Conversation Games

Just for the fun of it during the holidays, you might enjoy trying some conversation games. Here are a few easy ones:

Two truths and one lie

A volunteer stands up and briefly describes three life experiences he or she has had. Two are to be true, one a lie. After they share these three items, the others vote on which one is a lie. My own example:

"I once worked as a stand-up comedian in Honolulu."
"I've worked as a rough-neck building an oil pipeline from Canada."
"I was stationed near the Afghan border with Pakistan, a few miles from where Bin Laden is thought to be hiding."

The audience is polled and each person votes on the one they think is a lie. Using both nonverbal clues and what they already know about the volunteer, they try to decide which is the lie.

Each round takes only a few minutes, and this game is lots of fun.

(Note: My own lie above is #1. Although I’ve performed with an improv comedy troupe, I have never worked as a stand-up comedian. I did, however, work as a rough-neck and also was stationed near Peshawar, Pakistan.)

One-word story

People shout out the title of a story that’s never been told before. For example, The Scary Turnip" or How Gwendolyn Seized the Village or Mysteries of the Shopping Mall. A host or facilitator picks one of the first ones and gives it to the line-up.

Six to eight volunteers are lined up and the first in line begins the story with one word, then followed by player #2 and so on. When the last person in line offers a word, the first person continues.

Words must be in proper grammatical form and sequence and said with no hesitation. The key is not to think ahead but to listen carefully to those who precede you so you can follow the story-line.

This game is a great way to improve your listening and spontaneity.

Example: "When...Gwendolyn...was...9...years...old ...she...decided...to...attack...the...village..." and so on until the story comes to a conclusion.

Stories can take sudden detours and have many surprises, but they should include the main idea in the title offered.

Limerick

Five volunteers are needed for this fun game. They line up to represent lines 1 through 5 of a limerick. The host or another person suggests a title, such as “flies.” Then the volunteers proceed to create a limerick

For example:

There once was a fly on the wall
I wondered why it didn't fall.
Because its feet stuck
Or was it just luck?
Or does gravity miss things so small?

Note the rhyme scheme (A,A,B,B,A)

and the meter of each line:

Da DADA da DADA da DADA,
Da DADA da DADA da DADA,
Da DADA da DA
Da DADA da DA
Da DADA da DADA da DADA

As a warm-up to this game, you can hand out a few limericks and have the group recite them together to pick up the beat and rhyme. It’s easy To find limericks by searching online.

After the first group of five have a few tries, invite other volunteers to participate.

Improve skills while having fun!

Even in these simple party games, you can learn about how you listen and how you respond.

They are almost always fun to do when you’ve got a group gathered in a festive atmosphere. To tailor the games to the season, ask for limericks and 1-word story titles to contain seasonal themes.

Loren Ekroth © 2006, All rights reserved

Loren Ekroth, Ph.D. is a specialist in human communication and a national expert on conversation for business and social life. His articles and programs strengthen critical communication skills for business and professional people. Contact Loren at Loren@conversation-matters.com. Check out a wealth of valuable resources and articles at http://www.conversation-matters.com.

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