When it comes to working in a group, everyone is different. Communication plays a big part in the way a group functions and can be a challenge sometimes. However, speaking is not the only form of communication. This activity shows participants other ways of communicating and expressing themselves in a group.
Duration:
30 minutes
Preferred location:
this activity can be made both outside and inside.
Working method:
team building – focusing on non-verbal communication (groups of maximum 4-5 people).
Materials:
flipchart, colourful pens/markers, and music.
Purpose:
improving teamwork within a small group, increasing cooperation and awareness between the team members.
Instructions
the aim of this activity is to create a drawing with the contribution of all team members. The only rules are that the participants are not able to speak with each other or communicate in any written form.
- at the beginning of the activity, music starts playing and one of the participants starts drawing;
- after 60 seconds, the music changes and another participant continues the drawing;
- this repeats for 15 minutes, changing to a different participant every time the music changes;
- when the time is over, the participants can talk again and come up with a name for the painting.
Debriefing
after the activity is completed, have a short debriefing to reflect and close the activity together with all your participants. The following questions can be asked:
- how did you feel during the activity?
- did you have an idea of what the final painting would look like; does it match reality?
- how did you communicate your idea with the others?
- what did you learn from this activity?
Possible alternatives
to make it more challenging, add time pressure by making the time shorter between each round, changing music every 60 seconds at first, then every 30 seconds, then every 15 seconds, and so on.