Pac Game Booklet
Pac Game Booklet
Pac Game Booklet
Advice
Card
Games
This manual is designed for use with Thiagis Practical Advice Card Decks.
Handout pages from this manual may be reproduced for educational and
training purposes.
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Department, Workshops by Thiagi, 4423 East Trailridge Road, Bloomington,
IN 47408. Telephone +1 812.332.1478. Email: [email protected] .
Printed in the United States of America.
Contents
Part 1. Background
Two Basic Ideas ......................................................................... 1
15 Reasons for Playing Practical Advice Card Games ...................... 3
25 Practical Advice Card Decks .................................................... 5
20 Different Games To Play ......................................................... 8
Solid, valid content. We did not make up the pieces of advice off the
top of our head. Instead, we reviewed several books and training
packages and selected the most useful pieces of advice on each training
topic. We also talked to subject-matter experts and practitioners in the
field. Most pieces of advice are based on empirical evidence.
2.
Variety of topics. The decks of cards deal with key competencies related
to popular corporate training sessions. We are continuing our needs
analysis and collecting of validated pieces of advice on additional topics.
3.
Open approach. The pieces of advice are not limited to a specific book
or a proprietary model. Instead, these tips leverage what the players may
have learned from a variety of books they read, training sessions they
attended, and experiences they have accumulated. The games encourage
mutual learning from a diverse group of players.
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Variety of games. You can play several training games that incorporate
the same deck of practical advice cards.
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Any number can play. The set of practical advice card games can
accommodate different numbers of player from 1 to 100+. The games can
be used from individual coaching to large-group planning sessions.
10.
From rapid to reflective. The time required for the play of these games
vary from 10 minutes to 52 weeks. You can select the best game to suit
your schedule.
11.
Player friendly. All practical advice card games have been repeatedly
play-tested with groups of players around the world. They have been
continuously revised to improve their relevance, flexibility, simplicity,
efficiency, and intellectual stimulation.
12.
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14.
Same game, different content. Once you learn how to conduct any of
the games with cards that deal with a specific topic (such as motivation
techniques), you will discover that the same game can be used with
practical advice cards that deal with other topics. From the players point
of view, they leverage learning the game to learning from the game.
15.
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17. Managing Globally. How to work with people from different countries
and cultures.
Sample piece of advice: Be brief. Talking too much to make the other
person understand you usually backfires and creates more confusion.
18. Motivation Techniques. How to achieve desired results by inspiring
your employees.
Sample piece of advice: Discover what the employee thinks is the
purpose of his or her job. Do this through open-minded conversations.
19. Negotiation Skills. How to negotiate effective and ethically.
Sample piece of advice: Identify all issues that are relevant to the
negotiation. Include such factors as the price, warranty, service support,
quality, features, financing, and delivery date.
20. Small-Talk Techniques. How to improve your social networking through
conversational skills.
Sample piece of advice: Start the small talk with interesting and
nonthreatening topics such as weather, traffic, TV, books, or hobbies.
21. Personal Effectiveness. How to increase your productivity.
Sample piece of advice: Effectiveness is measured by output value
against effort. So figure out how to increase the output value and to
decrease the level of effort.
22. Presentation Skills. How to make an effective and inspiring presentation
to instruct and influence the audience members.
Sample piece of advice: Be playful. Incorporate games and activities in
your presentation.
23. Teamwork Techniques. How to organize and facilitate highperformance teams.
Sample piece of advice: Make sure that the team has a clear and
worthwhile goal. Make sure that the team members agree that this goal is
clear and worthwhile.
24. Training Techniques. How to design and deliver effective and engaging
training.
Sample piece of advice: Set up the training room to encourage
teamwork and discussion. Arrange the seats around tables. Avoid theater
seating.
25. Workplace Civility. How to replace rudeness, bullying, and harassment
with politeness, charm, and kindness.
Sample piece of advice: Dont laugh off an offensive comment.
Instead, have a private conversation with the offender and discuss your
reactions to the comments.
The Thiagi Group, Inc.
Copyright 2013 All Rights reserved.
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10. ONE A WEEK. 1 to 100 players, 20 to 30 minutes each day of the week for
52 weeks.
Objective: Enhance the implementation of each practical piece of advice.
11. ORIGINAL OR NEW? 2 or more players, 20 to 45 minutes.
Objective: Write an original piece of practical advice.
12. PRECAUTIONS. 3 to 102 players, 15 to 30 minutes.
Objective: Improve the positive outcomes (and reduce the negative
outcomes) of implementing a piece of advice.
A CTION P LANS
Selecting a suitable piece of practical advice is just the first step. Before
implementing it, you have to come up with a plan. This activity helps people
experience the steps in action planning.
Synopsis
Two teams independently identify the main tasks and subtasks involved in
applying a specific piece of practical advice. Later, the teams present the their
action plans. Two other teams decide which plan is more useful.
Purpose
To identify action steps involved in implementing a piece of practical advice.
Participants
Minimum: 8
Maximum: Any number
Best: 20 to 28
Time
30 minutes to an hour
Supplies
Practical advice cards
Sheets of flipchart paper
Felt-tipped pens
Post-It notes
Timer
Whistle
10
Flow
Divide the participants into four teams. Each team should have at least
two members and not more than seven members. The teams should be of
approximately equal size.
Brief the participants. Explain that before implementing any piece of
practical advice, we need to conduct a task analysis and come up with an
action plan. In this activity, two teams will analyze the same piece of practical
advice and come up with an action plan. The other two teams will decide which
action plan is more useful.
Distribute practical advice cards and other supplies. Give the same
practical advice card to the first two teams and another card to the remaining
two teams. Also give each team a sheet of flipchart paper, a felt-tipped marker,
and a pad of Post-It notes.
Ask the teams to identify the main tasks. Point out that a piece of
practical advice may involve one or more main tasks that are fairly independent
of each other. Ask the members of each team to identify these main tasks and
write them on the sheet of flipchart paper. Suggest that they should identify at
least one and not more than three main tasks. Suggest a suitable time limit for
this activity.
Ask the teams to identify subtasks. At the end of the time limit, blow the
whistle and suggest that the teams move to the next phase of the activity.
Point out that each main task that they identified has a set of subtasks
associated with it. Ask the members of each team to brainstorm these subtasks
and write each of them on a Post-It note. Ask the teams to stick these notes
around each main task. Suggest a suitable time limit for this activity.
Ask the teams to prepare for a presentation. At the end of the time limit,
blow the whistle and announce that it is time for show and tell. Ask each team
to look at their flipchart-Post-It -notes sheet and clean it up for a
presentation in the form of an action plan. Announce a 2-limit time limit.
Ask the teams to present their action plans. Ask the first two teams to
stay where they are and ask the other two teams to stand around the first
team. Tell the first team to present its action plan within a 2-minute time limit.
At the end of the presentation, ask all teams to move over to the second team.
Tell this team to make its presentation. At the end of the second presentation,
ask everyone to return to their teams location.
11
Award score points to the first two teams. Ask the members of the third
and fourth teams to discuss the two presentations and to distribute 100 points
between the two teams to reflect the relative usefulness of their action plans.
Also ask each team to identify one effective element of each action plan and
make one constructive suggestion on how to improve the action plan. After a
suitable pause, ask Team 3 to present its feedback and to announce its score
distribution. Repeat the same process with Team 4s feedback and score
distribution
Repeat the procedure with the other teams. Ask Teams 3 and 4 to make
their presentations to the first two teams who act as the audience members.
Use the same feedback and scoring procedure to follow up these presentations.
Conclude the activity. Thank the teams for their task analysis and
presentation of action plans. Point out that the participants can use the same
type of analysis and action planning for implementing any practical advice that
they have selected.
Play Sample
In a recent game, one of the cards selected from the Leading Innovation deck
had this practical advice:
Establish graffiti walls for innovative ideas and invite all employees to
contribute. Photograph and discuss these ideas every week. Then clean
the wall and restart.
Heres what one of the two teams that worked on this piece of practical advice
came up with:
Main Tasks:
Establish a graffiti wall.
Encourage employees to contribute ideas.
Conduct weekly discussion of the ideas.
Subtasks:
Establish a graffiti wall
Send out a job aid on how to come up with ideas and add them to
the wall.
13
CHAT
Reading and understanding a piece of advice is the first step in applying it.
Discussing the piece of advice with your colleagues and evaluating it is the next
step. This activity requires you to chat with your friends and rewards you for
making valuable contributions.
Synopsis
Take turns to read a piece of practical advice from a card. Discuss it from
different perspectives. Rank the contribution of each participant.
Purpose
To critically evaluate different pieces of practical advice.
Participants
Minimum: 3
Maximum: 52, divided into groups of three to six
Best: 10 to 30
Time
12 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of participants in each playgroup
Supplies
A deck of Practical Advice Cards
Copies of the handout, Questions for Discussion
Small pieces of paper for ranking the players
Pencils or pens
14
Flow
Brief the participants. Tell the participants that they are going to explore few
pieces of practical advice. Rather than merely reading each piece of advice, the
participants are going to discuss it in depth.
Distribute the practical advice cards. Explain that each card contains a
piece of practical advice. Ask the participants to silently read the advice on the
card and reflect on it.
Organize playgroups. Divide the participants into groups of three to six
people.
Distribute the list of questions. Explain that these questions are designed
to stimulate a conversation about the piece of advice on each card. Invite the
participants to review these questions.
Start the first round. At each playgroup, ask the participants to identify one
person to be the first Listener. Instruct this player to get the conversation
started by reading the practical advice on his or her card. Announce a time limit
and monitor the discussion.
Conclude the first round. At the end of the time limit, blow the whistle to
conclude the first conversation. Ask the Listener to think back on the value of
the contributions from the other players. On different slips of paper, ask the
Listener to secretly write the numbers 1, 2, 3, to rank each participant
according to the value of his or her contribution. Give an example: If there are
four other players, the person who made the most valuable contribution is
ranked 1 and the person who made the least valuable contribution is ranked 4.
Ask the listener to fold these slips of paper and place them in front of the
appropriate players.
Continue the conversations. In each playgroup, ask the player seated to the
right of the previous Listener to assume the role of the new Listener. Continue
the discussion and scoring procedures. Repeat the procedure to give all players
an opportunity to be the Listener.
Conclude the last round. After everyone in each playgroup has had a chance
to be the Listener, announce the end of the activity.
Identify the winner. Ask the participants to open the slips of paper and add
the numbers. In each playgroup, the player with the smallest total is the
winner. Identify these winners and congratulate them.
15
16
CLUSTERING
This activity involves classifying the practical advice cards in logical categories.
In the process, participants become more familiar with the similarities and
differences among different pieces of advice.
Synopsis
Two teams are given the same set of cards and asked to classify them in
suitable clusters. Later, the participants from each team review how the other
team classified the same set of cards.
Purpose
To arrange a set of practical advice cards into logical categories.
Participants
Minimum: 6
Maximum: 30
Best: 10 to 30
Time
20-40 minutes
Supplies
Two decks of Practical Advice Cards
Handout, CLUSTERING Instructions, one copy for each participant
Blank index cards
Countdown timer
Whistle
17
Flow
Organize teams. Divide the participants into two or four teams, each with at
least three members.
Brief participants. Distribute copies of instruction sheet to all participants.
Ask them to read the instructions individually. After a suitable pause, clarify the
instructions as needed.
Distribute the cards. If you have two teams, give one complete set of black
cards (spades and clubs) to each team taken from the two different decks. If
you have four teams, give black cards to two teams and red cards (hearts and
diamonds) to the other two teams.
Coordinate the activity. Ask teams to begin organizing the 26 practical
advice cards they received. Announce a suitable time limit. Move among the
team observing the activities. Keep track of the time.
Conclude the activity. Blow the whistle at the end of the time limit. Ask
teams to arrange their item cards and headings on the table and invite the
participants to review other teams clusters.
Debrief the activity. Discuss the similarities and differences among different
teams arrangement of the same content items. Also ask participants to reflect
back on the activity and share their insights about the topic.
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CLUSTERING Instructions
What To Do With the Practical Advice Cards
Spread the cards on the table, printed side up.
Stand around the table and silently read the pieces of advice on
the cards.
Sort the cards silently and independently. Place cards that have
Review the cluster with the most cards and split them into two
different clusters. Write new heading cards for these clusters.
If you have more than nine clusters, you have too many. Review
the clusters with the fewest cards and combine them into a single
cluster.
Review the cards in each cluster and arrange them in some logical
order.
19
COLLABORATIVE CLASSIFICATION
This activity requires a team to rate the usefulness of different pieces of
practical advice. It also serves another purpose: Based on their experience in
the activity, the participants learn how to communicate effectively and to
provide equal opportunity to all team members.
Synopsis
Teams of participants classify 16 practical advice cards into seven categories
related to the usefulness of the advice. Later, they reflect on the effectiveness
of their joint decisionmaking and plan for better communication. They
implement this plan by sorting another set of 16 cards.
Purpose
To sort a set of practical advice cards into seven categories related to the
usefulness of each piece of advice.
To communicate more effectively, ensuring that all participants get equal
opportunity.
Participants
Minimum: 3
Maximum: Any number, divided into teams of 3 to 7
Best: 10 to 30
Time
40 60 minutes
Supplies
One deck of Practical Advice Cards for three teams
Countdown timer
Whistle
20
Flow
1. Get Ready
Organize teams. Divide the participants into two or more teams of three to
seven members each.
Distribute practical advice cards. Deal 16 practical advice cards, one card
at a time to each team member. Some participants may receive one more card
than the others.
Explain the task to the participants. Working as a team, they should sort
the 16 cards into seven categories related to their usefulness. The cards must
be organized to form a diamond as shown in this figure:
21
Are you happy with the way the cards have been classified into
the seven categories? How satisfied are you with the final results?
decisions that you could have made alone? Why do you think so?
Do you think that some people have more expertise about the
topic? Should they have been given more time than the others?
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How satisfied are you with the results of this round? Are you more
satisfied with the second round than with the first one? Why do
you feel that way?
Are you happier this time about the opportunities for equal
participation?
Did the planning before the activity help you become more
effective?
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24
DRAMA
Asking the participants to roleplay a piece of practical advice cards is good way
to understand the advice and to apply it. Instead of conducting the usual type
of roleplay, this activity requires the participants to stage dramatic segments.
DRAMA is highly motivating--probably because everybody loves to put on a play.
Synopsis
Different teams create and stage a dramatic segment incorporating key ideas
from a piece of practical advice. One team does not produce a play but
evaluates other teams' plays.
Purpose
To effectively apply a piece of practical advice.
Participants
Minimum: 6
Maximum: 42
Best: 16 to 30
Time Requirement
30 to 60 minutes, depending on the number of teams.
Supplies
A deck of Practical Advice Cards
Timer
Whistle
25
Flow
Form teams. Divide participants into 3 to 6 teams, each with 2 to 7 members.
Seat each team around a convenient table.
Explain the play-production task. Announce that the teams are competing
to produce a 3-minute videotape for training people to apply a piece of practical
advice. The immediate task for the audition today is for each team is to prepare
a dramatic segment and to act it out. Announce a 5-minute preparation time.
Distribute practical advice cards. Give five random cards to each to each
team. Explain that these are the concepts submitted by different scriptwriters.
Invite each team to select one of the cards for producing the video.
Explain the evaluation task. The dramatic segment staged by each team
will be evaluated along three dimensions:
Randomly select one of the teams. Explain that instead of playing the role
of a production company, this team will play the role of a panel of drama
critics. Ask the team to come up with a rating scale for comparing and
evaluating different dramatic segments along the three dimensions that you
identified.
Choose a card. Explain that the five cards given to each team are the
concepts submitted by different scriptwriters. Invite each team to select one of
these cards for producing the video.
Coordinate preparation activities. Start the timer. Let teams work on their
own. Give a 2-minute warning at the end of 3 minutes. Blow a whistle at the
end of 5 minutes to signal the end of the preparation time.
Stage the plays. Randomly select one of the teams. Ask this team to give its
practical advice card to the panel of judges. Invite the team members to stage
their dramatic segment. Announce a 3-minute time limit and strictly enforce this
limit. Make sure that the members of the judging team are carefully watching
the play and taking notes.
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Continue the activity. At the end of 3 minutes, invite the next team to stage
its drama. Repeat this process until all the teams have presented their dramatic
segments.
Ask judges to announce their ratings. After the final segment, ask the
judging team to finalize their evaluation. Invite the judges to briefly give their
feedback for each dramatic segment. After this, ask the judging team to
identify the best dramatic segment.
Congratulate the winning team. Give your comments about the pieces of
practical advice. Encourage the participants to visualize a similar dramatic
segment before they apply a piece of practical advice.
27
Synopsis
Each participant reads the piece of advice from a card. The first participant
gives his or her card to the second participant and explains the advice to the
third participant. Later, the first participant gives an example of how the advice
can be applied to a real life situation. After this interaction, the second
participant rates the first participants accuracy of recall and the third
participant rates the usefulness of the application.
Purpose
To recall, explain, and apply a piece of practical advice.
Participants
Minimum: 3
Maximum: 51, organized into groups of three
Best: 12 to 30
Time
15-30 minutes.
Supplies
A deck of Practical Advice Cards
28
Flow
Organize triads. Divide the participants into playgroups of three members
each. Give a practical advice card to each participant.
Specify the tasks. Ask the participants to carefully read the piece of advice
printed on his or her card. Tell them that they have to get ready for two tasks:
explain the piece of advice in their own words and come up with an application
of the advice to a workplace situation. Announce an appropriate time limit.
Conduct the first round. Ask each triad to select one participant to go first.
Ask this person to give his practical advice card to person on his right and
explain the piece of advice to the person on the left. While this is happening,
ask the person who now has the card to compare the explanation with the
advice printed on the card. After this is done, ask the same person to share the
application with the other two.
Give feedback. Ask the participant with the card to comment on how well the
first player recalled the information printed on the card. Then ask the other
person to comment on how realistic the application sounded. Encourage these
participants to provide both positive and constructive feedback.
Repeat the procedure. Ask the other two participants to take turns to recall
and explain the advice on the card and to provide an application. Encourage
the listeners to provide positive and constructive feedback.
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Synopsis
Work in triads, discuss pieces of practical advice, and select the most useful
ones.
Purpose
To compare pieces of practical advice two at a time and to select the most
useful pieces of advice.
Participants
Minimum: 3
Maximum: Any number, divided into groups of three.
Best: 20 to 51
Time
20 - 40 minutes
Supplies
A deck of Practical Advice Cards
30
Flow
Organize triads. Divide the players into groups of three. If you have an extra
player ask him or her to pair up one of the three players as a consultant. If you
end up with two extra players, join them as another player to form one more
triad.
Set up the stockpile. Deal nine cards face down in the middle of the table
where each triad is seated.
Take a card. Ask each player to take a card from the set of nine cards.
Select the first listeners. The person with the highest-ranking card is
appointed as the first Decider. Here is the ranking of cards: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9, 10, J, Q, K, A. If there is a tie for the top card, check the suit of the card.
They are ranked in this order: clubs, hearts, spades, and diamonds.
Listen to explanations. Ask the Decider to listen to the other two players
who take turns to read the piece of advice on their cards and explain why it will
produce effective results.
Select the better card. After listening to the explanations from the other two
people, ask the Decider to select the card that contains the more effective piece
of advice. (The Decider does not have to justify his or her choice.)
Replace the cards. All three players leave their cards in a discard pile and
take the top card of the stockpile for use in the next round.
Continue explaining and deciding. The player seated to the left of the
previous Decider becomes the new Decider for the next round. This round is
played as before and ends with one of the two cards being selected.
Conclude the game. When the last card in the stockpile is picked up, the
game comes to an end.
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HEADLINES
An appropriate headline for a piece of practical advice attracts the readers
attention and highlights the key elements. It also makes it easier to recall the
piece of advice later. This game rewards players who have a talent for writing
effective headlines.
Synopsis
Players independently write a headline for a piece of advice. A non-playing
judge selects the best headline.
Purpose
To create a meaningful and memorable headline for a piece of advice.
Participants
Minimum: 3
Maximum: 28 (subdivided into groups of 3 to 7)
Best: 5
Time
4 minutes for the each round.
Supplies
A deck of Practical Advice Cards
Pencils or pens
Pieces of blank paper
32
Flow
Appoint a TKJ. Select one of the players at each table to take on the role of
the Timekeeper-Judge (TKJ). Reassure the other participants by explaining that
everyone will have a turn being the TKJ during the subsequent rounds.
Display a card. Ask the TKJ to pull out a random card and read the piece of
practical advice printed on it. Instruct the TKJ to place the card in the middle of
the table, printed side up.
Think for 30 seconds. Ask the TKJ to keep track of time for 30 seconds. Ask
the participants to think about suitable headlines for the selected piece of
advice for 30 seconds.
Write the headline. After 30 seconds, ask the players to write a meaningful
and memorable headline for the piece of advice.
Select the best headline. Ask the players to take turns to read the headline
they have written. After all players have done so, ask the TKJ to select the best
headline and give its author the practical advice card. Remind everyone that
the judges decision is final and he or she does not have to explain the logic.
Continue the game. Ask the next player to take on the role of the TKJ and
repeat the same procedure. Continue the game until every player has had a
turn to be the TKJ.
Identify the winner. At the end of the game, ask the participants to count
the number of practical advice cards they have won. At each table, the player
with the most cards is the winner. Identify these winners and congratulate
them.
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MINGLE
This game gets everybody buzzing at the same time. The participants are
divided into four teams and each team is given one piece of practical advice.
Members of different teams pair up and try to persuade each other.
Synopsis
Join a team and review a piece of advice assigned to your team. Pair up with
members of the other teams and explain the value of your piece of advice (and
listen to the explanations from the other person). Participate in a poll to select
the better piece of advice between different pairs.
Purpose
To review, compare, and evaluate pieces of practical advice.
Participants
Minimum: 12
Maximum: Any number
Best: 16 to 40
Time
20 to 30 minutes
Supplies
One card of each suit from a deck of Practical Advice Cards.
34
Flow
Organize teams. Divide the participants into four teams of three to 10
members each. Name the teams Clubs, Hearts, Spades, and Diamonds.
Give an advice card to each team. Make sure that the team gets a card
with the suit that corresponds to the name of the team. Ask the team members
to read and discuss the piece of advice printed on the card.
Ask teams to plan to persuade others. Tell the members of each team to
figure out how its advice will produce positive results when implemented.
Encourage them to come up suitable marketing messages for pitching the
usefulness of this piece of advice.
Ask the participants to pair up and make their pitches. Tell them to
meet someone from one of the other teams. Ask the two participants to explain
their piece of advice and its potential positive impact. Suggest that each
participant takes 30 seconds to present his or her marketing message.
Ask the participants to change partners. Once each pair of participants
has shared the value of the piece of advice, they should pair up with someone
else from a different team. Each member of the new pairs should repeat the
process of explaining the piece of advice and its potential impact, and listening
to the other person.
Conclude the conversations. Announce the end of the marketing period. Ask
the participants to return to their original teams.
Conduct a poll to compare a pair of advice. Read the pieces of advice from
the Clubs and the Hearts teams. Ask the members of the two other teams
(Spades and Diamonds) to select the more useful of these two pieces of advice
and indicate their choice by raising their hands. Estimate the numbers of hands
raised and identify the winning piece of advice.
35
Continue polling. Conduct a total of six polls so that each piece of advice is
compared with every other piece of advice. Heres a convenient table for
sequencing the polls:
Poll
Pair of Advice
36
ONE A WEEK
This unusual activity lasts for a year! It is not a game but an action-learning
exercise that takes place in the real world. Heres what you do: Implement one
piece of practical advice each week and learn from your experience.
Synopsis
Choose a piece of practical advice. During each day of the week, plan and
implement this piece of advice. Debrief your experience and give yourself a
score. Repeat the process with another new piece of advice each week.
Purpose
To apply and enhance one practical advice each week.
Participants
Minimum: 1
Maximum: Any number, working independently and sharing the same deck of
cards.
Best: 2 (in partnership)
Time
15 to 20 minutes each day of the week. Repeated for 52 weeks of the year.
Supplies
A deck of Practical Advice Cards
A journal (either a paper-and-pencil notebook or a document in your
computer)
37
Flow
Begin the week by selecting a piece of practical advice. You may select
a random piece of advice.
Review the piece of advice. Translate it into a specific technique you want
to try out during the week. Start an application journal and write down the
technique in your own words.
Plan every morning. Reflect on these questions:
38
Score your performance every day. Based on your reflections during the
debrief, give yourself a score, using the following guidelines:
process and the outcomes. Learned one or two new things about
the technique.
and outcomes for some time. Learned some new things about the
technique.
39
ORIGINAL OR NEW?
Heres a game that gives an opportunity to the participants to show off their
expertise on the topic of the practical advice cards.
Synopsis
Each participant studies three pieces of practical advice and write a fourth one.
This participant reads the new piece of advice and one of the originals, a
random order. The other participants guess which is which.
Purpose
To write a piece of practical advice that is related to the selected topic.
Participants
Minimum: 2
Maximum: Any number
Best: 10 to 20
Time
20 to 45 minutes
Supplies
Practical advice cards
Blank pieces of paper
Pens
Countdown timer
Whistle
40
Flow
Organize the participants. If there are more than five, organize the
participants into playgroups of three to five each.
Distribute the cards. Shuffle the set of practical advice cards and give three
cards to each participant. Ask the participants not to show their cards to
anyone else.
Review the cards. Ask the participant to independently study the three pieces
of advice from the cards. Point out that each participant has a different set of
cards.
Present the background scenario. Explain that the author of the deck of
cards wants the participants to generate additional pieces of practical advice on
the same topic. He will select the best pieces of new advice and offer them as
bonus cards to the players.
Write a piece of advice that imitates the style of the other cards. Give a
piece of paper to each player and ask him or her to work secretly and write
another piece of advice. Tell the participants that this advice should be different
from the three others but should imitate the style of writing on the other cards.
Announce a 5-minute time limit for this task.
Read an original card or the new card. At the end of 5 minutes, blow the
whistle and ask one of the participants in each playgroup to turn his or her
back to the others. Ask this person to read aloud the advice from one of the
three cards and the new piece of advice that he or she wrote. Instruct the
person to read these pieces of advice in any order and not to identify which one
is the original and which is the newly created. If necessary, ask the selected
participants to read the two pieces of advice again.
Decide if the card is real or bogus. Ask the other participants in the
playgroup to decide which piece of advice was newly created.
Award score points. Ask the participant who read the pieces of advice to
show the piece of paper with the new advice. Give one point to each participant
who classified the advice correctly as new. If one or more participants were
fooled, give the person who read the pieces of advice a point for each person
who mistook the new idea for the original idea.
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Repeat the process. Continue the activity with the participants in each
playgroup taking turns to read a original piece of advice and the new piece of
advice.
Conclude the activity. After an appropriate number of rounds, announce the
end of the activity. Thank the participants for sharing their wisdom with the
newly created pieces of practical advice.
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PRECAUTIONS
Theres always good news and bad news when you implement a piece of
advice. In this three-person game, players identify the potential disadvantages
of implementing a piece of advice. Later, they come up with a set of
precautions to decrease these disadvantages.
Synopsis
Read the piece of advice from your card. Ask the other two participants to list
the disadvantages of implementing this piece of advice. Afterwards, ask them
to come up with suitable precautions for decreasing these disadvantages.
Purpose
To reduce the negative consequences of implementing a piece of advice.
Participants
Minimum: 3
Maximum: Any number, divided into groups of three
Best: 18 to 48
Time Requirement
15 to 30 minutes
Supplies
A deck of Practical Advice Cards
Timer
Whistle
Flow
Brief the participants. Select a card randomly and read the practical piece of
advice printed on it. Ask the participants to brainstorm possible dangers of
mindlessly implementing this piece of advice. Encourage them to think of
negative consequence that may arise from applying this advice. Invite the
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Copyright 2013 All Rights reserved.
43
participants to yell out their responses. At the end of this activity, point out that
every piece of advice has potential disadvantages.
Distribute practical advice cards. Ask each person to take a random card
and review the advice printed on it.
Organize participants into triads. If two participants are left over, join them
to form a triad. If only one person is left over, make him or her a nomadic
observer.
Read the piece of advice. Ask the tallest person in each triad to be the
Reader. Ask this person to read aloud the piece of advice printed on his or her
card. Ask all three participants (including the Reader) to think of the potential
disadvantages of implementing this piece of advice.
Share the disadvantages. Ask the Reader to randomly point to one of the
other two members of the triad and ask this person to specify the potential
disadvantages. The selected participant should rapidly reel off a list of
disadvantages. Ask the Reader to invite the other participant to add more
possible disadvantages. Finally, ask the Reader to summarize these
disadvantages, adding his or her own ideas.
Write precautions. Ask all three participants to work independently to write
down a set of precautions to be observed when applying the piece of advice.
Suggest a suitable time limit.
Share the precautions. After a suitable period of time, ask the participants to
stop writing. Beginning with the Reader, ask all three people to read their
precautions.
Identify the better precaution. Ask the Reader to ignore the precautions
that he or she wrote and to select one of the other sets of precautions as the
better one. The author of this precaution wins one point.
Continue the activity. Ask the participant to the right of the previous Reader
to kick off the next round by reading the piece of advice on his or her card.
Repeat the procedure of identifying the disadvantages, listing precautions,
selecting the better set of precautions, and awarding the point.
Determining the winner. At the end of three rounds, whoever won two
points wins the game. Otherwise, the game ends in a tie.
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Synopsis
Each participant compares two different pieces of practical advice and identifies
the similarities between them. Later, the participants identify the differences
between two other pieces of advice.
Purpose
To identify similarities and differences among different pieces of practical advice
related to the same skill.
Participants
Minimum: 3
Maximum: Any number, organized into playgroups of 3 to 5
Best: 20 to 30
Time
20 to 30 minutes
Supplies
Two practical advice cards for each participant
Timer
Whistle
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Flow
Demonstrate the first task. Pick any two cards and read the pieces of
practical advice presented in them. Ask the participants to identify the
similarities between them. Encourage the participants to announce these
similarities. Give some prompts if necessary.
Organize participants into playgroups. If you have more than five
participants, divide them into groups of three. If necessary, one or two of the
groups may have four members.
Distribute cards. Give two random practical advice cards from the same deck
to each participant.
Pause for comparison of similarities. Ask the participants to read and
review the pieces of advice on the two cards. Ask them to reflect on these
pieces of advice and to identify the major similarities between them. Announce
a 2-minute time limit for this task.
Describe the similarities. At the end of 2 minutes, blow the whistle. Ask the
participants to take turns to read the two pieces of advice and to explain the
similarities between them.
Identify the best statement. After all members have identified the
similarities between the pieces of advice they received, ask them to think back
on the statements made by the other participants. At a count of Three, ask
each participant to point one of the others who made the best similarity
statement.
Demonstrate the second task. Explain to the participants that you are going
to continue the comparison activity with a slight difference. Pick any two cards
and read the pieces of practical advice. Ask the participants to identify the key
differences between them. As before, give clues if necessary and encourage the
participants to announce the differences.
Switch the cards. Ask the participants place their two cards on the table,
printed side down. Ask them to mix the cards and pick up two. Explain that it
does not matter if one or both of the cards picked up by a participant are the
same as in the previous round.
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Play Sample
During the recent game involving practical advice cards related to feedback
techniques, Rahul picked up two cards with these recommendations:
Attribute positive intentions to the feedback provider. Assume that he or
she is helping, supporting, and guiding you.
Remember the purpose of giving feedback: It is to improve performance
and to produce results.
Here are Rahuls statements about the similarities between these two cards:
Both pieces of advice focus on the positive intention of giving feedback.
They require both the feedback provider and the receiver to create a
helpful and supportive environment to help improve performance and
results.
During the next round, Rahul picked up these two pieces of practical advice:
Just do it. Dont procrastinate giving feedback out of fear of upsetting
the receiver.
People who overuse their talents and strengths can benefit from tactful
feedback from you.
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Here are the differences that Rahul saw between these two pieces of advice:
The first piece of advice suggests giving feedback without hesitation.
The second piece suggest taking time to provide the feedback in a
tactful fashion. Also, the first piece of advice implies that the feedback is
related to an area of weakness. The second piece of advice deals with
areas of strength.
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SINGLE
The name of the game refers to the repeated reduction of a number of cards to
a single card. The participants compare pairs of cards, select the better one,
and repeat this procedure until only one card remains.
Synopsis
Pair up with another participants and compare the pieces of advice on the two
cards you have. The participant with the better card continues to pair up with
more participants. The other participant facilitates the pairing of cardholder and
the selection of the better card. The game continues until only one cardholder
remains with the best piece of advice.
Purpose
To comparatively review the pieces of advice on different cards and to identify
the best piece of advice.
Participants
Minimum: 5
Maximum: Any number
Best: 20 to 50
Time
15 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of participants
Supplies
One practical advice card for each participant
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Flow
Brief the participants. Select any two cards and read the piece of advice on
each of them. Ask the participants to compare these pieces of advice and to
select the better one. Encourage the participants to talk to each other and to
discuss the costs and benefits associated with implementing each piece of
advice. After a suitable pause, select the card with the better piece of advice
based on the inputs from the participants.
Distribute practical advice cards. Ask each person to take a random card
and review the piece of advice printed on it.
Ask the participants to pair up and compare their cards. Tell each
participant to pair up with another participant. Ask the members of each pair to
review the pieces of advice on the two cards they have. Encourage the
participants to discuss the relative merits of the two cards and to select the
card with the better piece of advice.
Give instructions to the cardholders. Ask the participant with the better
piece of advice (the cardholder) to hold on to the card and to pair up with
another cardholder.
Give instructions to the facilitators. Ask the participant with the other card
(the facilitator) to give back his card and help the cardholders to continue the
activity. Ask these facilitators to spot cardholders in different parts of the room
and to pair them up. Also ask the facilitators to help speed up the review
process and to select the card with the better piece of advice.
Continue the activity. Ask the participants to continue reviewing pairs of
cards and selecting the one with the better piece of advice. As the game
proceeds, the number of facilitators will increase and the number of
cardholders will decrease. Encourage the mobs of facilitators to actively help
the cardholders to review the pieces of advice and to select the card with the
better one.
Conclude the activity. The game will come to an automatic stop when only
one cardholder remains, holding the card with the best piece of advice. Ask for
a drum roll and ask the remaining cardholder to read the piece of advice. Extol
the participants to reflect on this piece of advice and to implement it at the next
available opportunity.
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SUITS
In this activity, the participants select the two most useful pieces of advice
among the cards of the same suit. Later, they select the three most useful
pieces of advice among the four different suits.
Synopsis
Teams of participants select the two most useful pieces of advice from the 13
cards of the same suit. Later, the teams are reorganized into teams of four
member, each person representing a different suit. These teams select three
cards from the eight cards they had selected earlier.
Purpose
To compare different pieces of advice and select the most useful ones.
Participants
Minimum: 8
Maximum: Any number
Best: 10 to 30
Time
20 to 30 minutes
Supplies
A deck of Practical Advice Cards
Blank pieces of paper
Pens
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Flow
Organize four teams. The teams should be of approximately same size.
Distribute cards. Distribute all 13 cards of each suit to each of the four
teams.
Select two most useful cards. Ask the teams to jointly review the 13 cards
of the same suit. Instruct the players to select the two cards with the most
useful pieces of advice. Ask each participant to jot down an outline of the two
selected pieces of advice on a piece of paper so they could explain it to others
without being able to look at the cards.
Create 4-person teams. Take all of the cards back from the participants.
Reorganize the participants into missed teams of four people, one member
from each of the earlier teams that worked with cards of the same suit.
Select the three most useful cards. Ask members of each group to present
and discuss the two pieces of advice selected as the most useful from each suit.
Ask the participants to compare these pieces of advice and to three most useful
ones from among the previously selected cards from the four suits.
Compare the selections. Ask each team to briefly present the three pieces of
advice they selected. Briefly discuss the similarities and differences among
these selections.
Make a personal selection. Ask each participant to individually select one of
the three pieces of idea for personal implementation in the near future.
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SWEET SIXTEEN
By Gary Harper
Synopsis
Four teams are each given four practical advice cards and asked to determine
which is the most practical. The large entire group then determines which of
the four winning cards is The Champion Practical Advice Card.
Purpose
To review and evaluate pieces of practical advice.
Participants
Minimum: 12
Maximum: Any number
Best: 16-24
Time
15-20 minutes
Supplies
16 cards from a deck of Practical Advice Cards
53
Flow
Divide the participants into four teams. Make sure that the teams are of
approximately equal size.
Distribute practical advice cards. Give four cards to each team.
Select a more practical card. Ask team members to randomly choose two of
the advice cards and read the card aloud. Ask them to discuss which piece of
advice they think is more practical. After one or two minutes of discuss,
announce that it is time to vote. Have the team put the winning card aside.
Select another card. Have each team repeat the process with the remaining
two advice cards, setting the winning card aside.
Identify the teams winning card. Ask the team to repeat the process a
third time using the two winning cards. At the end of this round, each team
should have their winning card.
Present the winning card. Have each team select a spokesperson to read
the advice from the winning card. Also ask this person to summarize the
reasons the team voted for this winning card.
Conduct the semi final round. Randomly select two of the spokespeople and
have each read the advice from their cards again. Then have all the participants
vote as to which of the two pieces of advice is more practical. Set aside the
winning card. Repeat the process with the other two spokespeople.
Conduct the final round. Repeat a final time with the two winning advice
cards from the previous round. The winner is crowned the Champion Practical
Advice Card from this tournament.
Follow up. Read the piece of advice from the Champion Card. Ask the
participants to reflect on the advice and plan how to use it in the near future.
54
Synopsis
The participants are divided into two equal groups of teachers and learners.
Each teacher is given a practical advice card. During a 10-minute period, the
teachers teach as many learners as possible and the learners master as many
pieces of practical advice as possible.
Purpose
To share a piece of practical advice to as many others as possible.
To learn as many pieces of practical advice as possible.
Participants
Minimum: 4
Maximum: 100
Best: 20 to 30
Time
20 to 30 minutes
Supplies
A deck of practical advice cards
Timer
55
Flow
Assign roles to the participants. Divide the participants into groups of equal
size. Tell the members of one group that they will play the role of teachers.
Participants in the other group will play the role of learners.
Brief the participants. Explain what happens during the activity: Each
teacher will receive a practical advice card and study the advice printed on the
card. Later, this teacher will teach the advice to as many of learners as
possible, one person at a time. The learners will attempt to learn as many
different pieces of advice as possible. At the end of 10 minutes, the teacher
who taught the most participants and the learner who learned the most pieces
of practical advice will be declared winners.
Ask the learners to get ready. Tell them to talk among themselves and
come up with strategies to learn rapidly.
Ask the teachers to get ready. Shuffle the deck of practical advice cards and
give one card to each member of the teacher group. Warn the teachers that
you would take the card back at the end of 3 minutes. Ask the teacherparticipants to study the piece of advice on the card, take notes, and come up
with a plan for explaining the advice to individual learners in such a way that
they would be able to easily and accurately recall the details.
Start the frenzy. After 3 minutes, blow a whistle and collect all the practical
advice cards from the teachers. Tell the participants that there will be frenzy for
10 minutes during which individual teachers and learners will pair up with each
other. The teacher will explain the piece of practical advice. The learner will
listen carefully, take notes, and ask questions, trying to understand the piece of
advice so he or she can recall it later. Both the teacher and the learner will
work efficiently. When the task is done, they will part company. The teacher
will go in search of another learner and the learner will search for another
teacher.
Keep track of the number of pieces of advice taught and learned. Ask
the teachers to note how many different learners they have taught. Ask the
learners to note how many different pieces of advice they have learned.
Conclude the session. At the end of 10 minutes, blow the whistle to stop the
teaching and learning process. Ask the members of the learners group to count
the number of pieces of advice each participant had learned. Identify the
participant who has learned the most pieces of advice as the Champion
Learner. Now ask the teachers to count the number of different people they
had taught. Identify the winners who had taught the most number of people.
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Debrief. At the end of the activity, conduct a debriefing discussion about the
behaviors of effective teachers and learners. Also ask the learners to recall and
explain the pieces of practical advice they had learned.
57
THIRTY-FIVE
Heres an activity in which the best pieces of advice wins. During the activity,
the participants review and comparatively evaluate five pairs of practical
advice cards.
Synopsis
Exchange your card with several other people. Pair up with another person and
distribute 7 points between the cards to reflect the usefulness of the pieces of
advice. Continue exchanging cards and scoring the pieces of advice. Identify
the highest scoring cards with the most useful pieces of advice.
Purpose
To identify the most useful pieces of advice.
Participants
Minimum: 6
Maximum: Any number
Best: 12 to 40
Time
20 to 30 minutes
Supplies
A deck of Practical Advice Cards
Post-It note paper
Pencils or pens
Countdown timer
Whistle
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Preparation
Attach a Post-It note to each practical advice card.
Flow
Distribute cards. Give each participant a practical advice card with the Post-It
note. Also ask them to write the name of the card (for example, 6C for six of
clubs) on the Post-It note.
Exchange cards. Ask the participants to walk around and exchange the cards
with the Post-It note with each other. Ask them not to read the cards at this
time but keep exchanging the cards.
Find a partner. After about 30 seconds, blow the whistle to stop the exchange
process. Ask the participants to pair up with any other nearby participant.
Score the pieces of advice. Ask each pair of participants to review the pieces
of advice on the two cards they have. Instruct them to distribute seven points
between these two pieces of advice to reflect their relative usefulness. Give
examples of 7-point distributions: 4 and 3, 5 and 2, 6 and 1, or 7 and 0.
Request the participants not to use fractions or negative numbers. When ready,
ask the participants to write the score points on the Post-It note.
Repeat the process. Wait to make sure that everyone has written the score
point. Then ask the participants to repeat the process of moving around and
exchanging cards. Blow the whistle after 20 seconds or so, and ask the
participants to find a new partner, compare the two pieces of advice on their
cards, and distribute seven points. Instruct them to write the new points on the
Post-It note, below the previous number.
Continue the process. Announce that you will be conducting three more
rounds of the activity. Ask the participants to maintain high levels of objectivity
by disregarding earlier score points and by keeping a poker face if they end up
receiving a card they had seen before.
Conclude the evaluation process. At the end of the fifth round, ask the
participants to return to their seats with the card they currently have. Ask them
to add the five score points and write the total.
Conduct a countdown. After pausing for the totals to be computed, explain
that you are going to count down from 35 (which is the maximum total score
that any card could receive). When a participant hears the total on the card, he
or she should stand up and read the piece of advice. Begin counting down to
identify the card with the highest score. After the participant reads the advice
The Thiagi Group, Inc.
Copyright 2013 All Rights reserved.
59
from the card, lead a round of applause. Repeat the countdown process until
you have identified the top five to pieces of advice.
Conclude the session. Thank the participants for identifying the most useful
pieces of advice. Ask them to select a piece of advice for immediate
implementation.
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TIME TRAVEL
This activity involves participants creating and sharing stories about a piece of
practical advice. It encourages them to think about the positive results of
consistently applying a piece of advice.
Synopsis
Each participant reads the piece of advice from the card given to her or him.
Participants make up a story that involves their applying the piece of advice to
a personal project. Later, they pair up and share their stories with each other.
Purpose
To imagine (and share) the long-term results of applying a piece of practical
advice.
Participants
Minimum: 4
Maximum: 50
Best: 12 to 30
Time
30-45 minutes.
Supplies
A deck of Practical Advice Cards
Countdown timer
Whistle
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Flow
Distribute the cards. Give a practical advice card to each participant. Ask
each participant to read the piece of advice printed on his or her card.
Ask the participants to apply the piece of practical advice to a
personal project. Ask the participants to select some aspect of their current
situation and decide how to apply the advice to this project. Announce a 5minute time limit and blow the whistle at the end of 5 minutes.
Invite the participants to project themselves into the future. Ask the
participants to imagine that 5 years have passed. They have successfully
completed the personal project with significant positive results. Ask each
participant to connect the practical advice from the card to his or her fame and
fortune 5 years from now. Announce a time limit of 3 minutes and blow the
whistle at the end of this time.
Invite the participants to create a short story. This story should
incorporate the 5-year projection that they undertook in the previous activity.
The theme of the story should be about how the practical advice from the card
changed their life. Encourage the participants to come up with a plot that
begins with an initial problem, proceeds through a project that incorporates the
advice from the card, details the ups and downs of this project, and
dramatically ends with the successful conclusion. Tell the participants to make
sure that it is a positive story in which they live happily ever after. Announce a
time limit of 5 minutes and blow the whistle at the end of 5 minutes.
Ask the participants to present their story to a partner. Ask each
participant to find a partner. Tell everyone to imagine that they accidentally
meet each other after 5 years. They are comparing notes about the
consequences of reading the practical advice on their card and applying it.
Instruct the participants to take turns telling the story that they created earlier.
Encourage the storytellers to be enthusiastic and to embellish their success.
Encourage the listeners to congratulate their partner. Suggest a 2-minute
storytelling period for each partner. At the end of the first 2 minutes, blow the
whistle and ask the partners to switch the roles of storyteller and listener. After
another 2 minutes, blow the whistle again and announce the end of the
storytelling period.
Ask the participants to find a new partner and repeat the process.
Suggest that participants share their stories with new partners. Encourage the
partners to embellish their stories with new and exciting details. Remind the
listeners to exaggerate their pleasure at their partners success. Impose a 2minute time limit for each story.
62
Conclude the activity. Repeat the storytelling sessions to suit the available
time. Ask the participants to nominate the best storytellers and have these
storytellers present their latest versions the entire group. Remind the
participants that they have an opportunity for making the story come true by
applying the practical advice from their cards.
63
TRIPLE FILTER
This activity helps you select the best pieces of advice. You may conduct this
activity with members of an intact team to select pieces of advice they should
implement immediately.
Synopsis
Take five random pieces of advice. Repeatedly assess them according to their
potential impact, frequency of use, and difficulty of implementation. Choose
pieces of advice that are of high impact, high frequency, and easy to
implement.
Purpose
To select cost-effective pieces of advice
Participants
Minimum: 1
Maximum: Any number, working independently or in teams
Best: 3 to 5
Time
10 to 15 minutes
Supplies
A deck of Practical Advice Cards
Copies of Triple Filter Table
Pencils or pens
64
Flow
Take five practical advice cards. Shuffle the deck and deal the top five cards.
Distribute the Triple Filter Table. Explain that this table will be used to
record the assessment information.
Identify the practical value cards. Ask the participants to write the names
of the five cards on the first column. (Example: QC for the Queen of Clubs)
Assess the potential impact of the cards. Ask the participants to read the
piece of advice on each card. Think of what would happen if this piece of
advice were successfully implemented. Record one of these numbers on the
Potential Impact column based on the estimate of this factor:
1. High impact
2. Medium impact
3. Low impact
4. No impact
Assess the frequency of usage of the cards. Ask the participants to review
the piece of advice on each card and estimate how frequently they will be able
to use it. Record one of these numbers on the Frequency column based on the
estimate of this factor:
1. Frequently usable
2. Usable
3. Sometimes usable
4. Rarely usable
Assess the ease of implementation of the cards. Ask the participants to
review the piece of advice on each card and estimate how easily it could be
implemented. Record one of these numbers on the Ease of Implementation
column based on the estimate of this factor:
1. Very easy to implement
2. Easy to implement
3. Difficult to implement
4. Very difficult to implement
Plan to implement cost-effective pieces of advice. Ask the participants to
select two or three pieces of advice that have high potential impact, high
frequency of use, and are easy to implement. Encourage them to implementing
one of these selected pieces of advice immediately.
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Copyright 2013 All Rights reserved.
65
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Potential
Impact
Frequency
Ease of
Implementation
2.
3.
4.
5.
Buy more decks. Check out other practical advice card decks in our
current collection of 20 different topics. Visit our online store for card
decks on new topics. Let us know if you want to order more than 10 decks
at any given time, and we will give you a discount.
67
6.
7.
Visit our web site. We will post our updates, new games, variations,
and field notes on this site. Also contribute your ideas, comments, and
suggestions to be displayed on this site.
8.
Thank you for purchasing and use our card games. And thank you for your
continuing support.
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