Photo: Pat Mil Photos
We needed a quick creative exercise which would inject some light-hearted improvisational spirit into a large group who didn’t know each other very well yet. We had a few minutes before asking them to work in table groups to generate a long-list of ideas for solving a complex environmental and health problem. We wanted to give them some practice of letting go of the need to find quality and embrace quantity!
We didn’t have a lot of equipment or space, so we made up "101 uses for a paperclip".
101 uses for a paperclip - a creative game
Equipment: a paperclip
Layout: everyone standing or sitting in a circle (or as close as you can get)
Instructions:
In a minute, we’ll go around the circle giving a creative or fun use for a paperclip.
We’ll start on my left, and continue round passing the paperclip clockwise.
Try to say something that hasn’t been said by anyone else.
Keep it clean!
No explanations, or we’ll be here all day.
It’s absolutely fine to pass.
Optional:
In our group, we were using a microphone which had to be passed too.
We attached our paperclip to a pack of post-its using blu-tack, so that it was easy to see and to pass without fumbling.
Of course it doesn’t have to be a paperclip – use whatever you have to hand.
How did it go?
We had a group of around 40 people, and the whole exercise (including getting into a circle and briefing) took about 10 minutes. People had a laugh, came up with some imaginative uses and everyone got the chance to say something. About half a dozen people chose to pass.
And don’t worry – after the ‘real’ brainstorm on solutions, they then filtered the ideas for quality in the next step.
Making the Path by Walking
This post was first published in my Making the Path by Walking newsletter, November 2019. Scroll down to the footer to subscribe.