Have you ever...?

Before

Setting: Chairs set up in a circle. For the variation: 1 chair for every participant minus 1

Ideal conditions: This activity can be done outdoors and indoors, in any case there needs to be enough space.

Pre-Work Required: The facilitator needs to think about possible "Have you ever..?" statements.

For this activity the participants have to gather together in a circle. Then, the facilitator instructs them about what they will have to do: He/she will call out different statements (own ideas or see list below) and every participant, for which it is applicable has to run to the middle of the circle. There he/she has to jump in the air, and do a High5, with any other person, that stands in the circle.

A possible variation, adapted from Dave Hall (see references) is to have the participants generate their own questions. Everyone is sitting on chairs in a circle, except for one person who is standing in the middle. Then that person poses a statement, which is true for him-/herself, and everybody for whom it is true has to stand up and change chairs with someone else, for whom the statement applies. Also the person in the middle has to find a seat. The "slowest" person who can not find the seat will be in the middle now, posing a new statement.

The facilitator (or the participants) should carefully consider their "Have you ever..?" statements in order to prevent embarrassment, ridicule and feelings alike.

List of Possible "Have Your Ever?" Questions:

1. Have you ever climbed to the highest point in your country of birth?
2. Have you ever lived overseas for more than 1 year?
3. Have you ever sung karaoke?
4. Have you ever been without a shower for more than 2 weeks?
5. Do you have both a brother and a sister?
6. Have you ever ridden a horse?
7. Have you ever eaten frogs' legs?
8. Can you speak 3 or more languages?
9. Have you ever been in love with someone who was vegetarian?
10. Have you swum in 3 or more different oceans?
11. Have you ever flown an aeroplane?
12. Have you broken 3 or more bones in your body?
13. Have you done volunteer work sometime in the last month?
14. Have you ever free-climbed a tree or rockface more than 10 meters vertically?
15. Have you ever had a close relative who lived to over 100?
16. Have you ever cooked a meal by yourself for more than 20 people?
17. Have you ever kept a budgerigar as a pet?
18. Have you ever been parachuting or done a bungee jump?
19. Can you not click your fingers on your non-dominant hand?
20. Have you ever seen a polar bear?

After

Follow-Up Required: There is no follow-up required.

Usual or Expected Outcomes: The outcome should be a group, that has the feeling that they have learned something about each other, found people who share the same interest, or seem interesting, and now feel much more comfortable within the group.

Potential pitfalls: A potential pitfall is people lying about facts, and therefore losing the trust of the other participants, or if they are not willing to share any personal information about their past.

How success is evaluated: The Process is successful when the participants are now more comfortable with each other, and have the feeling they have learned something about their fellow participants.