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ICEBREAKERS

1.) DAY COLORS/COLORS EXERCISE (individual perspectives, emotional triggers, empathy, respecting personal differences, reducing conflict) This is a very simple quick and fascinating exercise to illustrate how people often have different views of the same thing, which is central to understanding empathy and many related concepts. The activity may be used as an icebreaker or larger discussion exercise, for groups of any size and age/seniority, subject to appropriate facilitation for your situation. Example explanation and instruction to a group: Emotions and feelings within each of us are triggered in different ways. We think differently and therefore see things differently. We often do not imagine that other people may see something quite differently to how we see the same thing. Management and relationships, in work and outside of work too, depend heavily on our being able to understand the other persons view, and what causes it to be different to our own. To illustrate this, and to explore how mental associations can color our worlds differently: Close your eyes and imagine the days of the week What color is each day? Write down the color of each day Review and compare peoples different color associations, and - where people consciously know and are willing to share their reasons/associations - review these differences too.

Note: If anyone sees all the days as the same color, or sees no color association at all, or perhaps sees or senses a more powerful alternative association, then this is another equally worthy personal viewpoint and difference. The days of the week are a simple fixed pattern. Yet we see them in different ways. It is easy to imagine the potential for far greater differences in the way we see more complex situations - like our work, our responsibilities and our relationships, etc. Human beings will never see things in exactly the same way - this is not the aim or work or life - instead the aim should be to understand each others views far better, so that we can minimize conflict and maximize cooperation.

2.) AGENDA WALL (barriers to team working) This exercise illustrates the importance of having a clear collective aim for any group, and how poorly a team or organization functions when individuals (or teams within the whole) have different aims within it. Divide the delegates to groups of 4 or less. Explain to the groups that their objective is to build a wall using the toy block based on your given instructions. Write your instructions on a flipchart so everyone can see. For example: Make a wall 6 rows high and two blocks wide with a window. Distribute one random Agenda Card to each delegate. Explain that these are their hidden agendas and they should not reveal it to others. When going through the design they should take steps to implement their agenda in the final design.

Examples of Agenda Cards are as follows. You can modify these to bias the exercise in the direction of your choice and based on the available bricks. ensure there are three red bricks on each row ensure no red brick touches a yellow one ensure a blue brick touches a yellow brick on each row ensure every row contains two yellow bricks ensure there is a vertical line of touching white bricks, one block wide, from top to bottom ensure no row contains more than three different colored bricks ensure one row contains only single blocks (no doubles or trebles etc) ensure every row contains at least one double-block brick

Naturally, conflicts may arise as a result of following hidden agendas. The design will also take longer to finish and groups satisfaction in their task could also be hampered. REVIEW: How did you feel about having a hidden agenda? How aggressively did you go after fulfilling your agenda? How did the group, as a whole, perform in terms of completing its mission? In what way might this activity parallel your work/team situation? What might be a solution? As much as we all would like to believe that we're "team players", we are also individuals -- with individual goals and priorities. This exercise exposes this contradiction and asks us to consider, directly, the consequences this may have on teams AND the individuals, themselves.

3.) CRAZY COMIC (communication, planning, cooperation, conflict) 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 cant 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. 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. Dont 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. REVIEW: What different communication skills were needed for this activity? How important was communication during this activity? What was the most difficult part of this activity for you? Is everyone in the group happy with the picture that was created? Why or why not? Did your comic strip flow? Why or why not? 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? Why is it important to be able to make decisions with other people? What things do you need to do when making decisions with others? In your life, when is it important to be able to communicate clearly with others?

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