For teachers, educational administrators Each group will start its own pot of money. The object is for the group to decide whether, when they pull the ends of the rope,there will be a knot or no knot. As a manager you should certainly be able to handle conflict. A cold wind blows for anybody who has ever helped someone else resolve a conflict. . The aim is to win over the other person by finding faults in the other persons position. - Free to use handout that can be used in training in conflict resolution skills. It is foolproof, fast and fun. What positive outcomes can result from conflict in the workplace. Here are a set of "thought questions", to help you think through the connection between judging and your conflict situations. What would you do if your boss took credit for your work during a meeting? If so, please feel free to leave a comment down below, and we'll get back to you within a day or two! In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing about 40 minutes for this module. You can have players vote on certain actions multiple-choice style in a poll, or call on players to share answers out loud. Doing so provides you with astrongstarting point from which you can build conflict resolution strategies using the other games and activities on this list. Ive used it as recommended to explore assumptions in equality settings, but also really well as an icebreaker for an interview skills workshop. View More Reviews Read/Hide Reviews Assumptions - The Witches of Glum Time: I read the story and encourage delegates to take notes (perhaps after a session on speed writing). Copyright 2000 - 2016 Robert Bacal. At the end of the exercise, start a discussion with the whole class. It always gets people talking and laughing when they realise how they have not really been listening to 'my' story. 3. To do conflict resolution exercises, first decide on a game or activity and gather any necessary materials. By cleverly mixing a familiar story with a few challenging twists, it really stretches the short term memory and in my experience results in an up-beat atmosphere. After completing th. This really focused participants on the rationale for the day and allowed the groundrules to be discussed in a way that wouldn't have happened otherwise. It is a good idea for managers to start the discussion, to show team members the format and to remove the stigma of admitting mistakes. In total, allowing for discussion, we recommend allowing 20 minutes for completion. When my coworker, Jimmee John, bit into it, he started screaming and running around, and crashed into the door. A cold wind blows for anybody who expresses their anger by yelling. It has allowed us to use a fun exercise to identify the pitfalls of assumptions and stereotypical situations. Those are the ones I focus on. Time:This exercise will take about 15 minutes to complete. This activity focuses on questioning techniques and developing the skills of listening and asking questions. Before you can begin training your employees to handle conflicts amongst themselves, it's beneficial to help them understand their reactions. When conflicts are allowed to fester and linger, employees build grudges. Group Size:This module is suitable for use with groups of up to 20 participants. Simply gather in a group, then ask volunteers to share stories. Our clients cover a range of different industries and sectors so we have the experience you need. The Goldilocks exercise is a valuable method of demonstrating to candidates the way they make assumptions. Normally both parties are hell bent on winning that they dont listen to the other person because they are too focused on what they are saying next. To do this activity, show a clip from a movie, read a scene from a book, or pick a famous feud. You can also include spaces for variables or what ifs.. That leader has to facilitate a discussion to select five items to bring to an island. Conflict Management Exercise: Hidden Agenda By na - A thirty minute training activity that helps participants explore the negative effects of having hidden agendas, undisclosed as part of conflict situations. Time:This exercise will take about 10 minutes to complete. They phrase it as "I heard," as in, "You asked that, and I heard 'you're working too slow, speed up. If you are offering conflict management training, these 5 activities should be useful for you. This means asking each other questions about their items, listening to the answers, and coming to an agreement between them. Most unique | 3. AITA is short for "Am I The A**hole?". The first speaker begins with a statement. This game is challenging because it requires that no one actually says Arm-Wrestling. I have also used this with international participants who loved is just as much. Ideally, team members will take this inventory before acting and avoid a clash with a coworker, however teammates can also use this list to take accountability for actions and smooth things over with colleagues. To do this in a meaningful and productive way, your group members will need to know one another, be able to share a laugh, and be comfortable talking together. ZIP (11.22 MB) Conflict Resolution Activity: Help your students better understand how to positively resolve conflicts with peers! Its designed to help anyone reflect on how to improve their workplace relationships, not just those who are in conflict. Conflict resolution activities teach habits like active listening, empathy, negotiation, and compromise. By clarifying desired outcomes from their work together, participants can begin to build an agenda that seeks to affirm those desires in practice.". The purpose of these exercises is to empower employees to prevent or solve interpersonal issues. These sheets of paper can be taped to a board or somewhere in the classroom. No one said you can't talk to one another (if they did not communicate. Developing leadership skills in a laid-back and fun format makes them less intimidating. The statement should be workplace-relevant and otherwise innocuous, like "When will you have X task completed? No one knows how much the activity leader contributed either. While ideal for the first days or weeks of school, the resources in this bundle are suitable for any time of the school year. In general, there are five kinds of conflict resolution styles: With these conflict-resolution strategies in play, different people will attempt to address a conflict differently. '", The first speaker refutes this with an "I meant" statement. Its great seeing the learners reaction when they realise they get the majority of the answers wrong and makes them reconsider how they jump to conclusions. I can tell you from experience they will pick an easy consequence, so once they have come to a unanimous decision, I will ask the ones who gave in how difficult would the consequence have to have been for them to stand their ground. Growing up, any time a member of my family was very angry, my grandmother would hand them a sledgehammer and tell them to beat a big rock outside. I really liked the audio file, the story was familiar but different enough to be interesting and it made a change than listening to the trainers voice. This simple activity requires one prop: a colorful, distracting rope. I have recently used this exercise to introduce a session on cultural differences as the organisation was transferring its HR shared service to another country. Plus, these exercises provide low-risk environments for teammates to practice and perfect these abilities. Make-believe | 7. Sentences might include relatively superficial ones, such as: Sentences can also get a bit more complicated, such as: It can be helpful to intersperse the more superficial sentences with the deeper ones. Give it a go, youll love the results! Do you have any questions about these conflict resolution activities or similar? Check out our mini-guide on how to fight fair, and stop letting badly handled conflict cause pain in your relationships. Separate participants into groups of 4 or 5 and give them a large marker pen and a large sheet of paper. Maybe you want an energiser to get them going and ready for your training. I have always been a great lover of story telling while training and Goldilocks listening exercise has given me the opportunity to combine a good story with a great activity. Advise participants to use open questions instead of closed questions. These stories can function as team conflict resolution exercises. Search Our Network Of Business and Personal Development Sites. Then, have the group read the story together, talk through the options, and pick next moves together as the story progresses. Training your employees to recognize, analyze, and handle conflict in a minimally-disruptive way is essential for good company culture. Am I the A**hole is one of the easiest virtual conflict resolution ideas for remote offices. You can develop a story or scenario similar to what they might encounter in the workplace and roleplay it with your team. Notes:A small prize for the winning team would be nice, though not essential. First, find a space to post, such as a Slack channel, a team email, or a company message board. Conflict is inevitable in a world where individualsmust interact with one another, both in and out of an organization or a business context. Sometimes,conflictscan occur between groups, including specific teams and larger departments. Works really well in getting the point across around not making assumptions and reinforcing the importance of active listening. This is great to use for Presentation skills, Train the Trainer, Assertiveness and Selling Skills. - Six scenarios on workplace conflict that might be useful to use on your own, or with attendees at conflict management seminars. You can take real AITA scenarios and act them out, with the same analysis and judgment at the end. I would probably give the activity a 4.5. The comments will amuse you. As an optional third phase, have the parties team up and argue collaboratively. I was planning some team-building activities to incorporate into our Business Skills series. Great as an icebreaker in to so many different subjects. We tend to train somewhat cynical engineers who really take a lot of engaging in order to deliver any Soft Skills. Time:This exercise will take about 10 minutes to complete. Management Training and Development Ltd. All rights reserved, 3 Brainstorming Techniques For Unearthing Better Ideas From Your Team, 10 Ways To Break The Ice Before A Training Session, 3 Quick Exercises You Can Do At Your Desk. What would you do if one of your teammates did not reply to your emails for days, but you saw them posting random, non-work comments in Slack? What Would You Do? Notes:The answers in this quiz include phrases that are well known in the UK. 2023 teambuilding.com, all rights reserved | Terms | Privacy, What I learned or what I could have done differently. FIND THE COMMONALITY The game is a perfect team bonding game. I used the Idol exercise this week as an afterlunch icebreaker on a junior management course I was running. YTA, for yes, you are. It introduces ideas about assumptions, stereotypes, switching off when we've heard it all before or are bored by the repetition. Its like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. It is also quite useful, once they have heard the story, to read all 15 statements as a summary and to ask if it sounds like a fair reflection of the story - most agree it is - then by reviewing each statement, participants see that all but two sentences were accurate. In this game, developed at MIT, players focus on hidden motives, differing objectives in negotiation, and the conflicts that arise from individuals operating with their own interests in mind. Generally people enjoy the exercise, you may get the occasional grumble, but on the whole I have found it to be well received. Help everyone speak up and be heard. Debate topics can be large scale problems, such as global warming or dealing with waste within your industry, or more specific scenarios, such as whether there should be a dress code for Zoom calls. It was a great time-saver. All in English - as our business English courses and workshops always are. 1. At the end of the two rounds, start a discussion. Thanks. Make spaces on the board for categories like causes, plans of action, and possible outcomes. Pick a topic that is controversial in nature. Then the fun begins. Time Traveler Troubles is a fun roleplaying game. How could this questioning technique help during a conflict? Luckily, rage rooms are all the rage these days. My rope is about 20 long. I've used this in Customer Service training to highlight the importance of not making assumptions about what you think you know or think the Customer wants when making recommendations on products. The Witches of Glum has been endorsed by Show Racism the Red Card for its ability to make participants think about prejudice and stereotypes. Conflict can be disruptive and, at worst, destructive. You should have seen their faces when I awarded a star to the winner! 2. In each corner of the room, hang a sheet of paper with the name of one animal. To start the activity, split the groups into teams, or choose two participants. Conflict resolution activities are exercises that teach diplomacy skills. Ive used this exercise extensively in customer service and sales soft skills workshops and Ive found it really difficult to find another exercise that beats it when it comes to highlighting how we naturally make assumptions and the importance of active listening. People around the world are working more than ever< . 12 chapters | Real life conflicts can be tense, and mediating fictional conflicts builds team skills in a low-risk setting. Closed questions are those that require just a yes or no answer. Then, switch sides and have participants argue the counterpoint. The Positive Definitions Game Ice Breaker Activity: 20 to 30 minutes. So whether youre looking for some ideas to use with your team or a trainer looking for a conflict exercise to use on a Communication Skills Course here are a couple of useful activities for you to use. Time:This exercise will take about 15 minutes to complete. 2. Dress Up. Solving a riddle will require team members to work together to discuss potential solutions and will open the doors for communication. Interestingly the boss only got 2 out of 12 for the quiz! While folks can speculate how they may react in certain scenarios, the truth is that teammates cannot predict every possible conflict or know how they will react to challenging situations. We have 30+ experiences to choose from, and thousands of five star reviews. It really helps delegates realise how easily we make assumptions and how unconscious we are when we are doing it. The Time Management Icebreaker. Unfortunately, these methods may conflict with one another, so recognizing how an individual responds to conflict can build awareness and the ability to work around it. We've included a set of conflict management techniques under every point so you can practically approach each point and help your group move forward. Nice, though not essential 11.22 MB ) conflict resolution skills an skills. 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