Here’s a closing activity that involves recalling what happened during a previous activity. Endless Memories is especially useful if you are training the participants to conduct the activity with their own group.
Synopsis
The participants recall incidents from a previous activity. They take turns making statements about what they did, what they said, what the felt, and what they thought during the activity.
Purpose
To recall key details about personal involvement in a participatory activity.
Participants
Minimum. 2
Maximum: Any number, divided into play groups
Best: 10 to 30
Time
10 to 20 minutes
Room Set-Up
Arrange a table (preferably round) for each play group with seats around it.
Preparation
Come up with examples. Think back on the activity that the participants experienced earlier. Come up with examples of what a typical participant would have done, said, felt, and thought during the activity.
I recently facilitated the Hello activity. Here are the examples I came up with:
What a typical participant did during the session.
Found other members of my team who had playing cards of the same suit.
Interviewed members of the other teams about the challenges they were facing.
What a typical participant said during the session.
When someone asked me for years of training experience, I said ‘12’
I said “Lack of participation” as a frequently-reported challenge faced by trainers.
What a typical participant felt during the session.
I was anxious about being selected by my team to make the final presentation.
I was jealous about Regina’s graphic skills.
What a typical participant thought during the session.
I thought I could use this activity in my staff meeting next week.
I thought of four questions I could use with the customer-service focus group.
Flow
Brief the participants. Explain that the goal of Endless Memories is to recall their experiences in the previous activity. The participants will recall what they did, what they said, what they felt, and what they thought during the earlier activity.
Give examples. Present the four sets of examples you had created earlier.
Set up play groups. Divide the participants into groups of 5 to 10 members each. Explain that each group will play the game among its members.
Pause for preparation. Ask the participants to independently recall various things they did, said, felt, and thought during the earlier activity. Encourage the participants to jot down notes for themselves.
Conduct the rounds. Ask the participants to take turns to make statements about what happened in the earlier activity, without repeating any statement. Encourage the players to provide appropriate context to what was done, said, felt, and thought.
Suggest a rapid pace. If a player is not able to come up with a new statement during his or her turn, this person may skip the turn by saying, “Pass.”
Conclude the activity. After a suitable time, blow the whistle and announce the end of the activity. Point to random participants and ask them to share interesting statements they heard.