| Aim | The aim of this activity is to develop creativity and communication skills, by practicing with the group |
| Trainee profile | Any. People with special needs can participate as long as they are able to express themselves. |
| Learning Objectives | To develop speaking skills in public.
To increase creativity. To embrace communication with the group. |
| n° participants | Between 10-15 people |
| Duration | 20-35 minutes, depending on the number of participants |
| Materials | A soft ball or any other small soft object |
| Implementation | 1. Have participants stand or sit in a circle. You stand in the circle with the soft ball (or another soft object) in your hands.
2. Tell the group that the person who holds the soft ball (or another soft object) must continue the story that you start and that will be created collectively. 3. Begin with the story. Toss the ball (or walk towards the person you want to give it to) to the person who must continue the story. NOTE: Shy people can participate by providing only one word. |
| Debriefing | Facilitate a discussion on the difficulties to create a story collectively. When does a story become more interesting? When are we added value in the creation? |
| Tips and hints | You can tailor the story with the subject that you plan to teach (e.g. ceramic, art, history) or a context the participants can relate to. |
| Safety measures | Make sure that participants have enough room to move and give the ball to the others. Choose a clean and quiet space. |
| Added value | Storytelling is one of the most ancient communication practices that people used to express themselves and understand the world around them. |
| Variances | A variation on this is “fortunately, unfortunately”. Each person must add a sentence, changing the sentence of the main character. E.g.
Unfortunately, I lost my keys. Fortunately, my friend had spare keys to my house. Unfortunately, my friend wasn’t in town. Fortunately, my friend’s mother had spare keys to her house. |
| Suggested readings | https://digimi.eu/training/methodology |
| References | http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/pshe/pdfs/dramawarmups.pdf |