EXERCISES

Introduction

In this exercise the company walked around the space and on each instruction we developed our movements to holding eye contact with others, shaking hands and exchanging names. For our company this seemed as simplistic task of getting to know each other, however we then reconsidered the same exercise with members of the company who were blind or deaf and how it may present problems to them and what we could do to rectify it.

For people within the company who were deaf we needed to find another way of communicating with them as originally all of the instructions had been spoken. I thought that looking at the communication was really important because by having clear communication between all members of the company meant that everyone was on the same level and equal regardless of disability. Hopefully this would make the members of the company who are deaf feel more included in the exercise, allowing them to get involved and feel more comfortable within the group. To enhance the communication, especially with those who are deaf, the easiest way would be to have someone doing sing language to give the instructions. Although this is the most convenient way to communicate, problems still rose from it as the transitions in the exercise from eye contact to hand shaking were being shouted out and for them to be signed those who are deaf would have to be constantly focused on one person in the room doing sign language and not fully focused on the exercise and possibly being left behind in some transitions. On top of this we had to consider that a person able to do sign language would not always be availed in workshops to support us. To work round these problems we thought that the instructions could all be written on a board, explaining the transitions and when they occurred instead of being said or signed having the lights switch on and off to signal the change. This was a lot more effective as it provided a visual sign to those who cannot hear to show them the change so that they could be involved fully in the exercise and not worried about or pre-occupied with watching and depending on another person to keep them up with the rest of the group. Also the lights gave a visual sign to all members of the company at the same time; personally I think that this is really important because it made sure that the whole company were on the same level and being treated the same, making it more inclusive for all.

For those in the company who were blind the communication vocally did not present a problem as it did to those who were deaf, however the moving around the room did create safety and security problems. We thought that the amount of people moving around and with some not being able to see could not only create a physical safety issue to the exercise but also a personal issue of feeling safe and secure with those who are blind. This is a large problem as within workshops the aim is for all to be included and to be safe, happy and to be confident. However the emotions that could be evoked in this exercise for those who are blind did not fulfil this and went the opposite way, consequently they could be made to feel inferior or scared and different to the others in the group. To get round this problem we thought about having people moving around in pairs, making sure that one is able to guide the other if they are blind, this would make the exercise safer and hopefully would make those who are blind feel more comfortable and able to get involved in the exercise.  Also this would add another layer onto the exercise of developing trust between the pair, especially with the person who is blind as they had to rely on the other person to take care of them. I think that this creates a new element to the exercise of getting to know each other as in a company trust is really important.

Numbers

In this exercise we were put in groups and given a number for our group, when pointed at we had to show our number on our fingers, this was developed to saying the number and then to doing a group movement when pointed to. I think that overall this was a really good exercise to use with a group of people who had just met and with mixed abilities as it had a simple premise but included vocal and physical interaction. This meant that if someone in the company was restricted physically they could still get involved and support the group vocally and the same if someone was restricted vocally they could use their physicality instead. I think that this is really important because it gives all members of  the group a job and something to be involved in and contribute to, meaning that even if they were restricted they could still be an asset to the group instead of feeling like they are restricting the group. It also meant that the group had to learn to work together and be in unison to create an interesting image or strong sound. For a group that have just met I think that this is important to the company as it gets them working together and being in tune with each other, learning what everyone can and cannot do.