: Once I was facilitating a one-day course which included several small games. The participants were very enthusiastic about games. I made a big deal about the fact that we were going to play a really fun game later in the afternoon, sort of to whet their appetites. Well, imagine my dismay when I realized I had not brought the right game! After all the build-up, I felt embarrassed to admit my mistake. I told the participants the truth and challenged them to develop a new game to review the content. They did this with much enthusiasm and I think they thought this was the plan all along.

PFP: What advice do you have for newcomers?

Sonia: When designing games, first, choose game formats that you love to play. Secondly, keep games simple. Third, test your game before you use it with the client (enlisting or blackmailing friends and family members to test your game is a common practice amongst gamers)

When using games, trust that the spirit of play will be ignited in your participants. Deep down, everyone wants to play.

When you want to get acceptance for the use of games, remember that as with everything else, give your client a solution that meets their needs. Focus on the results and use language that is appropriate to the client. If using “games” doesn't fit in your client's culture then simply call it an “activity”.

PFP: What do you think is the most important characteristic of an effective facilitator?

Sonia: I think that learning occurs when a facilitator is able to develop a trusting relationship with the participants. When people trust, their minds open and they are ready to learn.

PFP: What is the most important characteristic of a training game?

Sonia: The games that I admire the most are those that are simple and elegant. It's my life goal as a game designer to develop games that are described as simple and elegant.

PFP: What is the most important characteristic of a participant?

Sonia: I love to see a participant who abandons himself to the spirit of play. So much can happen in these circumstances. It's really fun to watch.

PFP: What is one thing that you dislike the most about a facilitator?

Sonia: I don't like it when a facilitator showcases his or her own knowledge or skill. I also get really bored if a facilitator is focused on entertaining me.

PFP: What is one thing that you dislike the most about a training game?

Sonia: I hate it when the “pre-play” period is too long. I want to be able to play quickly. When the instructions are too complex I get bored and usually make up my own rules. The game can be complex in terms of ideas but the instructions should be straightforward.

PFP: What is one thing that you dislike the most about a participant?

Sonia: Poor hygiene! No, seriously, negativity. A participant's inability or unwillingness to engage in new learning situations not only makes the experience unenjoyable for that person, but can also dampen the experience for other participants in the group.

PFP: What types of games do you use most frequently?

Sonia: In a work setting, I use a lot of board games. I have some quick and easy templates for game boards that I can easily customize for a given client. The basic construct of these types of games is, the more you know (or paid attention) the more likely you are to win. So, it makes sense in an instructional setting.

PFP: What is your favorite game?

Sonia: For fun I love to play games like charades or Pictionary or any kind of improv games.

PFP: Do you have any book recommendations?

Sonia: There's a book called Playfair that I love. It was written by Matt Weinstein and Joel Goodman. These are games to play for fun anytime you're with a group. The book is from the 80s (so everyone in the photos has bad hair) but you might still find it in a used book store. I also like Kat Koppett's book on improv activities called Training to Imagine. And, I love Thiagi's book, Design Your Own Games and Activities.

PFP: What is your prediction about the future of games?

Sonia: I predict a world where game stores are as common as book stores, where Playing Games is a major in college and in which adults and children spend as much time playing games as watching TV. That's my wish list anyway.

[Table of Contents]

Structured Sharing

Potent Poetry
by By Sonia Ribaux

I've been really enjoying playing with my Magnetic Poetry set. I thought that this would be fun to use in an instructional setting. I think that people are intrigued by poetry because most of us can't write it. Here are a few ideas on how to incorporate poetry in your course.

First, Make Your Own Set of Poetry Cards

It's very easy to make your own set of poetry cards. You need approximately 200 cards. A 2 by 4 inch format works well. Customize the cards so that words related to your topic are well represented. Below is a recipe for the type of words to include on the cards, the number of words, and some examples. All numbers are approximate.

Verbs (30): create, stimulate, explore, lead, frolic, be, is, lift, explode, to love, write, show, call, talk, jump

Adjectives (20): mellow, clever, playful, soft, enough, too much, pale, dark, fast

Nouns (45): bird, integrity, teacher, team, rainbow, cement, light, bed, table, marble, fence, passion, fruit

Adverbs (20): joyfully, well, elegantly, randomly, why, not, how, where, far, near, softly, lovely, very, really, wisely

Poetic phrases (15): truth dreams, silver wolf, tender stars, brisk air, cool stream, darling buds, heavenly honey

Prepositions (10): at, from, with, up, across, under, over, with, for, of, by, beside, next

Pronouns (10): who, which, what, it, she, he, it, I, you, they, this, that, any, his, her, none, anything, some, every

Interjections and conjunctions (10): oh, wow, hey, and, because, as, if, then, for, since, until

Suffixes (10): -s, -ed, -ing, -es, -ness (these can be repeated)

Custom words related to your topic (20-30): For a set I made recently on instructional games I used words like these: games, learning, play, teach, coach, creativity, laughter, players, competition, tomfoolery

Now, Play With the Words

There are many different ways to use the poetry cards. Here are a few ways to incorporate poetry in any instructional situation.

Review. Ask each team of 4-5 people to create a brief poem that summarizes what they have learned in the training as a whole or on a particular topic. Debrief by having a poetry reading. Let the participants explain the meaning of their poem.

Team Building. Ask teams to use the cards to write a poem or slogan to express their team's spirit. Post the poem on the walls.

Vision. Ask team to come up with 10 to 20 words that come to mind when visioning a particular project or idea. Have them write the words on cards. Give them a set of poetry cards without custom words. Use the words they wrote as the custom words. Now ask the teams to come up with a vision poem, using both their words and the poetry cards. Debrief by having the teams present their vision and discuss.

Icebreaker: This Describes Me. Distribute a set of cards to participants seated around each table. Have each person select 5 words that describe him or her. Ask the participants to work in pairs and explain to each other their choice of words. Have participants to introduce their partner to the group.

Icebreaker: Group Poetry. Use this activity with large groups: Give each person three cards. Ask the participants to mingle and meet, showing each other their words. Eventually, participants should form groups of 5 or 6 people with whom they can form a short poem.

[Table of Contents]

Debriefing

Encouraging Participation in Debriefing
by Roger Greenaway

This is a continuation of Roger Greenaway's article on debriefing. You can review the previous articles in the December 2004, January 2005, and February 2005 issues of PFP. The earlier articles explored five strategies for encouraging participation in debriefing (investigate, facilitate, clarify, demonstrate, and change). This month, Roger continues with the next two strategies of consult and inspire.

Consult

When you face a problem as a trainer such as trying to encourage more contribution in a group, there is rarely much to be gained from being “secretive” about the problem you see and your plans for solving it. If the group does not know what you are up to, this may slow down the building of trust between you and the group. Also the problem you see is probably one that they are also keen to solve. So explain the problem as you see it and how you are thinking of tackling it (or why you are unsure about how to proceed). Encourage comments. Ask for ideas. Enlist their support. You may find plenty of ideas and support coming from group members. Your toolkit is not the only resource you can draw on. I call this “transparent training”. It instantly gives you a much bigger toolkit, but if you use it too much, the group may think that your toolkit is empty!

Inspire

Be radical. Do the opposite of what participants expect. Change the routine. Be imaginative. Make debriefing at least as appealing as the game being debriefed. Above all, ensure that debriefing sessions are alive to learners' needs.

Meet “What's-in-It-for-Me” Needs. Despite your best efforts, some individuals may find that what you are offering during the debriefing session is neither meeting their needs nor helping them towards their goals. It often happens that a lot of thought is put into designing the activity to stimulate and engage the participants. But how much thought do you put into designing debriefing sessions to stimulate and engage? It is not enough to expect that the energies aroused during activities will keep things alive during the debriefing process. This clearly does happen on occasion, but if you find that involvement and contribution levels drop off during a debriefing session, then maybe it's time to put as much care into the design of your debriefing.

So what are these needs that we should try to meet in both activities and debriefing session? In my book Playback I have compiled a list of developmental needs from a number of developmental theories. I also give brief examples of how debriefing techniques can help to meet these needs. The needs listed are:

• Belongingness
• Acceptance
• Care and friendship
• Praise and recognition
• Responsibility
• Self-respect
• Creativity
• Achievement
• New experiences

If you can offer all of these in your reviews, there will be very few people who could possibly resist taking part!

[Table of Contents]

Bookshelf

Storytelling, Part 2

We published mini-reviews of eight books on storytelling in the Bookshelf section of the September 2003 issue of PFP. Here's an update with mini-reviews of eight more recent books (or older books recently discovered).

Brown, J. S., Denning, S., Groh, K. and Prusak, L. (2005). Storytelling in organizations: Why storytelling is transforming 21st century organizations and management.. Burlington, MA: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann.

This book includes original presentations by four outstanding scholars at the 2001 Smithsonian Associates Event (entitled “Storytelling: Passport to the 21st Century”) along with their updated reflections three years later in 2004. The basic presentations included in the book are “Storytelling in Organizations” by Larry Prusak, “Narrative as a Knowledge Medium in Organizations” by John Seely Brown, “Using Narrative as a Tool for Change” by Stephen Denning, and “Storytelling in Making Educational Videos” by Katalina Groh. Sample practical suggestion from the book: The best story does not come from the chief executive officer of the company. It comes from an obscure person that nobody suspected would be a great storyteller.

Denning, S. (2005). The leader's guide to storytelling.. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Much more extensive than his previous two books, in this latest hands-on guide to storytelling, Stephen Denning explains why storytelling is a critical skill for leaders. The second part of the book features instructions and examples related to eight types of stories for motivating others to action, building trust in you, building trust in your organization, transmitting your values, getting others to work together, sharing knowledge, taming the grapevine, and creating and sharing your vision. Sample practical suggestion from the book: To create a future story, bring together the people who will be involved in implementing the future story and involve them in crafting the story. If appropriate, use roleplaying.

Denning, S. (2005). Squirrel, Inc.. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Stephen Denning narrates a satirical fable about a group squirrels with Diana as the heroine. An executive at Squirrel, Inc., Diana masters the fine art of leading change through storytelling including techniques for overcoming obstacles, generating enthusiasm, fostering teamwork, and sharing knowledge. From the story, you realize how the right story told at the right time can determine the outcome of any major change effort. Sample practical suggestion from the book: Tell the story from the point of view of a single protagonist who is typical of the potential audience. Make sure that the story has an authentically happy ending.

Koppett, K. (2005). Training to imagine: practical improvisational theater techniques to enhance creativity, teamwork, leadership, and learning. . Sterling, VA: Stylus.

Kat Koppett's book on improvisational techniques includes a chapter(and 20 ready-to-use activities) related to storytelling. Kat explores different applications of storytelling to pique interest, to introduce participants, assess needs, increase retention, and enrich visioning, and build teams. All of the activities in the book go beyond one-way storytelling to interactive story creation and analysis. Sample practical suggestion from the book: Use the character creation activity. Give a fictional name of a character and ask participants to take turns offering characteristics, building on the earlier contributions.

Lipman, D. (1995). The storytelling coach: How to listen, praise, and bring out people's best. . Little Rock, AR: August House Publishers.

This book is not about storytelling but about teaching other people to tell their stories. Doug Lipman illustrates his coaching principles with excerpts from actual sessions. Chapters of the book provide ground rules for coaching and deal with overcoming obstacles to effective storytelling: lack of information, needing more experience of the story, misdirected effort, and emotional blocks. Sample practical suggestions from the book: Be generous with your praise. Praise is an under-used tool of awesome power. Many of us desire praise, but are afaid to seek it. Many of us desire to give praise, but are afraid to express it. We need to hear what we do well about ten times as often as what needs improvement.

MacDrury, J. and Alterios, M. (2004). Learning through storytelling in higher education: Using reflection and experience to improve learning. Sterling, VA: Kogan-Page.

Written by two educators from New Zealand, this book presents practical suggestions for encouraging participants to create and share stories related to their professional practice. The authors introduce and illustrate a storytelling model and describe the relationship between storytelling process and reflective learning outcomes. Chapters of the book elaborate on the stages of storytelling: story finding, story telling, story expanding, story processing, and story reconstructing. Sample practical suggestion from the book: Have participants identify key elements and reflections by identifying key feelings and players, significant events, insights into preparation for the storytelling activity, new insights gained while sharing the story, processing of the experience, and outcomes.

Mooney, B. and Holt, D. (1996). The storyteller's guide: Storytellers share advice for the classroom, boardroom, showroom, podium, pulpit, and center stage. Little Rock, AR: August House Publishers.

This book is an excellent collection of practical advice. It contains answers from more than 50 contributors to 21 questions such as How do I find the right stories?, What mistakes are frequently made by beginning storytellers? How do I control stage fright? and How do I market myself?. Sample practical suggestion from the book: Make sure that the story has a strong definite ending. Even though our lives are on a long chain of events, we must have a conclusion in a story-for-telling. The audience must clearly know the story is over. Try several different endings. An audience can sometimes help you choose the best ending.

Stevenson, D. (2003). Never be boring again. Colorado Springs, CO: Cornelia Press.

Doug Stevenson is the creator of the Story Theater Method® which involves acting out the story instead of standing still and telling it. Story theater blends physical and emotional action. In this book, Doug presents and explains nine steps for strategic storytelling in business: setting the scene, introducing the characters, beginning the journey, encountering the obstacle, overcoming the obstacle, resolving the story, making the point, asking the question, and restating the point. Sample practical suggestion from the book: Use self-depreciating humor. If you are bald, play it off. If you are tall, make fun of your height. In the midst of a story, during a dramatic moment, insert a self-depreciating comment—to get a laugh and to relive tension—and move on.

[Table of Contents]

Puzzle

Twisted Pairs

We summarized the key points of one of the articles in this issue in a single sentence. Then we converted this summary sentence into this twisted-pair puzzle:

AHRSTTTTU EHIIPRSTT AFLOPY BEILLW DEGIIINNT AACIINOPPRRSTTUY

How To Solve It

To solve a twisted-pair puzzle, unscramble the first set of letters to discover two words. Decide which word comes first and which word comes next. Then unscramble the next set of letters to discover the third and the fourth words. Repeat this process until you have unscrambled all sets of letters, discovered all the words, and reconstructed the original sentence.

An Example

Here's a sample twisted-pair puzzle:

AGIKLNOPRSWY

Since there is only set of letters, this must be a two-word sentence. Working with the letters, I identify the word WALKING. That leaves these letters: OPRSY. I create the word PROSY with these letters, not sure whether it is a legitimate word. Even if it is, PROSY WALKING or WALKING PROSY does not sound like much of a sentence. So I decide that WALKING is not one of the two words.

Next I try PARKING. That left LOSWY to be formed into a single word. Still no luck.

I work with the word ASKING. Using the remaining letters, I create two words: PRY and OWL. For a moment I decide that the hidden sentence is PRY ASKING OWL. Then I remember that the sentence can have only two words.

I keep playing with other words, intuitively feeling that one of the words should end in “-ING”. After several minutes of torture, I end up with the correct sentence: PLAYING WORKS!

Your Turn Now!

Go back to the twisted-pair puzzle at the top of this page. See if you can solve it, two words at a time.

If you want, we can give you a hint.

(*Hint given at the end of Event Alert)

Do you want to see the solution?

[Table of Contents]

Event Alert

NASAGA '05: Play Learn Perform

Please join me and my colleagues from the Thiagi Group at this year's NASAGA Conference. Experience the spectacular colors of a New England autumn during NASAGA's annual conference. “Play Learn Perform” is the theme: a blend of interactive activities and fun designed to help everyone be more productive on the job, in teams, and within their community. Come to Manchester, New Hampshire and experience a pre-conference workshop, interactive concurrent sessions, dynamic keynote presenters, a banquet and dancing, as well as informal networking and professional development!

NASAGA Training Game Design Certificate

The Thiagi Group is coordinating the NASAGA Training Game Design Certificate program. To earn this official certificate, you have to attend the pre-conference workshop, selected concurrent sessions, and a post-conference online follow-up.

Dates

Pre-Conference Workshop: October 5, 2005

Conference: October 6 - 8, 2005

Location

Radisson Hotel Manchester

700 Elm Street

Manchester, NH 03101

Telephone: 603 625-1000

Conference Highlights

• Full-day Pre-Conference Workshops by The Thiagi Group, Scott Simmerman and Randy Hollandsworth, and William Wake and Les Lauber.
• Wednesday evening Opening Reception and New England Contra Dance
• Keynote presentations by Clark Quinn, Ron Roberts, and Dennis Meadows

Sample Concurrent Sessions

• Online Simulations for the Instruction of Interpersonal Communications — Randy Hollandsworth
• Bring Your Brain! Using Cranium? to Energize, Ice Break and Review — Katrina Kennedy
• Juggling and the Meaning Of Life — Rob Peck and Sivasailam “Thiagi” Thiagarajan
• Get a Clue with Teambuilding Treasure Hunts — David Blum
• Harnessing the Power of Video Games for Education — Stefan Gunther
• Training To Imagine: Improv Designs for Inspired Training — Kat Koppett

Register Today!

Visit the NASAGA website (LINK: nasaga.org) for more information and to register.

Twisted Pairs: Hint

The sentence is a piece of advice given by Sonia Ribaux during her interview.

[Table of Contents]

Pithy Saying

Storytelling

This statement was inspired by a slide show in Stephen Denning's website. (http://www.stevedenning.com/) The same slide show points out that children can tell stories while they are two years old whereas they have to be eight years old before they can handle abstract logic (of the type involved in lecturing).

So, why should we struggle to communicate key concepts in a foreign language instead of talking to others in their own (and our own) language?

Twisted Pairs Puzzle: Solution

TRUST THAT THE SPIRIT OF PLAY WILL BE IGNITED IN YOUR PARTICIPANTS.

[Table of Contents]