Interactive Exercises to Strengthen
Organizational Thinking and Communication

A.  Two-Way Partner Exercise:

1. Pair participants (dyads) as they currently sit. (See Diagram #1.)
   
2. Provide six tiles (three sets of two identical tiles).
3. Partners arrange six tiles into two equivalent sets of three tiles each.
4. Each partner takes one set of three tiles.
5. Partners arrange themselves with backs to one another, having a flat surface to work on.
6. Partners decide who will initiate the exercise (message sender).
7. The partner that will initiate the exercise (message sender) arranges his/her three tiles in some pattern or structure or design of her/his choice.
8. The partner that initiates the exercise (message sender) communicates his/her tile design to the other partner (message receiver) by verbally describing the arrangement of his/her tiles.
9. Exercise Objective: Achieve an exact copy or replication between the two partners in every detail including context.
10. Constraint: Only verbal communication and verbal feedback can be used to accomplish the task. Vision or visual cues cannot be used by either partner to determine progress during the task.
11. When both partners agree that they have completed the task—when they think "they've got it"—they then look to see what each has done and compare and discuss the results.
12. Partners then reverse roles. The partner who previously was the message sender becomes the message receiver, and the previous message receiver becomes the message sender.

B. Two-Way Partner Switch Exercise:

1. Inform participants that you will be asking them to change partners. Caution them to leave the tiles on the table and not take them if they move to a new partner.
2. Facilitator requests every other participant to rotate (left or right two places). (See Diagram #2.)
   
3. Repeat steps described for Two-Way Partner Exercise beginning with Step 4.
4. Ask participants to stay in current seating locations.

C. Three-Way Partner Switch Exercise:

1. Inform participants you will be forming groups of three and request they leave tiles on table.
2. Facilitator establishes three-member teams, beginning with the participants on the left or right side of the room. (See Diagram #3.)
   
3. Ask each of the teams to decide which two members will start the exercise, since only two at a time participate.
4. Ask these two members of the team to decide who will be the message sender and message receiver.
    
5. Describe the three-way process:
   
   a.   The member of the team not selected to be either an initial message sender or message receiver will be asked to step out of the room and is unable to see or hear what the first two partners are doing. (See Step 7 below.)
   
   b.   The first two partners proceed as in the Two-Way Partner Exercise, beginning with Step 4 and proceed through Step 10 only. (The partners do not compare results when they think they have a copy or replication.)
   
   c.   When the initial message sender and message receiver are satisfied "they have it," the message receiver hides his/her tiles and the message sender dismantles her/his design and gives the three tiles to the third partner who has been out of the room.
   
   d.   The third partner becomes the new message receiver, the previous message receiver becomes the new message sender. (See Step 7 below.)
   
   e.   The initial sender is asked to observe only the new team work to replicate the design.
   
6. Exercise Objective: Achieve an exact copy or replication across all three partners, so that the third partner achieves a design exactly as the first partner designed.
   
7. Diagram of partner switching (see Diagram #4):
   
   
8. Request participants return to their original seats.

D.   Post Exercise Analysis and Discussion:  Debrief with the participants on the process/procedures/constraints/roles used to achieve the expected performance outcome of an "exact copy" or replication in every detail including context.

1. Strategies for Communication Success:
   a. Developing a common language (content/process)
   b. Being specific
   c. Clarifying, paraphrasing
   d. Giving and taking feedback
   e. Not allowing the other person to set negative emotional agenda
   f. K.I.S.: Keeping It Simple
   g. Breaking the task into sub-tasks and sub-components
   h. Avoiding blame for error
   i. Debriefing and  reviewing for lessons learned
   j. "Prepping"/providing an orientation before beginning
   k. Persistence
   l. Asking questions
   m. Reasonably expressing frustration over error
   n. Attempting to view the project from the other's perspective
   o. Adapting to various levels of noise/distraction
   p. Other _________________________________________________
   
   
2. Other Observations and Discussion Options:
   a. Did I get better with practice?
   b. Was I motivated to succeed?
   c. Did I repeat successful structures or designs?
   d. How much variation from an "exact copy" did I allow?
   e. Did I provide a balance between efficiency (time consumed) and effectiveness (accuracy or exactness of copy)
   f. Was one person better than the other either at describing or interpreting?
   g. Any differences I needed to adjust or accommodate
   h. How did participants decide who would be the first "message sender" ("Directive" or "Participative").
   i. Other _________________________________________________

Rev:  05/04/14