Giving Feedback Exercise: If I Had a Different Job

Purpose

This is a simple yet powerful exercise in getting people to share their perception about others. Sometimes seeing the world from another person’s point of view can have a significant benefit for us. This exercise facilitates this process and is most ideal for delegates who know each other so you can use this as part of a team building course.

Objective

Choose an alternative career for others.

Setup

• Get delegates to sit in a circle so everyone can see everyone else.
• Explain that in this exercise, delegates get to choose an alternative career for each other based on what they know about each other.
  • For example, “In my opinion, you will make an excellent…”
• Ask a volunteer to start the process. This volunteer should choose one person in the group and describe an alternative career for this person.
• After this, the person who was chosen will choose another person and provide an alternative career.
• Continue until everyone has provided their opinion at least once.
• Pause and encourage a discussion.
• Continue with another round though this time delegates must choose a person other than the one they chose in the first round.
• Follow with a discussion.

Timing

Explaining the Exercise: 2 minutes

Activity: 15 minutes

Group Feedback: 5 minutes

Discussion

Were you inspired by what you heard from others? Could you expect that others would think of you in this way? What does that mean about how you are seen in the world? What was the most important lesson you learned in this exercise?