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Purpose
If you are running a course with many people who don't know each other, it can take a while for everyone to learn everybody's name. To make everyone feel more comfortable with each other, you can use this exercise to accelerate the name-learning process. It is quite upbeat and can also energize people and prepare them for the rest of your course.
Objective
State the name of a person and pass a ball to him or her and keep passing the ball.
What You Need
- 4 to 6 balls for a group of 8 to 12. These can be tennis balls or small stress balls. Anything that is safe to throw at someone else is ideal.
Setup
- Ask the delegates to form a circle. Include yourself in this circle.
- Explain that you are going to throw a ball at someone.
Phase 1:
- Pick someone.
- Ask their name. For example, she responds, "Jane."
- Say, "Hi Jane, I am Peter. Catch the ball!"
- When Jane gets the ball, she should say, "Thanks, Peter."
- Jane should select another person, ask his or her name, and repeat the process.
- Continue until everyone has participated.
Phase 2:
- Next, explain that you want to make it more challenging.
- State the name of a person and throw the ball at him or her. Say, "Mary, catch the ball!"
- This person should thank you by name and follow suit: "Thanks, James. Robert, catch the ball!"
- Take it easy and allow mistakes. Simply expect everyone to master the names as they keep throwing the ball.
Phase 3:
- While the ball is still being thrown, casually take out a new ball from your pocket, pick a person and say "X, catch the ball!", and throw the new ball. Expect a pleasant surprise. Now there are two balls to juggle. After a while, add another ball. Use as many balls as half the number of people in the group.
- Stop the ball-throwing exercise when you think the group has learned enough and there is nothing more to gain.
Timing
Explaining the Exercise: 2 minutes.
Activity: 10 minutes
From India
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