The tuk-tuk game
What is The tuk-tuk game about ?
The tuk-tuk game is an activity in pairs which aims at giving the participants the sensation of trust: receiving trust to lead and giving trust to be led by someone else. It has different levels as it can be carried out by people who have known each other for a long time, or it can also be tried out in a group where the participants have only been working together for a short period of time.
We usually play the tuk-tuk game in groups when we want to further the level of trust, and to go a little deeper in terms of self recognition. It is never a starting game in a new group, but can be played after some time, when participants have already gotten to know each other in different activities and are ready to go deeper. It is also a powerful game to play in working groups, or project groups where roles are given or there is a certain hierarchy between the participants. It gives the players a clue to what extent they are ready to lead their colleague (or boss) and to what extent they allow a colleague to lead them.
Audience
Is participant experience relevant for The tuk-tuk game ?
Audience description for The tuk-tuk game
The audience for the tuk-tuk game is optimally people who are open to new physical sensations and self-awareness building. It is not advised to introduce this game for physiologically unstable people, unless the facilitator is well-experienced.
Other prerequisites for participants
The group should speak the same language.
If anyone has some kind of extra sensitivity they can point it out. For example, fear of being blindfolded, uncomfortable when being touched, or any kind of injuries which should be considered.
There is a possibility of stepping on each other's feet when being blindfolded, so either all participants should be without shoes or all of them should be wearing shoes.
Requirements
Depending on the number of participants, it needs enough space where they can walk ahead 7-10 metres, starting with standing in a line beside each other. It can also lead to an interesting experience if participants have the possibility to move between rooms. For example in an apartment or in an office.
It can also be conducted outdoors in a garden or in a safe outdoor space.
Run Through
You can decide to prepare the room beforehand, but it is not necessary. It can be part of the group work that the participants put the furniture aside. Please remember that it is important to have a space where there is a possibility of walking a couple of metres without colliding into something.
Forming a circle
Choosing a pair
Instructions
- It is a non-verbal exercise, try to avoid verbal communication during the game (including sounds). Speak only if you feel really unsafe or uncomfortable.
- One of the persons will be the leader: they are the driver of the “tuk-tuk” (riksha), while the other person will be the “tuk-tuk”.
- One person will lead the blindfolded other in the following way: they stand behind the other person, and put their hands on the other person’s shoulder.
- They can discuss how the first person will lead the other, but it is not necessary.
- After about 1-1,5 minutes the trainer will say “change” or give a sound that is introduced in advance and all pairs stop (like ringing a bell). The tuk-tuks remain with eyes closed, the drivers will change their “tuk-tuks” in silence (so that the tuk-tuks will not know who is leading them and experience a bit more of losing control of the situation).
- There will be two changes, so everyone will be led by three different persons, of those two they will not know.
- After the third round the pairs stop, the tuk-tuks remove the blindfold or open their eyes.
Change of roles
Debriefing the tuk-tuk game
- the couples that were formed in the last round do a short sharing in pairs for about 2-4 minutes.
- plenary sharing. In advance, the facilitator asks the participants to think over their most important experiences and only share those — if the group is small you can give more time to each participant to share his/her experience.
Harvest
As the last step of the exercise the participants sit in a circle for debriefing. The aim of the debriefing session is for the participants to reflect their experiences during the game and through sharing personal experiences generalise how it is to be in a non-controlled situation and what is needed to feel safe in these situations.
Some of the possible generalisations that may come up are the following:
- the leader should be confident
- the instructions (even non-verbal) should be clear and straightforward
- the leader should be sensitive and responsive to the needs of the person being led (e.g. adjust)
- the speed of walking should be determined by the one being led, as opposed to the leader follow their own rhythm.
Material for
The tuk-tuk game can be carried out without any resources, but it usually makes it more convenient if we provide the participants with shawls to cover their eyes. The number of shawls you will need is half of the number of participants.
Impact
project
author(s)
ERASMUS +
Co-funded by the Erasmus+ Program of the European Union. Find more information about the program and its goals here: https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/.
Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
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