improving your communication skills workshop
DESCRIPTION
The workshop leader leads players through the Russian party game “Mafia” created in the USSR by Dimitry Davidoff in 1986, modeling a battle between an informed minority (the mafia) and an uninformed majority (the townspeople). Players are secretly assigned roles: mafia, who know each other, a doctor, a cop and also townspeople, who know only the number of mafia amongst them. In the game's night phase the mafia covertly 'murder' a townsperson. During the day phase, all of the surviving players debate the identities of the mafia and vote to eliminate a suspect. Play continues until all of the mafia has been eliminated, or until the mafia outnumbers the townspeople. As the game is played, players will discover their non-verbal communication skills, teamwork skills and also their observation skills.TRANSCRIPT
Improving Your Communication Skills(by Killing the Russian Mafia)
Facilitator: Nicole Ferdinand, B.A (Hons), M.Sc, FHEA
Today’s Session
Brief intro
A bit on communication
The gameReflection
• A series of experiences, including:
Communication is …
A skillful communicator …• Has the ability to
competently use language and express information
• Can supply and extract information
• Is able to persuade• Makes him/herself
understood• Gets people to take
action and change behaviours
Verbal Messages - the words we choose
Paraverbal Messages - how we say the words
Nonverbal Messages - our body language
Effective communication uses …
Communication Barriers
SemanticEmotional/ Psychologic
al
Organizational
Communication styles differ among …• Men and women• Youth and the
elderly• Different cultures
Studies have found…
• Overall teenagers report preferring instant messaging and text messaging to face-to-face communication
• On the average, women talk about twice as much as men
Communication Styles
Context Space
TimeInformati
on Flow
Adapted from: Hall and Hall, 1990
The Game
• The Russian party game “Mafia” created in the USSR by Dimitry Davidoff in 1986
• A battle between an informed minority (the mafia) and an uninformed majority (the townspeople)
Rules
• At the beginning of the game the narrator will hand out playing cards
• You must keep your card a secret from other players
• Cards will assign players identities as mafia, KGB, surgeon and comrades
• The game will have a night and day time
• During the night time phase of the game identities will be revealed but must be kept secret
• Eyes must be kept closed during the night
• During the day eyes will be opened and mafia will plot to kill and comrades will try to guess who the mafia are
Let’s play!
Reflection• What were the barriers to
communication?• What differences in
communication styles have you noticed?
• Who is better at using non-verbal communication?• Men or women?• Older or younger people?• Western or Eastern cultures?
Thanks for playing!
http://facebook.com/Ms.NicoleFerdinand
Nicole Ferdinand @evntmgt
For more information on how cultural differences and communication styles impact events management, get
my new book Events Management: An International Approach