Learning objectives: To meet and work with new people in a safe and fun way. To collaborate quickly. To use the body language and to build empathy.
Description of the method/nr. of persons of the group for which the method is suitable: the game is implemented in groups of 4. 3 members of the group are sitting on chairs positioned like car seats. Next to the driver the seat is empty. There is a hitchhiker who wants to stop the car. He/she signals, the driver pull the vehicle to a halt and the hitchhiker gets in. He/she is in a very distinct emotion or state of mind or projects a very clear feeling – it could be that he/she is having a laughing fit at something, they could be extremely cold or hot, sad, sleepy, anything, which can be easily conveyed and recognized by the others.
After recognizing this state, the others need to slowly get themselves into the same state, which is obviously contagious. They reach this state gradually, building it up. The exercise is great fun for those who play it and those who observe as audience. It creates empathy and builds skills for confident expression.
Materials: 4 chairs for the players
Time: from 10-15 minutes to an hour, depending on how many people there are present, who would like to play the game.
Questions for discussions/Debriefing:
- Was the objective achieved and how?
- How did you feel when the others took your emotion and built on it and made it their own? What about the other way around, you taking someone else’s emotion/feeling and owning it?
Source: Tsveta Baliyska, 2017