Play it Again… Eight to the Bar!

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Image by Clarita

Begin:

A group of participants sit in a circle. The facilitator starts the circle by saying a word (‘blue’). Without pausing the person on the left repeats the word, then free-associates another word in response (‘blue … sky’). The next person on the left repeats the pattern starting with the last word (‘sky … clouds’).

Start Again:

When the group has become comfortable with this process, the next layer is introduced. Everyone in the group, at the same time, sets up a 4-beat rhythm: 1) slap your hands on your thighs 2) clap your hands 3) snap your right hand fingers 4) snap your left hand fingers. Do this until everyone has the pattern down and the group is able to maintain a constant rhythm.

One More Time:

Both of the previous activities are challenging enough, but now the fun really begins. Do it again, only this time do both things together.

While the group is keeping the slap-clap-snap-snap rhythm, the free-association circle starts again. Now with each right hand snap you repeat your neighbour’s word, and with each left hand snap you say your new word, passing it on to the next person to your left. It sounds like this “slap…clap…blue…sky…slap…clap…sky…clouds’ with a ‘snap’ accompanying each word. (You can reverse the direction of the circle, it doesn’t matter).

The objective of this warm-up game (Clap Snap Free Association) is to develop the ability to speed our verbal responses in situations where ‘fast and uncensored’ creativity are of the essence.

While this game does not have the deep built-in life or business lessons of some of the others, I still value it as a warm-up exercise for 3 reasons:

1. It is physical. This game could be a very ‘wordy’. But because of the physical rhythm, and the pressure to come up with words ‘on the beat’, people throw their whole bodies into it. You might not think so from the description, but watch a group trying to really do this right and you’ll be amazed at how much body English people throw at this!
2. It super-charges spontaneity. Without the rhythm, the brain can fudge the ‘don’t think’ command. With our analytical facilities restrained in that rhythmic straight-jacket, we have to blurt out whatever comes first, or nothing! One of the reasons brainstorming sessions are not as effective as they could be is because we tend to dumb-down our contributions based on the censor in our heads, and on the social fear of saying the wrong thing. There is nothing like this game to kick the stuffing out of both of those limitations!
3. It builds empathy. One of my favourite messages in my workshops is the reminder that if we are feeling a little uncomfortable, that is not a bad thing. Take the memory of how difficult this is, and how you felt stretched and challenged, back to your next staff meeting, or family dinner table, or classroom. As adult professionals it has sometimes been too long since we did not feel in charge or in control. [pullthis] Mastery is a good thing, but forgetting the challenges of being a learner is not.

To learn more about how an improv workshop can take the blah-blah-blah out of your next retreat or management seminar, contact Clemens at clemens@clemensrettich.com. Improv takes great team-building and management strategies, and makes them real and unforgettable.

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