Oct 8, 2009

Session Two Persuasion

Session two : Role Exercise

Exercise to bring people gently into role:

Persuasion in two’s. em>

Using same partner as you had in the previous game, explain terms:

Brief

Concern

Desired outcome

Tension

Status

Part one: A is tired and wants to watch a favourite TV show. B arrives and wants to watch a show on other channel. There is no VCR or TV channel changer in the room. Without any body contact, A must achieve their desired outcome and B also. Pupils are told " You must not give up!"

Part two: Teacher and Pupil. Same A +B ( esp. with pupils, to create real safety) ) School is having open day. Teacher has beautiful room prepared . Enter B as pupil who has been absent for some time and is not a good attender. B has a Snake in box which s/he wants to put on the nature table. Teacher is afraid of losing this child and also the benefits of having the child back at school. She also is also aware of losing her reputation if the snake should misbehave. The pupil ( B) has been told by his very strong parent that s/he must go to school or else. The difference in these two role plays is that each has something to lose and gain from the interaction.

Part three: Same A+ B( if group are happy they may change partner at this stage to create new ideas.

This time the pairs are of different status; One is a senior staff member at a Football Museum. Money has been donated by the National Lottery. The other is a new graduate form Art school. A new exhibition is happening and the two must agree to mount it in an attractive way. The senior person has their own well tried ideas whereas the junior has their own. The tension is in each wanting different approaches to presentation.,The status of the two means that the younger may have to negotiate in softer way than they might otherwise.

Play for three minutes. Then evaluate each approach with your participants-

Part ONE: Much energy and antagonism. Non solvable without one backingdown

Part TWO: Status is different. Adds tension.

Part THREE: Status , tension and roles are very different.

You have now developed from playing yourself in role ( Part one) thru' a familiar role in a scene ( Part two) to an unfamiliar role ( Part three) which is definitely not you.

Congratulations! - you have now been in role, accepted a brief, achieved( or not) a desired objective and become aware of the effect of status on a scene,especially in terms of tension. This was the Tension of differing status.

This structure was used with Setanta and Conor in conflict over whether Setanta should be sent home. You will remember we set up the Concern of each character. This was a received Brief as opposed to the given brief of the arguing flatmates earlier.

Then we set up the King by making statue of how Setanta might have first seen him int he hall of Armagh. Each person made one change,with discussion in between.Further, we created Setanta in the way that he would have been seen by Conor. This creation of characters invests the participants much more in the outcome.They now want to see how it works out.

End lesson