101_more_games_for_trainers

GAME #100: Pig Personality Profile

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Game Categories:

Opener Energizer Communication

Team-building Review Topical

❖ Purpose: To get people talking, and give participants an unusual and interesting topic of conversation for their first course break.

❖ Time Required: 15 minutes.

❖ Size of Group: Unlimited.

❖ Materials Required: Drawing utensils and paper for all participants.

❖ The Exercise in Action: If the Myers-Briggs Personality Indicator leaves you cold, try a substitute: the Pig Personality Profile. It might not be sound science, he says, but it’s good for a lot of laughs and effectively breaks the ice, says Gordon Cotton. Cotton, a trainer at Marine Atlantic, Inc., Monchton, New Brunswick, gives participants the following instructions: “On a blank piece of paper, draw a pig. Don’t look at your neighbor’s pigs. Don’t even glance.” He provides no further guidance and does not explain the purpose of the exercise. ( Note: You may find it interesting to follow the above instructions before reading the rest of this exercise.) When participants are finished, he shares his tongue-in-cheek explanation that the pig serves as a useful test of the personality traits of the artist. He tells the class if the pig is drawn: • Toward the top of the paper, you are a positive, optimistic person.

• Toward the middle of the page (top to bottom), you are a realist.

• Toward the bottom of the page, you are pessimistic and have a tendency to behave negatively. • Facing left, you believe in tradition, are friendly, and remember dates, including birthdays. • Facing forward (looking toward you), you are direct, enjoy playing devil’s advocate, and neither fear nor avoid discussions. • Facing right, you are innovative and active, but don’t have a strong sense of family, nor do you remember dates.

• With many details, you are analytical, cautious, and distrustful.

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101 More Games for Trainers

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