Building Relationships

Thorsten Boehner, Lilo Seelos

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781351686846
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Group Games: Building Relationships Thorsten Boehner - A comprehensive collection of 140 games and activities to foster personal development; improve social communication skills; and strengthen group dynamics. Full of practical and creative ideas that can be implemented with minimal preparation and equipment. 140 games and activities to foster personal development; improve social communication skills; and strengthen group dynamics. Full of practical and creative ideas that can be implemented with minimal preparation and equipment. Suitable for all ages, the games will increase self- and other-awareness; improve recognition of one's own limits as well as awareness of the limits of others; encourage better teamwork skills; and increase flexibility as participants gain new experiences in a playful and safe environment. Includes: Group gel activities; Warm-up activities; Exercises for building trust and awareness; Imagination and improvisation; Closing exercises; Special exercises and tips for amateur dramatics lovers.

Imagination & Improvisation

Imagination and the art of improvisation both play a special role in amateur dramatics. Neither one is about setting limits, but going beyond them and pushing the boundaries. Both provide opportunities for people to create their own experience and to find out more about themselves. As a result, many people discover new abilities and aspects of themselves that they did not know existed. Improvisation in particular can test the way in which individuals deal with unpredictable situations, sometimes transforming them into positive learning experiences. In the process, people have stretched themselves further than they dreamed possible.

The following games will enable everybody to learn to allow the natural progression of their own emotions. The general motto is: Aim high!'

79 Magical air

The group stands in a circle. The first player draws an imaginary object (eg, a guitar) in the 'magical' air of the room. He then uses the object to act out a scenario. Using the guitar, for example, he may strum like a rock star. Afterwards, using his hands, he reshapes the object into a little ball of magic air and passes this on to his neighbour. Now it is the next player's turn to shape another object and to play with it. Depending on the size of the group, this game can be played over several rounds.

80 Mirror, mirror, on the wall

Players A and Β stand opposite each other. Player Β represents A's mirror image. Player A performs a sequence of movements, perhaps stretching his arms up in the air, turning his head to one side, sticking out his tongue, and alternating these movements with pushing the palms of his hands further and further out to his sides. Player Β now has to copy these movements as exactly as possible, with the minimum lapse of time after their demonstration. The players are not allowed to talk. After two minutes or so, Β takes the lead, and A becomes his mirror image.

Game variation

To vary the game, instead of swapping roles after a given time, either partner might try to take over the lead or hand it over to the other person, still without talking to each other. In this way, everyone can be both the real person and the mirror image, all in the space of a few seconds.

81 Yes and no

Two volunteers stand in the middle of the room. Player A takes up an open body posture, walks towards Β and says loudly and clearly, 'Yes!' While doing this, A can try to touch B. Player B, on the other hand, assumes a hostile body posture, turns away from A and says loudly and determinedly 'No!' During the course of the game, A repeatedly tries to get closer to B, by continuing to say 'Yes!' B, in turn, continues to reject A and says 'No!' in a decisive manner. Afterwards, the roles are swapped, and then two more people form a pair and repeat the exercise, while the rest of the group watches. Once everybody has had a turn, the players should use discussion to explore which role was the most difficult.

From experience, it seems that most people find the open 'yes' approach more difficult. Many people appear to find it easier to say 'no' and reject someone.

82 Word and movement

The players sit together on the floor in a circle. The first player says a word, then makes a movement that has no connection with the word spoken. For example, player A might say 'biro', and stick out his tongue. The player to his left (player B) repeats both the word and the movement, and then adds his own. For example, he might say 'houseboat', and point to his watch. The player to his left (player C) carries on, first repeating player A's word and movement, then player B's, before adding his own. He might say, for example, 'potato', and close his eyes.

Where are the first difficulties in repeating words and movements going to occur? Or is the group going to manage to get through the round without stumbling?

83 Treasure hunt

This game is a great exercise for reducing inhibitions, especially when addressing total strangers. Treasure hunt is best played during the course of a meeting, a rehearsal or a seminar that is taking place in a strange, rather than a familiar, environment (eg, a different town). The players get together in pairs, arm themselves with pen and paper and are given one object per pair. Each group could receive either the same object or different ones. Items such as toy cars, pebbles, pencils, and so on, are suitable.

Now the game moves outside onto the street. There, each group tries to engage a passer-by in conversation and then convince this person to agree to a swap. During the course of the exchange, each pair gives the object that they have been given to the passer-by. The passer-by has to give them any other object that he may be carrying on his person at the time: a (clean!) paper hanky, a pen, a business card, a sweet, and so on. The only condition is that the group members are not allowed to take money as part of the exchange) They then move on to the next passer-by with their new object and aim for another exchange. One member of each pair records the individual exchanges in writing. Each group should be honest while doing this and not invent any fictitious exchanges. After a previously agreed period of time (about one hour), all of the players meet up again.

The final stage is not about determining which group can boast the most exchanges in order to determine a winner. Rather, it is much more important and interesting if all the players tell each other of their impressions and the experiences they had during the game. The players should also exchange their insights on the ease or difficulty with which individual players were able to approach total strangers and make their requests. Did they lose some of their inhibitions during the course of the game?

Materials: a selection of small objects, paper, pens

84 Rain dance

The players can sit on the floor or stand, whichever they prefer. One person begins the game by beating out a particular rhythm (eg, 3/4 time), using his hands or feet. The second person takes over with a new rhythm by clapping a different pattern or time signature. One after the other, each player contributes to this rhythm round in their own individual way. It does not matter whether players drum against the floor, the wall, or even their own bodies. Anyone can accompany his own beat with other noises at regular intervals if he wishes - for example, hissing, whistling, humming, and so on. Regardless of what kind of rhythm and what sort of noise the individual players prefer, it always sounds impressive when a large group 'makes music' in this way. Players can throw themselves into the activity so much that the whole 'ceremony' begins to resemble a kind of conjuration - hence the name 'rain dance'.

Materials: small drums (if available), large tin cans and anything that can be used to make a percussive sound

85 Human machine

A volunteer starts the game by standing in the middle of the room and performing an action he has chosen to resemble a mechanical process. For example, the player may kneel on the floor while banging his fist on it at regular intervals as if he was knocking something into the ground. After a short while, another player joins him. He makes physical contact with the first player, eg, by leaning on his back. Then the second player also performs a repetitive mechanical movement, for example bringing his hands together in front of his chest over and over again. The game continues in the same way: one by one new players join, make physical contact with the previous player and choose a movement until all of the group members are united in the workings of this 'machine'. If they wish, the players can also accompany their movement with a noise, such as loud groaning, whistling or grinding. Finally the machine's movements become faster and faster, and the noises louder and louder, until the whole game peaks in massive chaos, and the machine 'explodes' with a loud bang. The group should choose this point in time without talking to each other, but simply by following a joint impulse.

86 Popping the corks

The players sit in two rows facing each other. Each player holds a cork between his front teeth. The player on the far right of one row begins the game by shouting out some sort of mild insult at the person opposite (eg, 'twit!'), while still trying to hold the cork in his mouth. The person addressed now turns to the player sitting to the left of the player opposite and insults this player in turn ('idiot!'). That person, again, now turns to the person directly opposite and insults them ('dumbo!'). Once the game has reached the end of both rows, the insults should travel back in reverse, so that the person who opened the game also gets insulted once. The kind of insults allowed should be agreed at the beginning of the game to ensure that no one has his feelings hurt. This game is simply about loosening up, and seeing who can manage to hold on to their cork.

Materials: lots of corks

87 What might you be ...?

Considering one person at a time, the group thinks about which objects individual group members might be, if they were not people. They might be, for example, cars (sports cars, estate cars, jeeps); colours (red, blue, green); plays (comedy, drama, musical); stretches of water (a still ocean, a raging river); houses (a cottage, a castle, a farm); seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter); animals or birds (lion, mouse, peacock); countries (Spain, Norway); or one of the elements (earth, water, fire, air).

Can the individual discussed identify with the suggestions of the group? If so, why? If not, why not? And is there another object which, in his opinion, would be more appropriate? This game can also be played when group members do not yet know each other very well. In fact this might be a particularly interesting stage for each person to discover the impression the others have gained of him in a short space of time.

88 Celebrities on the couch

Two volunteer players leave the room. The rest of the group agrees which two celebrities or well-known characters the two should represent. These could be real or fictional figures, celebrities that are alive or dead (eg, Michael Jackson or Marilyn Monroe). When the two volunteers return to the room they take a seat on the 'celebrity couch' (use a couple of chairs). As they do not have a clue who they now are, they have to discover their identity by listening to and interpreting the other players' questions and comments. Michael Jackson, for example, could be asked, Is your nose all right?' Marilyn Monroe might receive the compliment, 'How do you manage to look so good after you have been dead for decades?' The two celebrities obviously have to try to give quick-witted answers, even though they do not have any idea of their own identities. This game guarantees fun for both sides, if the questions are reasonably original and do not make it too easy for the two celebrities to guess their identities.

89 Press conference

Two people volunteer to be celebrities. In contrast to Game 88, Celebrities on the couch, these people already know which famous characters they are representing (eg, Madonna and Michael Schumacher). They sit down at a table and face the group, which proceeds to cross-examine them about their celebrity lives. The group may question the two celebrities in as much detail as they like, including questions about the private lives of the two stars (eg, whether or not the two have ever had an affair, whether Madonna would consider having a go as a racing driver, or if Schumacher is envisaging a career as a pop star). The audience is also allowed to interrupt the two from time to time (don't overdo it!). Afterwards, two new celebrities volunteer themselves.

90 Change of scenery

Two volunteers start to act out an everyday scene for the rest of the group: for example, a couple are on their way to the theatre and get involved in a serious argument. After a minute or so, one of the g...