Communication must be placed in context. Context includes others' reactions Participants are given a series of apparently simple instructions to follow without the benefit of being able to obtain feedback on their progress.

Material

A blank sheet of paper for each participant. Copy paper is fine.

For a slide master that can be used in the debrief, click here.

Timing

Activity: 10 minutes
Review: 10 minutes to one hour

Procedure

Distribute a blank sheet of paper to each participant

  1. Say: "We are going to do an exercise with this sheet of paper.  There is only one rule, You are not allowed to ask any questions.  Don't worry, this exercise is so simple you could do it with your eyes closed.  Let's make that rule number two: Close your eyes."
    The second rule, that eyes are to be closed is introduced as an afterthought
  2. .Say "Hold the piece of paper in such a way that you will be able to fold it with your eyes closed."Absent mindedly fold the piece of paper while they are watching
  3. Say:  "Close your eyes."
  4. Say:  "Tear the top right hand corner."
    You may find it necessary to remind participants of both rules, but do this as pleasantly as possible, e.g.  "Stop looking into my eyes" , or "I'm sorry but the rules don't let me answer questions!" in an apologetic tone of voice.
  5. Say: " Fold the sheet of paper again."
    This is actually a misdirection. You have not yet told them to fold it, although you may have demonstrated it.
  6. Say: "Tear the bottom left hand corner."
  7. Say: " Fold the paper."
  8. Say: " Tear the bottom right corner."
  9. Say: " Fold the paper."
  10. Say: " Tear the top left corner."
  11. In a tone of voice that implies incompetence on the part of anyone that has failed to follow instructions,
    say: "Before opening your eyes, would you please raise your hand if you feel that you have failed to understand or follow these very simple instructions.  Good everyone (except two) has got it right!"
  12. Say: " Open your eyes and check with the person next to you.  If your sheets are not identical please stand up and I will check out who is correct."

    Rarely are two adjacent results the same

Debrief

  1. Ask:    What was missing from the communication?
  2. Was it evident that these missing elements would lead to difficulties?
  3. How can we ensure that the message we are sending is being received as intended?
  4. Summarize the relies on a flip chart and categorize them into groups such as:
  • Failure of the provider of information
  • Failure of the process
  • Failure of the listeners

Review

Points which can be made from the feedback include:

  1. Diverse meanings of words do not generally block communication when they are used in context.
  2. Words such as tear, left and right, top and bottom have several meanings.
    In the Macquarie Dictionary:
    Hold has 31 meanings Fold has 25 meanings
    Left has 8 meanings
    Top has 57 meanings
    Bottom has 24 meanings
    Right has 50 meanings, spelt that way, but what about rite, wright and write?
    Tear has 11 meanings when pronounced as TARE, and another 4 when pronounced the same way as TIER.

    An overhead slide is available to show this point.
  3. The word set has over 150 meanings.  To prove the point, ask the participants to come up with alternative meanings for the word set.
  4. Context includes the behavior of those around us, and requires us to ask questions to clarify the situation.
  5. Some may suggest that lack of clear objectives contributed to the lack of consistency.
    What effect would clear definition of the objectives have had? Probably very little if the rules about questions and closed eyes were enforced.
  6. Ask for suggested objectives.  Discuss whether knowing this would have improved the outcome (i.e.  consistent performance).  Note that knowledge of the objectives at the outset may have inhibited the learning experience.
    This does not reduce the need for clear objectives, but does demonstrate that it may not always be appropriate for objectives to be sated at the outset, and that agreed and understood objectives on their own do not guarantee communication effectiveness.
  7. Doing the exercise with open eyes will often be suggested. 
    To test this present it as a hypothesis in a scientific experiment.  Only one variable is to be changed.  The participants may now keep their eyes open.
    Repeat the exercise, but do not follow the instructions yourself, that is, do not model effective behavior.  In most cases there will still be widely divergent results.

The tail

One participant commented after the second trial that her outcome with her eyes closed was the same as the man next to her with his eyes open.  She asked if this proved that women could do things as well with their eyes shut as men could with their eyes wide open.