 E.S.P.?
Trainer’s Information
Context: A person in a conflict situation often assumes his or her rivals know exactly what the problem is that they are having, even if they have never directly discussed the issue. These individuals expect others to be mind readers; however, does E.S.P. really exist? This icebreaker can be used to increase communication and unity within a group.
Time: 10 minutes
Aims: A chance to see how real E.S.P. relates to “telling people how a conflict situation works for me.”
Instructions
- Divide individuals into groups of three.
- Stand so that you are all looking away from one another.
- One group member must decide on a pose or posture and then move into that position. (No one should be able to see this posture; to be more creative a posture can represent an emotion or animal.)
- Once in this posture, focus on communicating the position through E.S.P. to your group members.
- Ask group members to simultaneously try to “hear” what the person is communicating.
- Try to match postures.
- Tell participants to turn around, showing one another their positions.
- Allow for all group members to participate and try their own postures.
Discussion Questions:
Who was able to match someone else’s pose?
How much consensus were you able to achieve by trying to reach each other’s minds?
What alternatives are more reliable than E.S.P.?
|
