Spot The Difference
An activity about noticing what’s different about another.
At A Glance
In pairs, partners take turns to alter a set number of things about their appearance, and then invite the other to identify those changes.
What You Need
- 5 – 10 minutes.
What To Do
Noticing the little things about people can develop trust and a connection with others in a group. This knowledge and a discussion of the impact the little things have on the effectiveness of a group can often move a group forward.
Break your group into pairs, and invite each partnership to stand with their backs to the other. Taking turns, one person will agree to alter three things of their physical appearance, eg roll up their sleeves, swap an earring to the other ear, and untie a shoe-lace. When ready, both partners will turn around and face each other and the “unaltered” person will try to identify every change in their partner’s appearance. They then switch roles. At first, this is a relatively simple task.
Now, without notice, ask each partnership to repeat the exercise, but this time, altering a further three (or whatever number you desire) physical effects of their appearance. The odds are your group will groan as they cry out they can’t think of anything else to change. But that’s a lie, they just haven’t thought about it thoroughly.
For example, note how many people do not think to alter their facial expression, or if they did, how many of their partners were focused on material changes and missed the bigger than usual smile, or frown.
You could go even further and suggest the thoughts of a person could change too. All of these tangible and intangible effects make a big difference to a group’s process – and are often wonderful talking points.
Variation
- As above, but invite groups as large as five or more people to alter X number of things about their appearance, inviting another group to identify the changes. Note, not everybody needs to change something.
Taken from ‘No Props: Great Games with No Equipment’
If you know of a cool variation to this exercise, please add a comment…
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Who am I?
Hi, I'm Mark Collard.
This blog shares some of the most successful group games, team-building activities & programming tips I know.
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