Quiet Line Up

Purpose: This activity will require group participants to think about other avenues to communicate besides talking.

Materials: None

Activity: The objective of this activity is to form a single file line with the person whose birthday is closest to January 1^st in the front and the person closest to December 31^st in the back and everybody else in birthday order in between. They must accomplish this task without talking. They may use any method of communicating among themselves except for voice. Give the group 60 seconds to talk among themselves to discuss various strategies. During the 60 seconds, they MAY NOT discuss birthdates. If you want the activity to be harder, do not give them any time to formulate strategies.

Variation: You may time this activity and set group goals. In the processing discuss goal setting and the implications to life.

Other categories: mother’s name, father’s name, favorite food, favorite video game, favorite musical artist, favorite brand of tennis shoes, sibling’s name, etc.

Processing:

1. How did you feel when I first explained this activity?

2. What made the activity difficult to accomplish?

3. Did any leaders emerge during the activity? How were they chosen?

4. What were some of the ways you used to communicate?

5. What were some of the problems with this type of communication?

6. What can this activity teach us about communication?

7. List some of the methods of communication that could have been used in addition to those that were used?

8. List ways in which we communicate with each other that do not involve talking?

9. Are some methods of communication more effective than others? Why?

Activity taken from: Activities that Teach, Tom Jackson