I finally programmed time to lead this challenge with a group of 23 adults. It was a group of people who regularly connect so they knew each other’s names and they had established a comfortable level of trust with each other (I asked about this during the needs assessment).

Short Version: (published at FUNdoing, June 2014)
Move everyone together into a close-together clump (graphic on the left). Ask them to put their bumpers up and close their eyes. Challenge them to get into a square without opening their eyes (get to the graphic on their right). 


Long Version – Behind the Scenes:
One of the objectives of this group was to explore communication behaviors. They wanted to confirm which behaviors were working for them, which ones they could improve upon, and which ones they were missing. I thought that Human Square would help with detailed communication, purposefully checking in with each other, and the importance of listening.
​
Midway through the experiences of a three-hour program, I asked everyone to find some personal space, and be close enough to each other so if they reached out, they could touch the people around them on the shoulders (graphic above left). Then we all practiced the art of ‘bumpers up.’ This is where our hands are up in front of us, elbows are slightly bent, and palms are open with our fingers are pointing to the sky and thumbs are touching. This position gives us a little safety cushion when we are walking around in tight spaces with other people (especially when our eyes are closed – after bumpers up practice).

First, we mingled (I was in the crowd modelling some behaviors) with eyes open, around the activity area for about a minute saying hello to each other as we bumped bumpers and shoulders from time to time. I asked everyone to stop, shake out their hands and arms, and then put their bumpers back up. Then, I asked them to close their eyes and mingle around the group again. This time, being more purposeful with their movements and their traveling speed – slow.  

During this part of the practice, I had my eyes open watching the group’s behaviors and reactions and turning people back into the group (e.g., calling their name or using my bumpers to turn them) for more practice. After another minute I stopped everyone, had them open their eyes and shake it out. For the most part they ended up staying physically close to each other, so I was ready to introduce them to the Human Square challenge.
​
The Challenge: Starting from where everyone was standing, I asked them to bring their bumpers back up, thumbs touching……and close their eyes again. Then, I told them the challenge: “Now, I’d like you to move yourselves into a square formation – four straight sides of approximately equal length – without opening your eyes.” I paused for some dramatic effect and to notice (look and listen) for the participant’s reactions.  

I then took some time to discuss the ‘moment’ we were in. Here’s the gist of what I said:

​“Let’s take a short pause. Please open your eyes and lower your hands – shake them out a bit. Good. Let’s take a team breath. [We learned this at the beginning of the program.] Good. Now, some of you might have moved, figurativley, into a different zone of comfort when you heard what we’re about to attempt. Some of you might be ready to jump right into the challenge. [We learned about the comfort zones earlier as well.] I just wanted to take a moment to reflect. We’ve been working on some communication behaviors. What behaviors have been working for you? [We took time to discuss.] Okay. What communication behaviors haven’t been working for you, ones you’ve been starting to improve? [We took time here.] What communication behaviors do you think you will need for this next challenge? [We took time here.] So, you believe you can remember to use these behaviors to successfully move through the challenge? [Time for responses.] Knowing about the challenge, what other behaviors might you need to implement to support each other during the challenge? [Time for discussion.] Okay. Now that we have reviewed some helpful behaviors, where are you in the comfort zone levels? And if you are in the red zone, what might help you move to yellow? [Discussion here.] [NOTE: We didn’t have anyone identify themselves as being in the red, but we did have several yellows – they shared that the review helped to remind them they ‘had each other’s backs.’ It was inspiring to hear their comments.]
​
Before setting ourselves to start, I did remind them they had the choice to open their eyes if they needed to. However, if they opened their eyes they were required to stop moving and not speak. If they chose to close their eyes again, they could resume moving and speaking.

Ready! We set the bumpers up, closed eyes, and began. What I remember the most was the first verbal comment: “Does anyone have any ideas about this?” A bit of chaos began the adventure with people talking over each other, but they came up with a norm that helped. Someone stepped in to organize the comments, using names and taking turns. Eventually they formed four groups, each group linked arms into a circle then each opened into a line. Then, the ends of each line were identified and they organized themselves to connect by the ends.

I did step in to verbally share about being careful moving in their lines since some people did not have their bumpers up anymore – however, the ends of the lines did. Once they started, it took about 15 minutes for them to get into the square. (FYI: I was not allowed to share pictures of the process with this particular group. I’ll get some in the future.)

When they believed to be in their square, I asked them to open their eyes. After some celebration and the verbal release of comments and anectotes, we explored the questions we discussed before staring the challenge:

• What communication behaviors were helpful?
• What communication behaviors did not work?
• And what was missing?

We spend the next 20 minutes in a productive review.

The Human Square, I felt, really helped to emphasize communication outcomes for this group. They collected data from their discussion on flip chart paper and planned to use this data as they worked on improving their interactions with each other.

As we all know, each group has a makeup of different participant’s preferences and persepectives. It’s up to us to make our best (educated) guess as to what experiences will help them reach their desired outcomes.

Thought Experiment: What are the factors that might have led this group (above) to a meaningful experience with Human Square? 

Please leave your thoughts and ideas in the Comments. 

All the best, 

Chris Cavert, Ed.D. 

Make an educated guess here: What was the first team building (adventure game) activity you learned? Best guess? 

My educated guess is Toss-A-Name Game. Reflectively, my brain-database knows the first 'adventure games' book I opened up was Silver Bullets: A Guide to Initiative Problems, Adventure Games and Trust Activities by Karl Rohnke (1984), and the first activity in the book (which most likely I read as a way to get a sense of the book) is Toss-A-Name Game. Karl hooked me into his style of prose and playfulness after reading his first paragraph of the game: 

And, I know for a fact, Toss-A-Name Game was my standard opening activity for many years after my introduction to it. Hence, my educated guess.  

So, why the trip down memory lane Chris? Well, during my recent visit to India, I found myself using my favorite version of Toss-A-Name Game to emphasize connection and communication behaviors. (I've been focusing on the importance of 'conversation' skills lately, directly correlated with connection and communication). Upon my return to the States, I wanted to find my write-up to the 'TAN Game' to share with my most recent workshop participants. However, I could not find it. Meaning, it's time to get it into the FUNdoing archives. 

Toss-A-Name Game with PTP

Activity Objective: Learn the names of group members in a fun engaging way. 

Needs & Numbers: Lots of safe tossables (e.g., stuffed animals, stress balls, rubber chickens, yarn balls, beach balls...), about one for every three participants, and lots of open space – including lots of overhead space for high-flying tosses.

Plays well with 8 to 30 participants of any age (catching is not required in this game, so even if we're still working on fine motor skills we can play). 

Process: The TAN Game can be played with one big group or divided into smaller groups of 8 to 10 people (as described in the original Silver Bullets instructions).

Each group in play will start out with one tossable. Using this one tossable, provide some time for the players to learn some names and/or review names of the people in the group. (NOTE: Even if the people in the group know each other's names, it's still a positive behavior to share names as a way to warm up for the Game.) Here's a quick way to learn/review: 

One person in the group is given a tossable. This person holds up the tossable and says their first name. (NOTE: This version of the Game is done using only first names. Of course, you can add last names, adjectives - "Crispy Chris" - and/or actions.) After sharing the name, the person with the tossable HANDS it to the person on their right. This person holds up the tossable and says their name, then HANDS the tossable to the person on their right. The tossable is handed around the circle(s) in this fashion until everyone has shared their name once, or even twice (around the circle). When the tossable is back to the person who started the name sharing, the group(s) is (are) ready to play.

Here's an example script covering what I like to say:

Now we're ready to get into some more action. Hopefully, you have picked up, or know, a few names of the people in your group. To help us anchor these names and even more names, we're going to practice using them.

From this point on, to the best of your ability, during the Game, I'd like you to use 'Proper Tossing Procedure' or PTP as we like to call it. When tossing an object to someone always use an underhanded toss, like this...[provide a demonstration of an underhanded toss.]

Now, PTP has three ordered steps:

• Step 1: When you want to toss an object to someone, first call out their name. 
• Step 2: Make a connection with this person so you know they heard you and are preparing to toss something to them. This connection could be eye contact, a thumbs up, a hand up indicating a request to wait, or a verbal 'Ready' call. Anything that makes that connection. 
• Step 3: When ready, toss the object to the person. 

One of the goals in this Game is to complete as many 'Toss-and-Catch' combinations as possible. Any deviation of the PTP procedure could lead to a mishap. A mishap could be a drop. A mishap could be running into another person. A mishap could be the object colliding with a part of the body not used for catching. Mishaps are bound to happen along the way. Do your best to use mishaps as learning opportunities and adjust your behaviors to avoid repeating a mishap and increase the number of Toss-and-Catch combinations. 

After you get started with one tossable object, I'll be adding more objects to the Game. All tossable objects added to the Game must be used, so the complexity of the Game will increase. And that's okay. Do the best you can. Learn from mishaps. Solve the problems that surface. And don't forget, learn the names of the people in your group. 

Finally, any time you hear me call, "FREEZE!" Please stop all tossing and listen for the information I want to share with you.

​What questions do you have about the Game? 

When the group(s) has (have) clarity about the Game, let them begin. Observe for the level of understanding of the task and stop any behaviors that could lead to an unwanted outcome. When it comes to 'PTP' don't jump in too soon to fix mishaps – let the group(s) manage their own changes if they can. Observe and keep mental notes about the consequences (positive and negative) of the behaviors you notice. 

After about 90 seconds with the first tossable object, call "FREEZE!" Wait for all tossing to stop. Ask the group(s) how they think it's going. Are they maximizing the Toss-and-Catch combinations? What behaviors are working for them? What mishaps are occurring? What is causing the mishaps? What have they learned from the mishaps? 

After some enlightening (hopefully) discussion, let the group(s) know you are adding another tossable to the mix. Once they have that second tossable, they can start the Game again – "Don't forget, Proper Tossing Procedure."

Let the group(s) play again for another 90 seconds. Then call "FREEZE!"

If there is more than one group in play, ask each group for three volunteers, from each group, to switch groups – "Who would be willing to take a little risk and change groups? I would like to see three people from each group move to a different group. Those switching groups, move to the group next to you in the clockwise direction. Thank you." [You might need to help with the direction of the switch.]

Add a third tossable object to the group(s) and let them begin again. (No need to have any sort of discussion during this transition.)

Continue to observe behaviors and make mental notes about what's taking place – the stuff you want to talk about in relation to the group's processes and problem-solving abilities. After another 90 seconds call another "FREEZE!" 

First, ask for another three people (who are not holding a tossable object) in each group (when playing with multiple groups), to move to a new group. Then, pull in this specific communication metaphor: 

From this point on, PTP is now, 'Proper Talking Procedure.' The tossable objects are important messages you want to communicate to the person you're getting it to. Dropping the message means this person will not understand what you're trying to communicate to them. 

Before we begin again, after adding another message, what have you learned so far from this interactive exchange of tossing these objects that will increase our chances of clearly communicating our messages (talking to group members) – increasing the chances of more toss-and-catch combinations – to others in the group?

Work through some good discussions about what the participants want to see from each other during the final rounds of the Game. How will 'talking' to each other look and sound like? Then add another tossable object to the group(s) and let them begin. 

During this round, and one more final 90-second round, I will "FREEZE" the group(s) if I observe behaviors they have agreed to avoid. I'll ask them how they can fix the 'mishaps' and then start the Game again. If there is an agreement to change or behave in some way, I choose to hold them accountable, at first, for their behaviors. Over time, of course, we want them to hold each other accountable, but initially, modeling how that looks and sounds can be important. 

After the first 90-second 'metaphorical' round, "FREEZE" the group(s), add one more tossable object and let them continue. Again, I will "FREEZE" the group(s) if I see desired behaviors going unchecked.

After the final 90-second round, we'll wrap up the solid take-aways from the experience, focusing on the behaviors the group wants to continue and behaviors they want to avoid. Then we get right to the next activity. My preference is to dive deeper into discussions in between task-actions and do a brief review of learnings after the conclusion of the activity. I want to get them back into practicing desired behaviors so I don't lose engagement. 

A Final Note on Writing Activities: In total, I spend about 15 minutes with this activity at the beginning of a program – almost as long as reading and understanding this post. I like to: Play. Stop. Think. Discuss. Practice – then repeat.

Ultimately we take a bit of what we learned and practice it more using another experience. Writing out activities (long form), taking them deeper, exposing the details, I believe, reveals the nuanced purpose of what we want to do as educators. When we go deeper, we can discover more meaning and reasons to explore our behaviors and mental models. 

All the best, 

​Chris Cavert, Ed.D. 

I recently learned this sequenced pair of activities from my good friend Rohan. We were training together out in California - it's so educational for me to get to see other amazing facilitators at work. I learn so much from them. Down a bit in this post I share how Rohan specifically facilitates Lift Off. First, let's explore the activity, Willow in the Wind. 

Willow in the Wind 
Early on in my team builder career, I took a number of Project Adventure workshops. Part of their trainings always included "Trust" sequencing. Willow in the Wind, a "trust-pass exercise" was used "as a warm-up activity for the more dramatic falling sequence of The Trust Fall" (Cowstails & Cobras II, Rohnke, 1989). Willow in the Wind is now more than just a precursor to Trust Falls. I use it a lot when practicing spotting for wired low-element events or providing a "trust building" or low-to-the-ground "risk taking" activity. I've seen some incredible break-throughs during Willow in the Wind. Okay. So how does it work? 

Going to my shelves, the earliest write up I could find is in the, More New Games book (1981) from the New Games Foundation. For historical purposes, I want to share their original description : 

We form a small circle of about eight players standing shoulder to shoulder and facing the center of the circle with hands held at chest height, plans forward [will a bend at the elbows for flexing and extending]. Each of us should have one foot slightly behind the other for good balance [and a little bend in the knees]. We've just transformed ourselves into a summer breeze, and now all we need is a volunteer to be the willow. [I love this last line - ever been transformed into a summer breeze?]

The willow stands in the center of the circle with her feet together, her arms crossed over her chest, and her eyes closed [closing eyes is, of course, optional]. Keeping her feet stationary and her body straight but relaxed, she lets herself go, swaying from side to side, forward and back. Those of us in the circle support her with gentle pushes of our palms and provide summer-breeze sound effects. [Oh, I love this too - I'm adding the sound effects into my Willow in the Wind!] We should make sure that there are at least two people supporting the willow at all times [I like to say, "four hands on the willow at all times"], and that our gentle breeze does not become a howling hurricane. 

In turn, each of us gets to be the willow in the wind, swaying to and fro, caressed by the breeze. This is a trust game. The player who is the willow gets the opportunity to trust the other players completely, and those of us who are the breeze get to feel the trust the willow has placed in us. 

Such an elegant description - it makes me want to get a group together and try it right now! Along with the handful of additions, the description above is pretty much how I set up Willow in the Wind. Then, my role, walking around the outside of the circle, is to keep eyes and ears on the group to make sure they are being a gentle, supportive breeze. That's Willow in the Wind. 

This is done not to insure the positive participation of that person, but to provide a firm base of the swaying 'willow.' The central person initiates movement from side to side [forward and back] and is consistently and compassionately [gentle breeze] redirected by the sitting catchers. It is important that the catchers keep their hands up in anticipation of the [willow's] body unexpectedly heading in their direction. 

DO NOT LEAD THIS ACTIVITY - this is my advise to you: Making an educated guess here, the reason I have never seen this done in the wild is that it's up there on the risk scale (standing spots do not lessen the experience, so why not stand) - facilitators discovered this early on. The sitting circle of players all need amazing core strength and their heads are now under a fall potential, which is not the best practice. I share this one to give you some historical perspective and a means to consider some particular safety issues we are aware of in the field - if an inherent risk can be mitigated, why not? And, there are some low elements still used today where craniums are under fall potential. These are among the program choices we make. 

Willow in the Wind & Lift Off
When facilitating this paired sequence, Rohan instructs each group in play to have a lead. This lead will be directing the steps of the process. The center participant will be facing the lead standing in the circle (you will see this in the video). When going through spotting commands, the lead checks each step and signals the spotters to respond. For example, when the willow (center participant) asks, "Spotters Ready?" the lead looks around the circle, checks readiness, then counts down, "3, 2, 1" and all respond, "READY!" [I really like how this lead brings unity  to the process.] Then, when the willow says, "Falling!" the lead looks around for readiness one more time, then instructs the willow to, "Fall on." The willow will then be gently guided around the circle for about a minute, then the lead instructs the group to center the willow in place. 

Now for the Lift Off. It's very important, during the introduction of this paired sequence, to let everyone know there will be a great deal of pressure placed on the upper body/shoulders of the one being lifted. So, if anyone is concerned about injury to this part of their body, they should not be lifted. And, when being lifted, they want to be lowered, they simply say, "Bring me down." On to the lift. 

The lead will first ask the willow if s/he wants to be lifted. If yes, the lead asked the spotters to put hands on the willow. Hands are placed on the arms and upper back, under the shoulder blades of the willow. The lead then instructs the spotters to press, "In, In, In, In" until the lead feels like there is equal pressure around the willow (you don't want the willow to be pushed off to one side). The lead then says, "Up, Up, Up, Up" instructing the spotters to push up on the willow to the hight of the shortest person's reach. Finally, at maximum height, the lead says, "Down, Down, Down, Down" until the willow's feet are safely back on the ground. This "In, Up, Down" sequence is done smoothly without pause. Before the spotters "let loose" of the willow, the lead checks in to make sure s/he is stable. Then, high fives all around. This process is slow and steady with loud and clear communication. 

Rotate other willows into the circle and change leads so there is an opportunity for participants to experience the different roles in the process. As facilitators, it is our role (job) to be mindful of the needs of our group - and the individuals within the group. Everyone is an important part of the process, even if they are not lifted. 

Let me know how the gentle breezes and flights go for you! Leave a Comment so we can learn together. 

Chris Cavert, Ed.D. 

​P.S. Thanks again Rohan! It was great learning from you my friend. 

Recently, I had the opportunity to hang out in the shadows (literally) and observe Nate Folan (he's in the light colored hat) facilitate a day-long training for a summer camp staff (I was facilitating the next day). Nate was featured a while back in a Top 10 Blog - lots of fun details and activity links. 

During the training he led one of my favorite tag games, Popper Tag. Over the years I have called this one Flashback Tag. I use soft tossables or crumpled up paper (snow)balls. The idea is to toss your tossable at the backs of other players. If you hit a back (between the shoulders and the waist - no arms), you get a point. First one to 10 wins. 

Add a Transformation Part of Nate's focus with his trainees was to emphasize different aspects of facilitation. Using Popper Tag (PT) as his experiential pathway, he introduced players to the idea of "being silly" and how this (or these) behaviors fit into building a fun caring community of learners. So, he invited each participant to "transform" into the chicken of their choice once they obtained 10 points playing PT. From a group of players to a flock of chickens. Brilliant! 

Players were given a challenge and a choice to "chicken" or simply move around amongst the flock of chicken as players, one-by-one transformed. For me, it was a fabulous way to step right into a fun, crazy space. Magical! (Now, I'm not sure all the players would agree with me, but I got the lesson.) Ready to smile? Check out the action. 

Have FUN out there my friends. Let me know how the transformation goes!

​Chris Cavert, Ed.D. 

The Video Initially I was going to cut my footage down enough to simply understand the game. As I was editing it occurred to me that keeping all the footage would allow for more analysis of the way I worked with these middle schoolers. So, if you want to watch enough to get the idea, you only need to stay in through my introduction. Otherwise, catch as much of the 17 minutes as you can - lots of interesting interactions (you might need to turn up the volume to pick up some go the voices).

NOTE: The only part I cut out was dealing the cards. To save time, I dealt out three cards to each person, then single cards around (to the right of me) to finish up the deck. 

LIGHTNING 156 As this activity unfolded for me, my first mental model was for groups to play all the cards in 156 seconds (this is what I tried with my conference captive audience). I found this task to be pretty challenging - out of six groups trying it, one got within four cards after 156 seconds. Possible? I believe so. Now I'm thinking, Connections will be a good way to lead into Lightning 156. Once a group has time to practice the game and work out some of the cooperative behaviors they will need, they should be able to beat the Lightning clock. (I'll be working towards getting some video of this level in the future.) 

Keep me posted my friend. 

Chris Cavert, Ed.D. 

Have You Ever...eaten strawberries and whipped cream on a buttery toasted (nooks & crannies) english muffins? (Oh yes, it's yummy.)

I'm guessing most of you know this classic, "Have You Ever...?" ice breaker activity - I'm sure it's been played by millions! Let's review.^ (If you know, Have You Ever..., you can skip past this review.)

Your group, of 12 to 50 players, forms a circle. Each player is standing on a game spot. You are in the middle of the circle explaining the game. You are going to say something true for you - something you have done/experienced. You preface this information with, "Have you ever..." For example, you might say, "Have you ever been to Canada?" (Again, the statement must be true for you.) If anyone in the group (players forming the circle) has been to Canada, he/she is invited to leave his/her spot and move to another spot that is not directly to his/her right or left.

While this movement is happening, you, or any other player in the middle, want to go stand on one of the spots left vacant by one of the players from the circle (the idea is, you don't want to stay in the middle). There will then be a player left without a spot to stand on (because, in this game, there is no sharing spots). The player, without a spot to stand on, is the next person to share a, Have you ever... question from the center of the circle of players. The moving, getting a spot process ensues after every, Have you ever... question from a player standing in the middle of the circle. . 

If the player in the middle shares a, Have you ever... question, and no one moves, he/she takes a bow and asks another question. Remembering, the idea is to get players to move - so you want to ask questions that are likely to produce movement. 

What? & Why? 

​Back in January of this year, I posted the first What? & Why? Discussion about how I use Name Card Return - an engaging ice breaker for learning names and experiencing a simple problem solving activity to introduce the group to the kinds of activities they will be experiencing. (Thought - Can an icebreaker be a problem solving activity?)

The purpose for this type of discussion for me is to tell you "What" I do with a particular process (e.g., an activity) and then, in "Part 2" (and 3, if I needed), tell you "Why" I do what I did.

I'm using this format, on the one hand, to document my thoughts about some of the things I do during team building programs. On the other hand, I'm thinking, maybe those of you who train team building facilitators could use this format of thinking as a training exercise.

First, you can share the What?, like how you lead a particular activity. Don't reveal the Why? right away. Have a discussion on the What? with the trainees about "Why?" they think the activity is set up the way it is, and "What?" purposeful reasons they might have for leading this activity (or process) in this way. Then, share your Why? behind your What? - what reasons/purpose do you have for leading an activity the way you do. (You can design your own What? & Why? discussions or use one of these FUNdoing blog posts to explore.)

NOTE: Believe it or not, the step-by-step process detailed below takes me about 15 minutes to lead. It's a lot of writing for 15 minutes, and an interesting process (for me) to go through. 

​Okay, let's get this one started: 

What? 

1. I start by handing out a game spot to everyone in the group while we're all standing together in a clump - I keep one for myself as well. 
2. Then I ask everyone to form a nice circle and then put his/her game spot on the ground and step on it - I am part of the circle, standing on my game spot. 
3. I tell the group, "We're going to play a game of choice. I will start out the game. I'm going to ask a question that starts with, Have you ever... and ends with something I've done. For example, Have you ever eaten a slice of pepperoni pizza?"  
4. I go on to say, "Here's where the choice comes in. If you have eaten a slice of pepperoni pizza in the past, you are invited to move off your spot and go stand on another spot left open by someone else who has eaten a slice of pepperoni pizza. It is your choice whether or not you want to move to a new spot - you can stay right where you are if you want. Again, it's your choice to move or not."
5. At this point we want to give it a test run. "Okay, let's try one. Have you ever eaten a slice of pepperoni pizza?"
6. After the movement has subsided, I ask the group, "How did it go? What choices did we make during that round?" Here I let the group share the choices that were possible and what choices were made. 
7. After that sharing, I'll present another Have you ever... question. "Have you ever been a participant in a team building program before this one?" Movement ensues. 
8. After everyone is back on a spot, I will ask, "Please raise your hand if you moved to a new spot. Now, look around to see who has been team building before, and who has not? Awesome. You can put your hands down." 
9. At this point I say, "I'll ask you one more Have you ever... question, then I'm going to invite you to ask some questions. Ready? Have you ever climbed a high challenge course element?" Now, at this point, if I am the only one that moves, I simply take a step forward from my spot, take a bow, and step back onto my spot. If others move, we exchange spots. 
10. If multiple players move, I ask again, "Please raise your hand if you moved to a new spot. Now, look around to see who has something in common with you." 
11. Now I pass the baton. "Okay, before you all start asking questions, let me give you some important information. If you choose to ask a 'Have you ever...' question, it must be something you've done - something you can answer with, "yes, I've done that." Also, if you ask a question and no one in the group moves from his or her spot, you are invited to step into the circle, take a bow and then step back onto your spot. If you don't want to bow, simply have a hand. If you bow or wave we will all give you resounding applause to celebrate your uniqueness. After the applause, someone else will be invited to ask a question."
12. "Alright, who can ask us a Have you ever... question? Remember, it has to be something you've done before." When hands go up I point at a player to share. Sometimes, someone in the group just shouts out a question - you can decide if this okay. Movement ensues.
13. When movement stops after each question, I ask the "raise your hand and look around" question so players have time to see who they have something in common with.
14. At this point I invite four or five other players to share a Have you ever... question. Movement happens, hands go up, we look around after each question. 
15. Before the next part of the activity, I come back to asking the group what choices they made during the last several rounds. We will also explore the choices that were NOT made during the last several rounds. 
16. I then tell the group, "During this first part of the activity, I'm sure you noticed that you all had a spot to go to - even if you moved back to your own spot. Now, we're going to change it up a bit." I then pick up my game spot, move it to the center of the circle, place it down on the ground and step on it.
17. At this point some people react to what they believe is going to happen. Here I say, "Okay, now I'm in the center. By being in the center, I am obligated to ask a, Have you ever... question. After I ask a question, I want to get out of the center by moving to, and standing on, an empty spot left behind by someone who moved - don't forget to move to a spot or you will be in the center again. The person left without a spot, after all the circle spots are taken, will stand on the center spot and be the next player to ask a Have you ever... question."
18. Before we start this second part, I ask the group, "What do we think will change during this part of the activity? How do we want to play during this part? Remember, you have choices - what are some of these choices?" I provide some time here to talk about the choices ahead - choices to make, and choices not to make. 
19. After a fruitful conversation about choices we begin. About six to eight questions is usually enough to anchor the experience. Again, when movement stops after each question I ask players to raise their hand if they moved and look around to see who they have something in common with. 
20. If any "close calls" or safety concerns occur (hopefully no injuries - yes, I've seen it happen), I stop and check in with the group to see how we can proceed in a safer manner. Then, we keep going.
21. I then stop the activity, thank the group for playing, and then bring up another conversation about the choices that were made during play, and the choices that were NOT made during the activity.  
22. After the fruitful conversation, I then tell the group that the program they are taking part in will be filled with choices. Some choices will be easy to make, others will be harder to make. I could ask the players who have participated in team building programs before, "What sorts of choices do you remember making during programs in the past?" I could also provide some examples of choices that might come up during their program, like, "Some of you might have to choose to be a leader in order to help the group move forward during a task." Or, "Some of you might choose to stay quiet and let others share ideas during a planning session." This conversation is about frontloading the idea that each person, and the group, will be faced with choices as they move forward, and the group is there to support these choices. 
23. I do add one caveat to the choice conversation - this is part of my personal philosophy about choice when it comes to group work. "The one choice I will ask you to make is to stay with the group. It is important for me to know where you are during the program, so by staying together it really helps me out. If you do feel a strong desire to step away from the group, please do so. But, stay close by so I can see where you are. Thank you for helping me out with this choice."
24. At the conclusion of this process of choice (again, which usually takes me about 15 minutes), I ask my group, "Are you ready for the next adventure?" We then move into the program at hand. 

This was the description of one way I introduce choice to my groups. In Part 2, I'll tell you Why? I do each What? 

All the best, 

Chris Cavert, Ed.D. 

​^ Have You Ever...? questions first appeared in Karl Rohnke's Bag of Tricks periodical - he started writing Bag of Tricks in 1978. In 1988 he compiled "...the best writing and most useable copy" from his first 38 issues, into the book, "The Bottomless Bag." Have You Ever...? Questions in this book are introduced as a 'raise your hand if you have' activity - as an ice breaker, the questions were a way to start conversations and share stories. In, The Bottomless Bag, Again (1991), Karl expands, Have You Ever...? by adding a circle of chairs - now, if you 'have' you move from your chair to an open chair. And, the game continues....

From Floyd: 
With the goal to "help you understand the drama that may be playing out in your own work or home life and how to transform it into conscious, compassionate, collaboration," the authors, Nate Reiger and Jeff King introduce us to the "Drama Triangle." These two Next-Element co-founders point out that because of drama, relationships are strained, trust is absent, creativity is stifled, and costly turn over rates [in business settings] are present and rising. ​

"The Drama Triangle," they say, "is a model for how people relate to one another in distress, dysfunction, and conflict." It is comprised of the roles of the persecutor, the victim, and the rescuer, all of whom carry out roles and myths that derail progress and community wherever they operate. 

In the persecutor role, an individual falls into blaming, manipulating, controlling, and judgmental behaviors. Their myths are "I'm okay, you're not okay," and "I can make you feel bad emotionally." 

The behaviors in the Victim role are withdrawing, being needy, and complaining without doing anything. They believe, "you can make me feel good emotionally," and "you can make me feel bad emotionally." 

On the Rescuer side of the triangle we find unsolicited advice, meddling, and people who do the jobs of others. Their myth is, "I can make you feel good emotionally."

It is very easy to get caught up in this triangle, especially when circumstances or other people invite you in. The trouble is, "when you act outside the realm of your best character, you lose power over yourself." The good news is there is an alternative triangle called the "Compassion Triangle" where your concerns, and the concerns of others can be vocalized and heard in an open and meaningful way. "compassion means 'to struggle with,'" the authors state, and it is in this struggle with your community that moves you into open dialogue, problem solving, and conflict resolution. [Concepts we work on with some of our team building programs.]

In the compassion Triangle, the three roles of the Drama Triangle are invited to take on new roles that drive the community towards growth. Here the alternative of the victim is "Openness," and is characterized by "transparency, honesty, assertiveness, and the willingness to risk trusting another person." The Open person knows "my OK-ness is not dependent on another's response." 

Persistence becomes the alternative for the persecutor. They work to "preserve the dignity and respect of all parties," and are characterized by "the willingness to stick with someone or something rather than attack, abandon, or blame." 

Resourcefulness takes the place of the rescuer and is characterized by the use of problem solving and empowering others. 

In the drama triangle communities and individuals often find themselves in tunnel vision rather than seeing other perspectives, looking for justification rather than finding ways of being effective, and being delusional rather than being in touch with reality. 

In the chapter titled "Expectations: The Double Edged Sword," the authors point out that the expectations can be used in the content and the process, and that knowing the difference can keep you from derailing the motivation of yourself and others. It is by understanding the motivational needs of self and others that allows someone to create expectations that motivate people.

As a basic example, Nate tells the story of his son who decides he wants to play basketball. Nate, being motivated by conviction felt that the way to motivate his son was to practice every day and shoot certain amounts of shots from different places on the floor, and to run drills. His son, on the other hand was driven by contact. He wanted to play a sport to have fun and to interact with his peers in a sporting environment. When Nate began trying to motivate his son, the son started losing interest because it was no longer meeting his needs, but rather Nate's expectations. When Nate begins just playing basketball with his son, his sons motivation returns. In the Drama Triangle, the relationship between the two became strained, but when Nate was able to step into the compassion triangle, he was able to see the situation from a different perspective and work with his son to develop interactions that worked for them both. ​

Note From Chris: 
I hope Floyd's brief synopsis of Beyond Drama inspires some of you to pick up the book and dive in. For me it's information I can use and share with groups whose members might be showing the behaviors involved in the Drama Triangle. Of course, it will depend on the type of program you are leading, so use your new-found information with care. 

Please let us know if you dive in and how you use what you've learned. Leave us a comment below. Also, if you have knowledge of a good book that we should know about, send in a review - I love sharing!! 

All the best, 

Chris Cavert, Ed.D. 

Pedagogy, in it's simplest form, is an educators collection of activities used for educating or instructing that impart knowledge or skill - it is what educators DO to transmit information to students. And, as far as I know, no one has found the "best" pedagogy for educating. One could argue that there are as many pedagogies as there are educators. 

As I have written about in the past (Educators on the Challenge Course - look for the Essays), adventure practitioners are educators, and they too have pedagogies - ways of working with their groups that impart knowledge or skill.  

Now, with the summer season looming in the near future it might be a good idea to call your pedagogy to order. What "activities" will you use to impart knowledge and skills to your staff so that they are able to find success as an educator? With the limited amount of time you have to train staff, what will be the most effective and efficient way to use your pedagogy? 

A few months ago I ran across a useful blog post from FacultyFocus.com entitled "Using Guerrilla Tactics to Improve Teaching." The ideas from the authors of the post are relevant to any educator who is tasked with training other educators (please read the article for the finer details of the process). I've taken some editorial liberties to make the "ground rules for guerrilla teaching" fit into an adventure education model I will call "Guerrilla Training:" 

1. A trainee agrees ahead of time to welcome a "guerrilla trainer" into any part of a program being lead by the trainee. 
   
2. The guerrilla trainer inserts him/herself into the trainee's group (being mindful of the timing), and observes silently for a minimum of 5 minutes to become acquainted with the topic/flow of the group's process. 
   
3. The guerrilla trainer is then "able to become part of the [group] and interact with the students." The trainer, "may pose questions, give comments, conduct an activity, etc." (In essence, modeling a part or parts of the facilitation process for the trainee.)
   
4. The trainer takes no more than 10 minutes for the "training attack" session, leaving on the same wind that brought him/her into the group. (To be clear, 5 minutes for silent observation and than no more that 10 minutes of interaction.)
   

As the Guerrilla Tactics blog authors note, "In the spirit of guerrilla marketing [a creative low-cost strategy to meet conventional goals] there are several educational "buzz" benefits created with minimal direct cost" - role modeling, collaboration, flexible training times, sharing expertise, "bits" of information instead of overload, and showing support for the trainee. This "drop-in" training allows for some relevant observation time for the trainee. Something that is difficult to building into training sessions but very important to include. 

Making Guerrilla Training part of your training pedagogy might prove to be useful, effective, and efficient. Let me know how it goes. And, if you have other pedagogical training ideas for us please share in the comments below. 

All the best, 

Chris Cavert

 

When I frist began my training as a challenge program practitioner I attended a workshop where the trainer talked about being aware of, and watching out for, Task Actions and Maintenance Actions of a group. She called it the Task vs. Maintenance balance. 

This concept, I learned later, has come from the work of Kurt Lewin, Johnson & Johnson, specifically noted in their Joining Together publication, and others. Here is a Wikipedia Snap-Shot of the idea. Also, take a look at this brief summary of Task and Maintenance Roles that can develop within a group. As I understand it, balancing these Task/Maintenance roles makes for a better group experiences in relation to working together towards common goals. 

Recently I stumbled into a way to help my groups experience the idea of Task and Maintenance actions. I use the activity Get It Back - first appearing in the POSSIBLESbag Activity Manual I created for a light-weight team building kit. The activity can also be found in Playing with a Full Deck by Michelle Cummings. I learned it as an Ice Breaker activity from my friend Diane Phillips.

GET IT BACK
Deal out a playing card to everyone in the group (I've not tried this with more than 30 people yet - basically you need a different card for each player. It might work with more people, but it will take more time). Participants are free to look at their card. Ask each person to remember/memorize his or her card, because at the end of the activity each person will want to get this card back in his or her possession. Here are the directions I give while we are all standing together in a circle formation:  

"When we are ready to start - after I give the directions - I would like you to mingle around within the group and exchange the card that you have with others. All cards are held face up for all to see. Just keep walking around, introduce yourself if needed, use each others names when you greet them, but keep exchanging the card in your possession. When you hear me say, 'Get it Back' I want you to continue exchanging cards - keep playing the game - until you end up with your original card. Once you have your original card, step to the outside of the group and start forming a circle - like we are standing in now - around the players who are still exchanging cards, looking to get theirs back. Once everyone is standing in the circle we'll look back on what took place. Any questions?"

I answer any questions and then we start. 

Once everyone is back into the circle I ask the group to describe what took place during the activity. I might say something like, "What significant things do you remember taking place while you were exchanging cards?" I keep asking this same question until I get an answer like this: 

"When you said get it back, I didn't pay attention to the people around me anymore, I was just looking for my card." I ask if anyone else had this same experience. So far, most of the participants I've worked this activity with agreed that they did the same thing. Then I ask if we can go into another round, but this time: 

"When you hear me say 'Get it Back' please stay focusing on the people around you. In the end everyone will get his or her card back - right?" [All agree - as they think about it, getting your card back is inevitable.] So, we give this activity another go. Once we are all back in a circle I have always heard someone say this, and others do agree, "That time it just felt better." 

From this jumping-off point I ask about why it felt better and then eventually I introduce the idea of Task and Maintenance actions within a group. This initial beginning is something I can refer back to as I work with groups to understand about the roles that are important to develop as they work together. 

Thoughts? Please share with a comment. 

All the best, 

Chris