THIAGI GAMELETTER: March 2014

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Structured Sharing

Good Cop, Bad Cop

Design Note

This activity uses the Who and Why framegame from the January 2014 issue of TGL as the basic structure. However, it employs an interest twist: Instead of the participants coming up with three positive and three negative role models, they come up with three different members of the general public. They assume the perspectives of these people and come up with positive and negative characteristics of the police.

Synopsis

Participants work individually, assuming the roles of three different people and brainstorming their perceptions of the police. Later, they work with a partner and in teams to prepare a list of do's and don'ts for improving the public's perception of the police.

Purpose

To identify behaviors and characteristics of the police that enhance their image in the minds of the public.

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. Encourage the participants to make sure that these people are as different as possible in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, and occupation. Tell the participants that these people could be public figures, colleagues, friends, family members, acquaintances, or fictional characters.

Ask the participants to identify positive behaviors and characteristics of the police. Instruct the participants to work individually and assume the role of one of the three people. Ask them to make a list of responses to this question:

Ask the participants to repeat the same thinking task with the role of the other two people. Announce a 3-minute time limit for this activity.

Ask the participants to identify negative behaviors and characteristics of the police. Explain that you are going to repeat the activity—but work in the opposite direction. As before, instruct the participants to assume the role of one of the three people. Ask them to make a list of responses to this question:

Ask the participants to repeat the same thinking task with the role of the other two people. Announce a 3-minute time limit for this activity.

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 will end up with one more person who has either a red or a black card.)

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 positive and negative police factors with the partner. Ask the participants to share the positive behaviors and characteristics they had identified in the first thought experiment. Ask them to also discuss the negative 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).

Prepare a checklist. 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 the police to improve the public's perception. 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 suggestions appeared in the most posters?
• Which suggestions were unique to a single poster?
• Which suggestions do the police most frequently neglect?
• Which suggestions would significantly improve the public's image of the police?

Prepare an action plan. Invite each participant to individually select one of the techniques for immediate implementation. Ask the participants to prepare a plan for applying this technique to provide effective and engaging training. If time permits, ask the participants to pair up with a new partner and share their action plan ideas.

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Framegame

A Template for the Modified Version of Who and Why

In the January issue of TGL, we deconstructed the Who and Why framegame and provided a template.

In the Good Cop, Bad Cop activity in this issue, we began by identifying a target group that we want to analyze (in this case, the police). We modified the original framegame to begin with three different people and come up with good and bad factors associated with the target group from the perceptions of these three people.

Here's a template for this modified version:

Step	Facilitator	Participants
1. Select three roles	Ask the participants to select three people who differ from each other in terms of age, gender, occupation, ethnicity and other such factors.	Select three people who are different from each other.
2. Identify positive behaviors and characteristics of the target group.	Ask the participants to identify positive aspects from the perspectives of the three people selected initially.	Make a list of positive behaviors and characteristics of the target group.
3. Identify negative behaviors and characteristics of the target group.	Ask the participants to identify negative aspects from the perspectives of the three people selected initially.	Make a list of negative behaviors and characteristics of the target group.
4. Randomly distribute two different colors to the participants.	Distribute equal numbers of black and red playing cards from a shuffled packet.	Receive a playing card and note its color.
5. Work with a partner.	Ask the participants to pair up with people who have a playing card of a different color.	Pair up with a participant who has a playing card of a different color. Share and discuss positive and negative behaviors and characteristics of the target group.
6. Work with a team.	Ask the participants who have playing cards of the same color to form teams.	Form a team with participants who have playing cards of the same color. Share and discuss all the information collected.
7. Prepare a 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.
8. Review	Ask the participants to review different checklists.	Review the items listed on different checklists.
9. Debriefing	Ask appropriate questions and conduct a discussion.	Discuss checklist items that are common and unique.
10. 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.

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Online Game

Pat Plays Good Cop, Bad Cop

Did you read the Good Cop Bad Cop game earlier in this issue?

You can play an online game that tests your mastery of the framegame.

You are presented with seven sentences about Pat's experiences with the Good Cop Bad Cop game. However, these sentences are not in the correct sequence.

Your task is to drag and drop these sentences in the correct order.

See if you can beat the timer and get a perfect score.

JavaScript Version for mobile devices and modern browsers (does not require Flash).

Flash version for older machines and browsers.

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Mini Memoir

Listening Skills

About a month after we got married, my wife Lucy began complaining, “You are not listening to me.”

I usually responded to this complaint with, “Yes, looks like it's going to rain soon”. Partly to be funny and partly because I felt defensive.

Anyhow, six months ago, I finally decided to do something about this complaint. I decided to become an active, thoughtful, empathic listener. So I went to Amazon.com and invested the money I was saving to buy a motor bike on a truckload of books on listening. I plodded through all of the books, some 82 thousand pages of them. Totally inspired, I read research reports and case studies about principles and procedures of listening. I enrolled in the International Association of Listening Professionals. I am not kidding. This group really exists. Their annual conferences are a hoot: Nobody talks and everybody listens. I even started cramming stuff to get certified as a listening professional.

This entire obsession about personal development cut into my free time and increased the complaints from Lucy about my not listening.

In total frustration, I went to a Chinese restaurant and consumed a Szechuan combination plate. Afterwards, I opened my fortune cookie. The piece of paper said, “Step one in acquiring wisdom is to listen.” When I turned it over it had another message on the other side instead of a Mandarin lesson or my lucky numbers. This message said, “The first step in listening is to shut your mouth!”

I was absolutely convinced that these messages were from my long-departed ancestors in the cosmic space, intent on providing me with interpersonal skills training.

So I followed the piece of practical advice on the second side and kept my mouth shut whenever Lucy talked.

A miracle occurred.

One day Lucy said, “There is something different about you. Did you get a haircut?”

When I reflected on this experience, I understood the higher level learning point from my cosmic trainers:

“Don't read too many pages of complicated stuff. Read a simple piece of practical advice and apply it to your real life.”

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Card Game

Sweet Sixteen
by Gary Harper

This game is based on a tournament format in which participants evaluate pairs of Practical Advice Cards. The card they deem more practical advances to square off against other winning cards until only one remains—the Champion Practical Advice card.

Synopsis

Four teams are each given four Practical Advice Cards and asked to determine which is the most practical. The large entire group then determines which of the four winning cards is The Champion Practical Advice Card.

Purpose

To review and evaluate pieces of practical advice.

Participants

Minimum: 12
Maximum: Any number
Best: 16-24

Time

15-20 minutes

Supplies

16 cards from a deck of Practical Advice Cards

Editor's Note

This game uses a deck of Practical Advice Cards. Each card in a deck of 52 Practical Advice Cards contains an actionable guideline related to a specific topic. We currently have 24 different ready-to-use decks of cards for sale (at http://www.thiagi.biz/category_s/1833.htm ) on topics such as trust building, coaching, interviewing, customer service, feedback, leadership, listening, managing globally, motivation, presentation skills, teamwork, and training. Gary Harper wrote the deck on conflict management.

We would love to sell you cards for this game, but you don't have to buy them. You can create your own cards by writing different pieces of practical advice on blank index cards. If you want to be more efficient (and effective), you can ask the participants to generate their own cards, mix them up, and conduct the game.

Flow

Divide the participants into four teams. Make sure that the teams are of approximately equal size.

Distribute Practical Advice Cards. Give four cards to each team.

Select a more practical card. Ask team members to randomly choose two of the Practical Advice Cards and read the cards aloud. Ask them to discuss which piece of advice they think is more practical. After one or two minutes of discussion, announce that it is time to vote. Have the team put the winning card aside.

Select another card. Have each team repeat the process with the remaining two Practical Advice Cards, setting the winning card aside.

Identify the team's winning card. Ask the team to repeat the process a third time using the two winning cards. At the end of this round, each team should have their winning card.

Present the winning card. Have each team select a spokesperson to read the advice from the winning Practical Advice Card. Also ask this person to summarize the reasons the team voted for this winning card.

Conduct the semi-final round. Randomly select two of the spokespeople and have each read the advice from their cards again. Then have all the participants vote as to which of the two pieces of advice is more practical. Set aside the winning card. Repeat the process with the other two spokespeople.

Conduct the final round. Repeat a final time with the two winning advice cards from the previous round. The winner is crowned the Champion Practical Advice Card from this tournament.

Follow up. Read the piece of advice from the Champion Card. Ask the participants to reflect on the advice and plan how to use it in the near future.

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Special Offer

Building Trust

Many performance problems are not due to the lack of skill, time, or tools, but due to the lack of trust. Increased trust improves innovation, productivity, and profits, and reduces bureaucracy, duplication, surveillance, and turnover.

Practical Advice Card (PAC) Games

The Cards

This collection of games features a deck of 52 cards, each with a piece of practical advice related to building trust in the workplace. The advice on each card is self-contained, evidence-based, useful, and usable. The pieces of advice are not based on any single book or any single model for building trust. Instead, they are based on our analysis of several books, research reports, case studies, online forums, conference sessions, and interviews with subject-matter experts.

The Games

While you can read the advice on each card and implement it at work and home, what makes this training tool effective and engaging is the collection of 15 different games. These games can be played by different numbers of people (from 1 to 100) and last for different periods of time (from 10 minutes to 52 weeks). The deck comes with a copy of the game manual. You can also download a PDF version of the manual.

Buy Now and Get a Discount

The Practical Advice Cards deck and game manual sells for $49.95. Order before March 31, 2014 and you will receive a $10 discount. You can purchase the Building Trust PAC game for $39.95 (plus $9.50 for shipping) in our online store. No need to enter a coupon code—as long as you order before March 31, you'll get the discount automatically.

Fluency Card (FC) Games

The Cards

This is a different system of card games on the same topic. A deck of fluency cards contains four different types of cards. Spades cards contain a category associated with building trust. Clubs cards contain a pair of concepts associated with building trust. Hearts cards contain a single concept associated with building trust. Diamonds cards contain a roleplay scenario associated with building trust.

The Games

You can use the Fluency Cards to play different games. The object of the game is to win as many cards as possible within a specific period of play. To win a card, you have to perform a specific task associated with the card better than the other players. To win a spades card, you have to come up with a list of items that belong to the category printed on the card. To win a clubs card, you have to come up with one important difference and one important similarity between the two concepts printed on the card. To win a hearts card you have to draw a picture that is directly related to the concept printed on the card. To win a diamond card you have to act out appropriate behaviors in a roleplay related to the scenario printed on the card.

Buy Now and Get a Discount

The Fluency Cards deck and game manual sells for $49.95. Order before March 31, 2014 and you will receive a $10 discount. You can purchase the Building Trust FC game for $39.95 (plus $9.50 for shipping) in our online store. No need to enter a coupon code—as long as you order before March 31, you'll get the discount automatically.

Building Trust Combo

Save even more!

Want to save more? Buy the Building Trust combo, which contains one PAC and one FC deck and game manual. Ordinarily this combo sells for $89.95 (plus $9.50 shipping). Order before March 31, 2014 and you will receive a $20 discount. You can purchase the combo for $69.95 (plus $10.00 for shipping) in our online store. No need to enter a coupon code—as long as you order before March 31, you'll get the discount automatically.

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Jolt

Team Squeeze

Whenever I facilitate an effective team, discussions frequently acquire a life of their own. Everyone feels equally empowered to start talking on a topic and to make his or her comments. Team Squeeze provides an experiential metaphor for this phenomenon.

Synopsis

Participants stand in a circle, holding hands. Different participants squeeze the hand of the person on the right. Whenever a participant feels a squeeze, he or she transmits the squeeze to the next person.

Purpose

To explore a situation in which all members of a group have equal opportunities and equal power.

Participants

Minimum: 5
Maximum: Any number
Best: 10-30

Time

3 minutes for the activity, 3 minutes for debriefing

Flow

Form a circle. Ask the participants to stand in a circle and hold hands with each other. Point out that the two hands of each participant are connected to different participants.

Send a pulse. Tell the participants that you are going to squeeze your right hand. When your neighbor feels the squeeze (on his or her left hand), this person should transmit the squeeze by squeezing her right hand. The squeeze will continue to be transmitted in the same fashion from one participant to the next. Emphasize that each participant should wait for a squeeze on the left hand and squeeze the next person with the right hand.

Complete the activity. Squeeze the hand of the person on your right and let this squeeze get transmitted silently. When it eventually reaches your left hand, announce the fact.

Start more transmissions. Ask the participants to work silently. Invite any participant to begin a squeeze cycle any time he or she feels like it. Encourage more than one participant to do this silently. Remind everyone to transmit the squeeze with their right hand when they feel a squeeze on the left hand.

Stop the transmission. After a minute or so, ask the participants to stop the activity and release their hands. Ask the participants if they can figure out who started the various squeezes.

Debriefing

Explain to the participants that it is difficult—and unnecessary—to figure out who started which squeeze. Similarly, during a group discussion, it should be difficult—and unnecessary—to figure out who began a new thread.

Ask the participants if they can recall a conversation in which everyone paid attention to the topic and no one kept track of who said what.

Learning Points

During a group discussion, everyone should have equal opportunities and authority to start on a new topic.

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US Workshops

Interactive Techniques for Instructor-Led Training: A 2-day workshop

Here are two upcoming public workshops in the USA.

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.

Cleveland, Ohio
March 18-19, 2014

Courtyard Cleveland University Circle
2021 Cornell Road
Cleveland, OH 44106
USA
Telephone: (216) 791-5678

More information: Review the detailed brochure (1.3M PDF)

Register now!

Washington, DC
June 10-11, 2014

Hyatt Regency Crystal City
2799 Jefferson Davis Highway
Arlington, VA 22202
USA
Telephone: (703) 418-1234

More information: Review the detailed brochure (1.3M PDF)

Register now!

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US Workshops

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 briefings, 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 get $200 off by entering coupon code TGL-DE14 when you register online.

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International Workshops

Thiagi Workshops Outside the USA

Thiagi is conducting public workshops outside the USA. Check our online calendar at http://thiagi.com/calendar/ for details.

• 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. More information: http://resultatbolaget.se/interactive-training-techniques-by-thiagi/
• Stockholm, Sweden: May 16, 2014. Advanced Interactive Training Strategies. More information: http://resultatbolaget.se/interactive-training-techniques-by-thiagi/
• Winterthur (near Zurich), Switzerland: June 24-26, 2014. Interactive Training Strategies. More information: http://www.diversityandinclusion.net/index2.cfm?page=kurse_detail&kid=4&lang=en
• Winterthur (near Zurich), Switzerland: June 27, 2014. Thiagi's Tools for Intercultural Training. More information: http://www.diversityandinclusion.net/index2.cfm?page=kurse_detail&kid=7&lang=en
• Bengaluru, India: Exact date to be determined, but sometime during August 18-22. Interactive Techniques for Instructor-Led Training: A 2-day workshop. Organized by C2C, Bengaluru. For more information, contact Vinay Kumar ( vinay@concept2competence.com ).
• Mumbai, India: Exact date to be determined, but sometime during August 18-22. Interactive Techniques for Instructor-Led Training: A 2-day workshop. Organized by C2C, Bengaluru. For more information, contact Vinay Kumar ( vinay@concept2competence.com ).

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Twitter

Here's a Piece of Advice

Sometime in February, Thiagi tweeted this piece of advice for critical thinking. It was retweeted several times:

Don't be amazed by coincidences. Your brain is eager to find patterns, agents, and conspiracies. Recognize and remove this tendency.

Every day, Thiagi tweets ready-to-use pieces of practical advice on HR topics such as building trust, coaching, creativity, customer service, feedback, leadership, listening skills, and management.

Join the thousands of people who follow @thiagi on Twitter.

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From Brian's Brain

A Culture of Appreciation
by Brian Remer

Most employees crave appreciation yet many feel they rarely get it. We can make our workplace happier and more productive with a few simple activities conducted with sincerity. Learn about a free resource with 52 ideas for low- to no-cost appreciation strategies.

Power Tip: Appreciation is contagious so to become more thankful, begin acting thankfully.

Read more in the February 2014 issue of Firefly News Flash: http://www.thefirefly.org/Firefly/html/News%20Flash/2014/February%202014.htm .

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Online Survey

Training Webinars

My colleague Tracy Talgiati spends a significant amount of time conducting training webinars. How about you?

Poll Question

Do you conduct training webinars?

• Yes
• No

(The poll opens in a new window.)

Even if you don't conduct webinars, you have probably participated in one or more. You have probably also talked to people who have attended training webinars.

Open Question

(The survey opens in a new window.)

You may include your name along with your response, or if you prefer, keep it anonymous.

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Survey Results

Leading Innovation

Poll Question

In the February 2014 issue of TGL we asked this poll question:

Fourteen readers responded, all of them with a resounding “Yes”.

Open Question

As a follow up to the poll, we presented this scenario:

Then we asked this open question:

Here are your responses:

1. Maybe it won't produce more ideas but if it is more fun and customers enjoy the process (which I think they will), they're more likely to continue to feed ideas to us.
2. Of course I respect your work and your ideas have been effective for improving products. What I've been wondering about is whether we can also tap in to the creativity of our customers. People often don't want to criticize, since we have good products, but they may respond to an invitation to contribute. What has your experience been with soliciting ideas for improvement from our customers?
3. I'd like to talk more about it. How about having a meeting to share our ideas, identify overlapping and land on a final strategy.
4. It may not provide better ideas, but at the least it will provide more ideas.

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.

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Check It Out

Understand Your Mind ( http://www.spring.org.uk/ )

I talked about PsyBlog earlier (in the November 2012 issue of TGL), and I decided it is time to revisit this website.

Jeremy Dean is psychologist and author. He has a fascinating website called PsyBlog ( http://www.spring.org.uk/ ). I have been visiting this site for a long, long time and I plan to continue visiting it for a long, long time.

Jeremy updates his site with articles from scientific research into how the mind works. He selects useful research studies and translates their major findings into plain English.

PsyBlog has nearly 150000 readers. I recommend that you join them. While you are at the website, sign up for free emails that remind you when new articles are posted. You may also want to follow PsyBlog on Twitter. I do.

Just to give you a feel for the contents of PsyBlog, here are a few random titles of articles that I have found interesting and immediately usable:

• 10 Simple Postures That Boost Performance
• Does Delaying Decisions Lead to Better Outcomes?
• Superstars of Psychology: 10 Best Short Talks (Videos)
• 10 Brilliant Social Psychology Studies
• Email's Dark Side: 10 Psychology Studies
• Top 10 Self-Control Strategies
• How Memory Works
• 10 Goal Hacks: How To Achieve Anything

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