26 50 Training Activities for Administrative, Secretarial, and Support Staff
Activity 5 (continued)
Method
1. Assemble the group around a table on which you place the deck of playing
cards.
2. Explain the purpose of the activity as follows:
• Most of us have an inner voice that talks to us extensively, and most of
what it says (some psychologists say up to 80 percent) is critical and judg-
mental.
• Most of us have been told by our parents or teachers “not to blow our own
horn”—in other words, that boasting is neither pleasant nor tasteful, even if
the facts are true!
• To balance out the negative, we must sometimes give ourselves permission
to say something positive about ourselves.
• This is one of those occasions!
3. Tell the group that, in a few moments, they will be asked to talk positively about
themselves: what they are good at, what their strengths are, why they are such
wonderful people. They must speak convincingly, without hesitation and without
embarrassment. Allow them three to four minutes to make a few notes.
4. Explain the rules:
• Each person, in turn, takes the top card from the pile and talks on the topic
given for the amount of time stated.
• Take the top card and show it as an example.
• Explain that one point will be scored for talking on the subject and one point
for speaking for the entire amount of time allotted. One point will be lost
each time a participant hesitates before beginning—says, “ummm” or “uh”;
sounds unconvincing or unconvinced; digresses from the stated topic; or
looks embarrassed about having to talk positively about themselves. (Feel
free to invent any other additional ways of losing points.)
• Warn the group that it is very easy to lose points and end up with a negative
score if they don’t talk in a positive, enthusiastic manner about how won-
derful they are!
• Invite the listening participants to clap and cheer when the speaker has
been successful and to call out words of encouragement, such as “Go on,
you can do it,” “Come on,” or “You’re doing great,” when they are wavering.
5. Choose a method for selecting who will start the activity, for example, the per-
son with the longest hair, the person who has the most pets, or the person who
has the longest commute to work.