GAME #48: The Beauty of a Milk Carton
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Game Categories:
Opener Energizer Communication
Team-building Review Topical
❖ Purpose: To emphasize the importance of writing clear, easy-to-follow directions.
❖ Time Required: 15 to 25 minutes.
❖ Size of Group: Unlimited.
❖ Materials Required: A number of household items; flipchart.
❖ The Exercise in Action: In courses dealing with writing skills, Gary Ford brings to class several household items with well-written and easy- to-follow directions: milk cartons, aspirin bottles, and bottled water, for example. On a flipchart, he copies from the items all the directions for usage (“open opposite side,” “refrigerate after opening,” “apply freely to affected parts,” and so forth). He then asks participants to discuss the clarity of each set of instructions and lists “criteria for clarity” on a flipchart. Ford, a bilingual training coordinator with Nintendo of America in Redmond, WA, then gives participants a sample of writing or instructions that is less clearly written, due to complex sentence construction and frequent use of the passive voice. Their task is to rewrite the sample using their “criteria for clarity” as guides. When Ford notices participants using more complicated constructions than necessary or using passive voice instead of active, he reminds them of the simple clarity of the milk carton instructions: open opposite side.
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