Themes & Outcomes
Intercultural Communication: dealing with new people, understanding ‘foreign’ cultures, explicit and implicit rules
Team Development: developing common rules (such as when merging two departments or forming a new team), setting rules
Dealing With New Conditions: developing new strategies, orientation in a new situation under difficult circumstances
Activity
Explicit and implicit rules are an expression of every culture. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the culture of a country or of a company or of a department in a company, rules regulate how we live with each other. Getting to grips with ‘foreign’ rules is the main issue at the heart of this learning project.
How It’s Done
It begins very simply. On each table, the participants warm up by practising how to play with specially developed dice and also get to grips with the rules of the game. After a while, they are no longer allowed to speak and the game starts. After a brief period, some of the participants change tables. But what they don’t know is that each table has different rules on how to play the game! Unable to speak, they have to come to terms with the strange situation, i.e., either learn the new rules or ‘import’ their own. This ‘culture’ shock is a real eye-opener. The participants tangibly experience what it feels like to be in a new environment and what is needed to find your way around.
