Sit - Stand - Disappear
As a virtual game in Zoom, have people narrow their screen so they only see 3 people in a row. Each person will simultaneously try to have one person sitting, one standing , and one out of the frame in their row.
Goal
As virtual game, an energizer
Gets people physically moving
An example of embracing qualities of Zoom
Instructions
Instruct everyone to go into Gallery View and to narrow their Zoom window so there are 3 people in a row.
Have everyone practice each of the 3 moves - Sit, Stand, Disappear (get out of the frame).
Let people know that you know everyone will see a different order on their screen - this is what makes the game work! Instead of being frustrated with Zoom changing the order in gallery view, let's accept that and see how we can play with this feature.
It is fun to add silly music to this game while people are playing.
Facilitator starts the game (3-2-1 Go!)
Game play continues organically since everyone's moves affect other people on the screen.
Debrief
This is one of those quick activities that can give you, as the facilitator, a quick insight into team dynamics. For example, if as the facilitator you notice someone talking over the group and directing others to get it "right" you're likely seeing a behavior that shows up elsewhere. If desired you can debrief this activity with questions about how people's thinking and feeling changed as the activity progressed. What impulses did you have to direct others? What did you do? What feelings came up? What changed as you went on? What part of your role / job is this activity like?
Background
This activity was inspired by Sit, Stand, Lie down, a 3-person improv scene game where one player must be in each position as the scene continues.
Learned from Adam, Renatus, and Ayra on FLOW call from the Co-Creation School on 5/14/2020. Perhaps developed within the Applied Improvisation Network open space sessions?
Shared by
Erica Marx
Executive, Leadership, and Team Coaching
Design and facilitation of fun and interactive online programs
https://www.ericamarx.com
(607) 279 - 6402
erica@ericamarx.com
Comments (4)
@Robert I love that you tried this! These are great tips and additions. Thank you for the music suggestions! Recording it and playing it back (perhaps sped up a bit) would be great fun too.
@Fer Gascón I just noticed your comment - It's not a talking activity. You might have people who start talking but mostly people quickly realize the futility of trying to direct others to achieve their personal goal since one person directing to make it "right" by their view will inherently mess up the views of others (and if they don't then you're really seeing some existing team dynamics at play). You can of course run this as a team dynamics exercise and not give any instructions about silence vs. talking and then you may get some interesting material to debrief. What impulses did you have to direct others? What did you do? What feelings came up? What changed as you went on? What part of your role / job is this activity like? ETC
I used this recently at a session delivered to facilitators, and it was an absolute favorite - a very practical way to get everyone active, moving a bit, and lighten the atmosphere. Therefore it's also a great exercise to serve as a transition before a more creative exercise. My learning points were: * Put extra attention to explain for everyone how to adjust their Zoom window to reach the position where they see 3 people in each row * Playing some silly music in the background is huge plus. It really helps people to understand that it's going to be a fun game when you turn on the music. I used the If I Had A Chicken (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fewLXi6GATM) no copyright song for the background, via Zoom's audio sharing (More tips here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fnb968f6SA) * 2 minutes was a sufficient time to run the activity. We didn't reach an equilibrium point, or even if we did, the organic movement just continued as people really enjoyed. * Tip: you might take some screnshots, or record the whole activity, as it's a pretty fun and lighthearted. * We did not speak during the activity - which anyway would have been messy with 20 participants.
One doubt. Can people speak during the activity? Telling things like... "John, stand up, Mary, out of the frame..." or is it a silent activity?