Purpose

The aim of this exercise is to emphasise the importance of non verbal communication when working in a team.

Objective

The teams should design a specific product without any verbal communications.

What You Need

• A piece of A3 paper or a flipchart sheet for each team
• Coloured marker pens
• Some scrap papers for each team

Setup

• Split the group into subgroups of three or four people.
• Each team is given a sheet of paper, some scrap papers and coloured marker pens.
• Ask the teams to design a specific object (e.g. Shoes, Bags, etc.) on their paper using the markers. Team members cannot use verbal communication during design.
• Each team has 10 minutes to finish the design.

Timing

Explaining the Test: 5 minutes.

Activity: 10 minutes

Group Feedback: 20 minutes.

Discussion

Explain to the group the importance of effective communication within the group. Mention that 55% of any communication consists of non verbal clues. How difficult was it to communicate without speaking? What methods participants used for communication?