Learning Activity: Zip, Zap, Zoom Alternative

When I attended a regular acting workshop in Denver, Colorado we would often play a game called Zip, Zap, Zoom which some people loved and some people found frustrating. Even though I had great success with most improv games, this game did not work as well for me. That's why I offer this alternative.

Purpose:
To experience the frustration of playing a winning or losing game and then finding ways to convert that to a win/win game in order to develop a creative habit of looking for mutually beneficial outcomes.

Applications:
Conflict resolution. Communication skills. Team building.

Materials:
A writing surface and markers. Dots, or stickers (several for each player)

Process:

Play the game, Zip, Zap, Zoom conventionally in the first round. Form a circle of people, up to twelve people (for larger groups, break into multiple circles). One person starts by looking at a person to their left and saying either zip or zap. If zip, the next person turns to the left and has the same choice. If someone says "zap" then the direction reverses. The idea is to keep flowing quickly. At any point a person can choose to look at someone across the circle and say "Zoom" in which case THAT person has the next person.
Each person responds with zip (go left) zap (look right) or zoom (across the circle at any other person.)
If a person misses a turn by going in the wrong direction or saying the wrong word for that direction, they are immediately out of the game and must leave the circle.
Continue until someone wins.

First Debrief:

How did that feel?
Was there anything stressful about that round?
What were you thinking of?
What about this round required you to think like a team player?
What about this round required you to think about individual, rather than team success?
How did it feel to be knocked out of the game?
How could you improve this game?

Revision Process:

Invite the group to invent a version of this game with no losers.
Record all of the possibilities on your writing surface, such as a white-board or flipchart paper.
Consider all of the offered possibilities.
Give each player 3 dots/stickers to vote with.
Players vote for their favorite ideas their dots/stickers. They can put as many of their dots/stickers on as many of the possibilities as they want, including all of them on one if they like.
Adapt the most popular ideas and play the new version.

-- doug smith

Comments

Keep your choices open

Have you ever felt like a prisoner to your own emotions? The feelings can be so strong that they flood your being with an almost paralysis. I have found myself wandering away from a situation because my emotions were pushing so hard, even though a better choice would have been to stay, get those emotions under control, breathe, and choose. Once a bad emotion has sent you its warning, it's best to send it on its way. Emotions can drive us, but don't need to. Feel it, pause, and step away. Keep all of your choices open. -- doug smith

Move Ahead

There are so many parts of my past that I would love to fix. Thinking about them doesn't help and won't fix them. The best I can do is to reflect on the lessons learned and do better next time. How about you? If we could fix the last we'd break it in brand new ways. The price of being imperfect is a glorious one: constant learning. That's not so bad after all. -- doug smith

Collaborate

Working together is not over-rated. Even the sharpest of minds miss some important details. Even the strongest of leaders needs a team to lead. Truly collaborating means accepting that sometimes your point of view is flawed, and is almost always incomplete. Staying open to the ideas of others, while working in the same direction on a unified mission, creates a path for success. The art of leadership benefits from collaboration. -- doug smith

Team Talk

The most powerful team building tool is talk. Talk with each team member and talk together as a team. Communication is the most powerful skill to practice. -- doug smith

Maybe Start With A Smile...

How do you react when you meet someone new? They're not new to the world, of course, just to you but that's new enough, isn't it? What if they disagree with you? What if you're on different sides of an issue? What if you don't know? People desire respect. When respect is lacking, we know it right away, don't we? And when we withhold our own respect it stands to reason that others know that right away, too. But if we start with respect -- if we start with the idea that every person we meet has value -- it becomes easier to interact meaningfully and maybe even share common ground. When we connect with respect we dramatically increase our chances of communicating effectively. I'll do my best to practice that today -- how about you? -- doug smith

Positive Solutions

Problems need not prevent positive outcomes. It's what we do with them that matters. -- doug smith

Multiple Solutions

That extra tough problem might need multiple solutions -- in fact, its probably does. -- doug smith

Start With What You've Got

Most leaders can think of team members they'd love to have on their team, but don't. New skill sets, balanced personalities, brilliant innovations...anything more than what we have to begin with. But, what we have to begin with is where we need to begin. A team is build from the pieces you have to start with, not the pieces you wish you had. That's good news because: now you are ready to go. -- doug smith

A Leader's Reputation

What leaders get done is their record; how they get things done becomes their reputation. -- doug smith

Get Back Up

Mourn a loss a little while but not so long that you miss the next opportunity. -- doug smith

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