Telephone Game

Timing 15 mins

Ingredients

• People and space
• Notepads and pens for participant

Directions

1. The moderator whispers a short phrase, such as “The company is facing budgetary problems, and some of us will be let go,” in the ear of a participant. The moderator writes down what he whispered.
2. The participant then whispers the sentence that he heard in the ear of another participant and writes down what he whispered.
3. Repeat step 2 until everyone has participated.
4. The moderator then asks each participant to read aloud the sentence that the participant wrote down.

Learning Points

• The morale will deteriorate quickly, often in comical ways. Invite the participants to discuss why communication is intrinsically noisy. Discuss practices that promote good communication.

Submitted by Michael dela Maza <MdelaMaza @ drc.com>

Posted by Mike

Written by: Michael McCullough on June 19, 2009.
Last revised by: Tatyana Yanush on October 21, 2011.