The Find the Difference Exercise
Find the Difference is an ideal team building activity to encourage your group to notice the subtle things about other people that we often overlook.
You need to form random pairs. Ask each pair to start by standing back to back with their partner.
It is important that you do not provide information about the game at this time, for reasons that will soon become apparent. Next, instruct each person to change or alter three things about their appearance during the next 30 seconds.
For example, swap a watch to the other wrist, fold up cuffs, unbutton a shirt. The key is that all changes have to be visible.
When the time expires, ask each person to spin around, face their partner, and taking turns, identify all of the changes that have been made.
Repeat the exercise, return the pairs to their original back-to-back stances, and ask them to change three more things about their appearance. Your group will soon discover that there are an endless number of changes they can make by adding to themselves, and not just taking away.
Moment of Reflection
- Was it difficult for you to change three (or six) things about your appearance? Why?
- Was the first round easier than the second round to spot the differences in your partner’s appearance? Why?
- Where did you focus most of your attention to spot the difference?
- Early on, did you think to change your facial expressions, or attitude? Why?
- Can you think of examples of subtle differences we often overlook in others? What is a possible impact of this?
The topics of this publication: teamwork, observation skills, creativity, integration, reflection, adaptability skills, interactions, adaptation
