Team Building: The I’s Have It!
An exercise that organizations/teams can do to demonstrate the importance of focusing on other people and to show that team members tend to be more self-centered than they might realize.
The I's Have it!
OBJECTIVES
To show that team members tend to be more self-centered than they might realize.
To demonstrate the importance of focusing on other people.
MATERIALS REQUIRED
None.
PROCEDURE
After a discussion on interpersonal skills or any aspect of communication, casually mention that many of us forget about focusing on others and instead become somewhat self-centered, albeit not in a conscious way.
With this in mind, ask the participants to find a partner and for the nest 2 minutes, talk about anything in the world they want to discuss. There is, however, one rule: They cannot use the word "I." They can do anything else they want; they just can't say "I."
After the 2 minutes (which usually interspersed with laughter and high energy), call time out and lead the discussion.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. How many of you were able to talk for those 2 minutes without
using the pronoun "I"?
2. Why do so many of us have difficulty avoiding the (over) use of "I" in conversation?
3. How do you feel when talking to (listening to) someone who starts every sentence with "I"?
4. How can we phrase our communications to better focus on the other person?
5. If you did not use the word "I", what strategies did you use to avoid it? Could you do those things more often in your work (or social) environment?
As an alternative, give each pair the instruction only to talk for 2 minutes. However, instruct one member of each pair to count the number of times "I" is used. The subsequent reports will raise some "I"-brows!
Attribued to "The Big Bool of Team Building Games" Authors: John Newstom and Edward Scannell, 1998.
OBJECTIVES
To show that team members tend to be more self-centered than they might realize.
To demonstrate the importance of focusing on other people.
MATERIALS REQUIRED
None.
PROCEDURE
After a discussion on interpersonal skills or any aspect of communication, casually mention that many of us forget about focusing on others and instead become somewhat self-centered, albeit not in a conscious way.
With this in mind, ask the participants to find a partner and for the nest 2 minutes, talk about anything in the world they want to discuss. There is, however, one rule: They cannot use the word "I." They can do anything else they want; they just can't say "I."
After the 2 minutes (which usually interspersed with laughter and high energy), call time out and lead the discussion.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. How many of you were able to talk for those 2 minutes without
using the pronoun "I"?
2. Why do so many of us have difficulty avoiding the (over) use of "I" in conversation?
3. How do you feel when talking to (listening to) someone who starts every sentence with "I"?
4. How can we phrase our communications to better focus on the other person?
5. If you did not use the word "I", what strategies did you use to avoid it? Could you do those things more often in your work (or social) environment?
As an alternative, give each pair the instruction only to talk for 2 minutes. However, instruct one member of each pair to count the number of times "I" is used. The subsequent reports will raise some "I"-brows!
Attribued to "The Big Bool of Team Building Games" Authors: John Newstom and Edward Scannell, 1998.