Crazy Comic

Creating a good concept can take a really long time, and lots of thought must be put
into it. When there is a large group of people working on the idea, the task may
suddenly become easier because there is more brainpower working on the project.
However, if people can't communicate their ideas with each other and make group
decisions, many problems may arise. This activity is a simple task, but a great deal of
communication is needed if a group is to be successful when attempting to work
together to create an original idea.

Objective
To communicate ideas with others and make group decisions based upon discussion.

Who
People who need to work on communicating ideas with other people and who need to
learn how to make a group decision by compromising on the ideas given.

Group Size
3 or more

Materials
Paper
Pens or pencils
Colored markers, crayons, or colored pencils

Description
Divide the group into smaller groups of three to six members each. Supply each
person in each group with a piece of paper and writing utensil. Instruct the groups that
they are to create an original comic strip and each person in the group must draw one
frame of the strip (if there are four people in a group, the comic strip will contain four
frames). The group must decide what to draw, the story line and who will draw what
(there is a lot of communication involved in this one)!
Once the discussion has taken place about the comic strip and the decisions have
been made, each person draws the frame s/he is responsible for on his/her own piece
of paper. Everyone should be drawing at the same time and not taking turns with their
group members. If you want to make it really challenging, don't allow group members to
see each others' papers when they are drawing.
After the comic strips are completed, allow time for sharing and give each group a
chance to show their comic strip to the other groups.

Discussion Prompts
1. What different communication skills were needed for this activity?
2. How important was communication during this activity?
3. What was the most difficult part of this activity for you?
4. Did your comic strip flow? Why or why not?
5. When involved in part of a group process, do you want things to always go your way
or do you allow others to contribute ideas?
6. Why is it important to be able to make decisions with other people?
7. What things do you need to do when making decisions with others?
8. In your life, when is it important to be able to communicate clearly with others?

Variation
Give them some ideas about what characters or settings to use in the comic strips.

(From the book 104 Activities That Build:)

Direction Direction

In our society there is a constant transfer of information from one person to another.
You must be careful when you pass information on if you want it to stay accurate. One
great example shows up in rules for a game. If you check with people in different parts
of the country you will find out that many of the games have different rules. Someone,
something changed the rules a little bit

In this activity someone gets a set of rules and the group gets to see how easy it can be
to make mistakes in passing them on. This can be a fun way to see what can happen
when information is not passed on correctly.

Objective
For people to recognize the importance of using good communication skills when giving
directions and when receiving directions. To recognize the difficulties encountered when
interpreting what someone else said.

Who
People who believe everything they hear.
People who could benefit from listening carefully to directions and passing them along
correctly.

Group Size
2 or more

Materials
- Varies

Description
Chose a game that has a few specific rules that must be followed in order to play the
game (and enough rules to make it hard to remember them all). Prior to the activity
select one person and give him/her the direction for the game without telling the rest of
the group. Verbally explain the game can clearly state all of the rules.

At the time of the game, the person who has heard the rules will give the directions to
the rest of the group without any help from you. Allow the group to play the game once
through before having a group discussion or making any corrections or clarifications in
the rules of the game.

Discussion Topics
1. Was there any confusion about the rules of the game?
2. Why do you think the game was explained correctly (or incorrectly)?
3. What is important to remember when listening to others and when giving directions?

Variations
- Select a game that requires two teams. Separate the two teams and select one
member from each team to receive the directions for the game. Each person explains
the rules to his/her team.
- Give each team a different set of directions, on purpose.

(From the book The wRECking Yard of games and activities)

http://www.gamesforgroups.com/communicationgames.html

Paper Folding

 Give everyone a sheet of paper.

 Tell everyone to close their eyes and follow your instructions.
 Start giving instructions about what to do with the piece of paper examples :

fold it in half
fold the lower left corner over the upper right corner
turn it 90 degrees to the left
fold it again
rip a half-circle in the middle of the right side
etc….

 Once you have given quite a few instructions (more then 10 at least for a great
success), tell everyone to open their eyes and unfold their piece of paper.
 Even though they all received the same instructions and had the same starting
material, pretty much everyone will have a different result.

Conclusions :

 We don’t all start with the sames base (some held their piece of paper vertically
or horizontally) so we don’t all have the same results
 Some interpreted to rip a piece of paper as removing a big piece, some as a
small piece
 Having eyes closed = not receiving feedback on our performance
 Some instructions appear vague to some and clear to others.
 Many other conclusions can be drawn on the fly from this
Draw what you hear

Pair people up and ask your couples to sit back to back. One person in each pair should
have a piece of paper and a pen or pencil. Once everyone has settled, give the other
person in the pair an abstract drawing (different shapes maybe joined up together) to
describe to the other person in the pair. Give them two minutes to describe and draw
without asking or answering any questions. Then you allow another minute for the
drawer to ask questions.

Debrief: When the time is up, ask them to compare the drawing to the original. Discuss
why there were differences (there always are!). Was it the describing or was it the
listening? Was it because they couldn’t ask questions to clarify what was being
described and what about not being able to see the person to get the visual clues of
looking for understanding of what one is saying e.g. nodding or frowning etc What about
the noise in the room – is it a distraction when you want to listen to someone properly?
What should you do to create a good environment for listening; how should you behave
to show you are listening? etc . Posted by Sandie Gay

Variation: Conduct the exercise in a series of rounds. In every round the communicator
will describe a picture we give them of assorted geometrical shapes. In the first round
the listener/drawer can’t ask any questions, just listen and draw based on what they
hear. The second round a different picture of geometric shapes is described and the
listener/drawer can only asked closed-ended questions. The third round a different
picture of geometric shapes is given and the listener/drawer can use his/her active
listening skills. We discuss how accurate were the pictures? How well the communicator
describes the picture will determine how successful they want to be with a customer.
Posted by Annette West

Telling vs. Showing

This quick exercise can be used as a “closer” or as a listening exercise, to reinforce the
message that “actions speak louder than words.” I say: “Please follow my words.
Raise your right hand over your head. Keep following my words. Make a fist. Please
make sure to follow my words. Round your fist three times and then put your fist on your
forehead! (just before this moment, you put your own fist on your jaw!) You would find
most of participant would follow your action and put their fists on their jaws! Someone
would find their mistakes and reput thier fists on their forehead, Then you can say: What
happend? I’ve asked you to follow my words for three times, but you follow my actions!
Why? Posted online by Mark Guo

Great example of telling your group to do one thing and showing them another.
Interesting to see how they hear your instructions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=cNA1278Y7ZM Posted by Denzal Sunny

Hear it. See it. Do it. (a.k.a. Simon Says)

Tell the group that they need to listen to whatever you say and do accordingly.

Then tell them a few things like stretch your right arm, touch your knee etc and while
saying these instructions, do them yourself. Most participants will look at what you are
doing rather than listen to what you are saying.

After a few instructions, tell them that they need to touch their cheek but make sure that
with your actions you have touched your chin. Most participants will touch their chin
instead of the cheek. Posted online by Rohini D’Souza

Not Listening or A-B-C Listening

Divide your group into pairs. For Round 1, give partner 1 the “NL Instruction sheet”
(described below), then ask partner 2 to tell their mate what the think is most important
about communicating and an example of a time when they felt they were not
communicating well with someone else. Stop the group after a minute or two.

For Round 2, give partner 2 the “ABC Instruction sheet,” and ask partner 1 sharing their
communication story. After a minute, ask everyone to share how they felt and why. Stop
the group after a minute or two.

The NL Instruction Sheet says: “Do not allow your partner to read this sheet!” Your job
is to NOT LISTEN while your partner is talking. You may do this in any way you like, as
long as you stay in your seat. You may occasionally say something, but it need not
relate to whatever your partner has been saying. Although your partner may realize you
are not being attentive, do not tell him or her that you are deliberately not listening.

The ABC Sheet Instruction sheet says: Do not allow you partner to read this sheet! As
your partner is talking, keep track of the number of words he or she uses that begin with
“a,” “b,” and “c.” Do not count the words “a,” “an,” or “and. ” Do not tell your partner what
you are doing. You can take part in the conversation, but be sure to keep an accurate
score while your partner is talking.

Debrief: After each group has experienced non-listening behaviors, what what
happened and how it relates to listening and getting your message across. Posted
online by Todd Wilmore

List-less

Here is a quick one that I use in my workshops: List about 18 related words, pick any
topic, for example, sleep, mattress, pillow, snore etc. pick one word to be intermingled in
the list three times, such as, the 3rd, 7th, and 12th word will be “sleep.” Leave out one
obvious word from the list such as “bed.” Ask attendees to listen as you read the list to
them.
Give them one minute to write as many words as they can remember that you said.
Usually 60% will remember the first word, 75% will get the last word on your list, 80%
will remember the word that was repeated three times and 20% will write down the
obvious word you never said. Debrief why all this happened and what we can learn from
this. Posted by Glen Mountford Tucker

http://blog.trainerswarehouse.com/communication-and-listening-exercises/

The Copier Story

For seven years I volunteered my services, four hours a week, at the est Office of Hawaii. That's another
story. This one is about an experience with Elaine Cronin, the office manager, whom I hold in high regard.
At age 32, including my extensive military trainings, and my B.A. and M.A. degrees in speech-
communication, I had never come across a leader, a genuine manager. It was a privilege to work with
her.

One day Elaine gave me a stack of 300 letters to fold, add two inserts, and stuff into envelopes. She
demonstrated exactly how it was to be done. I was a bit miffed that she thought I needed a
demonstration, but watched anyway. She then had me do one. She then said, "No. This way." She
showed me that I had not placed the fold of the letter in the envelope exactly as she had demonstrated. I
was always discovering how unconscious I was around her. She kept me awake. Having satisfied her that
I knew how to do the job as she envisioned she left.

About 10 minutes into the job Elaine came out of her office and asked me to make a copy of something.

It's significant to note here that we were working at the level of excellence, to get the job done exactly as
communicated. Each job was an exciting opportunity, not only to serve but to show how great I was. Can
you spell e-g-o? So, I went to the copier and placed the paper perfectly. I looked at the result. It wasn't
centered left to right. I did three more copies, each one more towards perfection. I then sped back, like a
second-grader having erased my first chalk board, with my great job done. She thanked me. She had no
idea of the trouble I went through to do it perfectly. She really didn't care about how much time it took, just
that I recreated her intention. The drama was mine.

I then went back to the table outside her office and resumed stuffing the envelopes. About five minutes
had passed and Elaine came out and stood watching me for a few seconds and then, from the middle of a
stack, took out one and opened it—they hadn't been sealed yet. She took out the letter and showed me it
was missing one of the inserts. It blew my mind. I would have bet money that I had been doing yet
another perfect job. Then, to my embarrassment, she asked me to get the master copy I had left in the
copier. My jaw dropped to the floor. As I returned from the copier and handed her the master copy she
said casually, with no emotion whatsoever, "Go though the stacks and double-check those you've done." I
did and that was the only one I had goofed up on.

It was mind blowing. I couldn't believe what she had done. To be so in tune with things. And no, she could
not have seen me make the missing insert mistake from her office.

I had had enough experiences with Elaine, and other est staff members, to know it wasn't luck that she
reached into the middle of the pile and found my one error.

How did she know to look for the error, the incomplete? She had found herself making a mistake at her
desk due to her incomplete job of supervising me in doing complete work with the copier job. Magic
happens in the space of integrity, when one is committed to doing complete work. —by Kerrith H. (Kerry)
King
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The General's Story

The Army hired a communication consultant to improve communications, specifically
between and amongst the junior officers and enlisted personnel.

The consultant asked the Generals how communication was between themselves and their
subordinates. Almost as though rehearsed they replied that it was "pretty good." They all
said they had an "Open Door Policy." They sincerely felt as though they were there for their
men. The enlisted men could come in any time and talk about anything.

The consultant then asked the middle echelon officers, the Colonels and Majors, what they
thought. The officers said that they also had an open door policy for their men and ensured
that the policy was kept all the way down the chain of command. They felt things were quite
good with senior officers, they were however, ". . . always aware of being diplomatic and
respectfully courteous when talking with them." They all said they were more spontaneously
honest with fellow ranking officers.

When the enlisted men were asked what they thought was the communication problem in
the military, they said they couldn't tell their superiors the truth. They were always worried
about promotions and pretty much kept their opinions of their sergeants and officers to
themselves. The Open Door Policy? Yes, it's there, but who's going to tell a Sergeant or a
General the truth? Whenever possible, " . . . you tell them what they want to hear."

The point of the story is that no matter what the leadership of an organization thinks, those
dependent upon management for promotions and survival withhold certain thoughts, the
personal-growth feedback, the stuff that really counts. Amazingly, a general can retire after
a 30-year career and still be experienced as a dogmatic, arrogant, self-righteous bore to his
spouse—in part, because no one (not even his spouse) had the skill nor courage to get into
effective communication with him.

There is a communication model that supports open, honest, and spontaneous

communication. It's not taught in public schools. —by Kerrith H. (Kerry) King

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http://www.comcom121.org/anecdote.htm
http://www.bizmove.com/inspiration/m9b.htm