BE THERE-

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Comment by Mary Walker on August 10, 2009 at 1:41pm

Tracy,

I teach to "mixed" groups in that there are both lower level employees and management so I use this activity to get the coversations started....

I give everyone a piece of paper and a crayon....yes we use crayons...how boring is a pen?

Then I say, " draw a triangle", then "draw another triangle that touches the first one", then I say "draw a third triangle that touches one of your other triangles" then "draw a small rectangle that touches your last triangle"

then on the other side of your paper, "Draw a circle", then "draw another circle that is a bit smaller and touches the top of your first circle" then "draw a third circle that is a bit smaller and touches the top of your second circle"

then we all reveal our pictures....

If I was truly "being there" as their instructor, their first picture would look like a Christmas tree, but you'll find that none of them ever do!!! I wasn't being there for them, I didn't give them enough details in my instructions. I wasn't communicating clearly what I wanted them to do (by the way if anyone really does draw a tree with those first instructions, I give them a small award, like a bag of gummy fish, for really being in the zone with me. But it's only happened once.)

Their second picture, with better instructions, actually does look like a snowman. Everyone always has a snowman. I tell them all, "congratulations! you were being here with me and I was being here with you! Draw a happy face in that top circle!!"

Then we discuss how "being there" not only as a listener, but also as a speaker or leader, makes a difference. And it leads to discussions about how people can hear the same thing, but all their images are different (almost nobody has a matching triangle picture even though they all heard the exact same instructions.) "being there" is so important on all levels whether you are the speaker or the listener.

I always use the fish survey at the start of my presentation. When I total the results after the meeting, I always see low scores in communication yet management will tell me they are good at telling people what's going on. This reinforces that you have to communicate with as many details as possible.

Hope that helps!

Mary