I once gave a university class a communication lesson by having students form pairs. Student #1 got a drawing of an object only they could see. With verbal instruction they told their teammate what to draw to re-create the drawing they held. Guess how close the drawings came to the original pictures? Not very. We got some whacky results, but my students got the point.
We discussed wording that could have made the instructions clearer, and then the teammates switched places and tried to do better after learning a few tips. Their drawings were a little better.
I’ve also learned that regardless of the language, it’s important to speak with precision. Missionary friends in Uganda gave their leadership team brilliant, fun communication games that taught the same point. Here’s one still photo from a hilarious video.
Notice the players on their backs with their legs upraised and meeting in the center like the spokes of a wheel. Their joined feet support a plastic basin of water, trying to keep it from falling on them. One by one people gave suggestions for removing his or her supporting feet without a steadying hand. They started with ten or twelve players and finished with two or three.
Success meant accomplishing the transfer without getting wet. Lots of laughter and competition happened but learning also took place. In an African country, even if the basin spills, it’s refreshing, not a problem.
Another exercise involved blindfolding one team member while a partner used verbal instruction to guide them through an obstacle course. Success depended on the speaker’s precise instructions and the hearer’s careful listening.
All three exercises are fun but not easy. Each proves that the more exact and careful the wording, the better the results.
So what can you and I learn from these activities?
Successful friendships, marriages, business deals, international disputes and peace treaties all require clear communication. And at one time or another we’ve all experienced classic fails.
Once on a mission trip to Colombia, far down an Amazon tributary when communication was by squawky ham radio with poor reception, I heard a leader say, “It’s a great pressure to talk with you.” Days later, I found she really said, “It’s a great pleasure talking with you.”
It’s a good story to laugh about but I think it conveys the point I’m making here beautifully, don’t you?
Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels describes two groups declaring war over the question, “At which end should the faithful break their (boiled breakfast) eggs: the big end or at the little end?” Their prophet announced, “All true believers shall break their eggs at the convenient end.” It took more wars to define that.
George Bernard Shaw said, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”
We need to be careful not only in what we speak but how. It can make all the difference in the world.
What additional games do you recommend? Or maybe invent one from scratch? Please share so we can also play and learn at the same time.
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