Change 3 Things

By: Duke Rohe  drohe@att.net

Overview: Ever had one of those lulls in a presentation where your audience is just sitting there with low energy.  Or you want to show the audience how unsettling, yet fun, change can be.  Here you go.

Purpose: This tool is guaranteed to get them up laughing and provide a profound lesson on the dynamics of change if they are willing to apply it.

Participants: From two to hundreds.

Materials: none.

Time: 20 minutes

Procedure:

• Ask them to pair up with someone about their same size (the size has no meaning, it just gets them up with someone they didn’t walk in with)…threesomes are okay too.
• After most have found someone, tell them to face each other and study the person across from them (pause for 10 seconds)
• FIRST Now turnaround, change three things about yourself, turn back around and see if you notice what three things your partner changed.
• Give them a few minutes and as the bulk of them appear complete, SECOND ask them to turn around and change three more things (usually there is groaning like this is impossible) then turn around and spot them.  Call out some funny things you are noticing
• THIRD Finally have them repeat a third time (tell them this is the last time)…Change three more things. (usually clothes start coming off, shoes put on wrong feet, pant legs roll up as they reach for three last things)

Debrief: Did it get easier or harder each time?  Did you get more creative as you went along?  Did you look different at the end than in the beginning?  Did anyone think of exchanging an article with the person next to them?  Did anyone use a facial expression as a change?  How much time did you spend resisting the change versus doing the change.  Was it fun?  This debrief can parallel any emphasis on change the group is about to undertake.  And the more the audience participates in feelings, lessons and parallels from the exercise, the greater its impact.