Description

This game combines Chinese Whispers / Telephone with Doodling. It is including everyone and helps to loosen up as one cannot do any wrong.

Materials

• Paper or postcard
• Pen for each participant

Preparation

• sitting in a circle / circles helps but is not mandatory

Safety

judgment

Don't comment on the outcome in judgemental words - make it neutral / appreciative - "now let's see what you created! - anyone wants to share what they see here?"

How to play

Round 0

Hand out pen & paper to each participant; Tell them…

• that they’ll fill it as instructed - together.
• after doing as instructed, they’ll pass the paper on
• inform them to refrain from doing more as instructed which will be important in the last 3 steps.
• agree on a direction you want to pass the paper on to

Round 1

Draw a form - pass your paper

Round 2

Make something out of the form you got from your neighbour (an object or a person, an animal) - pass your paper on

Round 3

Add context to the paper you got from your neighbour - pass your paper on

Round 4

Add action or drama to the paper you got - pass on

Round 5

Add text

Round 6

Celebrate the weird & wild creations!

Facilitation

Make sure each of the player uses a decent pen in the same color; not too thick, not too thin

Influence the creation by the kind of music you play during the doodling (e.g. add a seasonal twist with christmas songs)

Use postcards & have participants choose one at the end of your workshop; let them “beautify” w/ colors & let them write their address on it & pass the postcard w/ address to someone else; have each of them write workshop greetings / things they want to share with each other on the postcard and play their postman so they get a little workshop souvenir afterwards.

Debrief

Reviewing/celebrating the creations and bringing home the key things it delivers: collaboration, creativity, building creative confidence, letting go of perfectionism, establish trust in the group, establish a jazz / jam-session mentality, including everyone

A debriefing could follow the What / so What / Now what structure of liberatingstructures.com:

What do you see/notice? Answers could be: “a wild idea on every postcard / funny images”

What does it say about us as a group? & why does it matter? Answers could be: “It was fun, I see that we can do wild things together”

Now What? - What do we do w/ this insight? Answers could be: “Continue in that spirit (inclusive, everyone contributes, work on the ideas of each other…)”

Take aways

Creative confidence; Creation of objects to share; Trust in the group & in collaboration

More details

Anja’s blog