The Three Way Communication Activity

The Purpose of the Three Way Communication is to discuss the pros and cons of different communication methods and styles. Groups physically mimic a specific communication type and environment

Preface the game with a brief discussion about the various ways in which people communicate with their friends, professors, colleagues, etc. Tell them that in this activity, they will discuss and determine key aspects, pros/cons and guidelines for a specific type of communication.

Three different communication methods will be explored: Face to face, telephone, and e-mail. Divide the group members into three groups.

The first group represents the face to face environment. These people do not have any controls on their communication.

They should sit in one area of the room and use pen and paper to write their findings during the activity.

The second group represents the telephone environment. These group members should be blindfolded in order to replicate the telephone environment (in which they cannot see the person they’re talking to).

They should sit together in one area of the room. One person will act as the scribe for the group’s findings and will not wear a blindfold.

The third group represents the e-mail environment. These participants should sit back to back and may not speak. They should each have paper, pens, and clipboards. In order to communicate, they must write notes and pass them to one another.

Give them about 7 minutes and then ask each group member to make its report. Participants can now be free of the blindfolds, clipboards, and other constraints.

Capture the findings and guidelines on a flip chart.

The topics of this publication: non-verbal communication, interactions, active listening