| Summary: |
The vi facilitator will prepare a written message saying, for example: "They say that 483 people are trapped under a landslide, after the cyclone passed the rescue has started. Thousands of people have been mobilised carrying medicines, bandages and other items. But they say that the people trapped were not trapped by accident, it was a kidnapping, there are people with a lot of money among those trapped". A minimum of 6 volunteers are asked for and numbered. All but the first one leave the room. The rest of the participants witness the process of distortion of the message; they write down what changes from the initial version took place.
The vi facilitator reads the message to Number 1, then Number 2 is called. Number 1 communicates to number 2 what was read to him, without anyone's help. So on and so forth, until all the partners have passed. The last partner, instead of repeating the message orally, is better to write it on a flipchart or on a blackboard, if possible. In turn, the instructor will write down the original message for comparison.
The instructor will lead a discussion to reflect on the fact that the distortion of a message is caused by not being clear about the message, as we usually remember what catches our attention, or what we think is most important. |