Pass The Face
OVERVIEW
Pass The Face is often used as a warmup or ice breaker exercise. It can be a ton of fun and is a good way to start improv session with lots of laughs. On the other hand, if your group is inexperienced it can also be somewhat intimidating. Be sure to evaluate the group you are working with as ready to be silly and ready to go for it before implementing it.
Particularly useful for workshops focused on:
Listening Skills (nonverbal listening)
Sales Skills
Confidence
Team Building
Communication / Presentation Skills
REQUIREMENTS
Number of Participants:
Minimum: 5 participants / Maximum: 12 participants (You could play this game with as few as 2 or as many as 30 participants, but it works best in the 5 to 12 person range.)
Time Required:
Minimum: 5 minutes / Maximum: 10 minutes
Materials Needed:
None.
EXERCISE INSTRUCTIONS
Have your group stand (or sit) in a circle. Pick a person to start and ask them to make a funny face at the person on their right. That person should make an exaggereated version of the face to the person on their right. The process continues with the face growing in size and delivery around the circle for as long as you like.
Tell the group that each person should copy the face given to them and not worry about earlier versions of the face. Tey are making a photocopy of a photocopy, so only the most recent version matters. For this reason, if done correctly, the face should mutate considerably as it moves around the circle.
Tell the group to include exaggerated versions of any emotions, sounds or body gestures that accompany the face in their rendition. If a participant expresses confusion about how to grow the face when it is so large already, tell them to notice something small about the face and exaggerate that element while keeping the oter elements the same.
Tell the group that their minds may play a trick on them... Their mins might tell them they have made the face larger when in fact they have kept it the same size or made it smaller. A good rule of thumb to combat this self defeating mind trick is to aim to make the face three times larger. If you try to make the face three times larger maybe you'll end up making it 1.2 to 1.5 times larger.
INSTRUCTOR DISCUSSION POINTS / LEARNING TAKEAWAYS
LISTENING SKILLS
When it comes to listening it is important to hear more than just the words spoken. A good listener also notices and hears the intent behind non verbal communications, such as facial expressions, emotions, hand and body gestures and gutteral noises that are not words. Exaggerating the qualities you are asked to in Pass the Face requires first noticing them, so the exercise is, in many ways, a listening exercise.
Ask participants to think about what the faces they exaggerated meant. Was thre a message embedded in the face they copied?
SALES SKILLS
Clients like to be understaood, especially when they say No. Good sales reps "cushion" a No by adopting their client's perspective. (I understand why you are waiting to buy a new washing macine until the technology improves, I would do the same.)
Cushioning can be accomplished not only by adopting a client's intellectual perspective but also by adopting their mannerisms, emotions and non verbal communication style.
CONFIDENCE
Copying a face, especialling if you are asked to exaggerate it by a factor of three, can be intimidating. People may be worried they will look foolish, the same worrying that gets people to censor themselves when creativity is needed or to undercut their expertise during public speaking or communication challenges.
Share the improv saying Follow The Fear. In improv if you get to a moment in a scene where the next step frightens you, generally speaking the advice is to Follow The Fear and barrel into that moment. When it comes to mustering confidence in a moment in which you doubt yourself (such as making a funny face three times larger) the advice to Follow The Fear is very helpful.