Paper-Tearing exercise to understand the impact on communication
The paper-tearing exercise is a group game to experience the impact that one-way communication and two-way communication have on interactions.
Gather your group and tell them the following: We are going to play a game that will show us some important things about communication. Pick up your sheet of paper and hold it in front of you. Now, close your eyes and follow the directions I will give you—and no peeking!
Explain to them that they must follow instructions and at no time can they open their eyes or ask questions, they must remain silent.
Give the following directions, carrying them out yourself with your own sheet of paper and pausing after each instruction to give the group time to comply.
- The first thing I want you to do is to fold your sheet of paper in half. Now tear off the upper right-hand corner.
- Fold it in half again and tear off the upper left hand corner of the sheet.
- Fold it in half again. Now tear off the lower right-hand corner of the sheet.”
After the tearing is complete, say something like: “Now open your eyes, and let’s see what you have. If I did a good job of communicating and you did a good job of listening, all of our sheets should look the same!”
Hold your sheet up for them to see. It is very likely that some sheets match yours exactly and many others do not.
Observe the differences. There will probably be much laughter.
Momento of Reflection
Ask the group why everyone’s work doesn’t match if the instructions were the same for everyone.
- Did you need to ask any questions to clarify the instruction you were given?
- For some reason did you get lost in the order of the instructions or did you not hear them well?
- Were the instructions clear and precise or could they lead to confusion? Could the instructions be interpreted in many ways?
Reflect on the importance of two-way communication in the daily functioning of the team.
The topics of this publication: interactions, active listening, adaptation, adaptability skills, reflection
