The Psychiatrist
The Psychiatrist is a lateral thinking game that enhances listening and deduction skills. Participants collaboratively investigate a secret rule by asking questions, promoting creative problem-solving and analytical thinking.
Use this method to kick off a meeting or workshop, especially when you want to encourage active listening, creative thinking, and collaborative problem-solving within a group.
Solves: Silos between teams, lack of engagement in meetings, poor listening skills
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Step 1: Explain the game's context: one person (the psychiatrist) will identify a secret rule by asking questions. (2 minutes)
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Step 2: Ask for a volunteer to be the psychiatrist and have them leave the room. (1 minute)
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Step 3: Instruct the remaining group to decide on a secret rule for answering questions (e.g., all responses must start with a vowel). (5 minutes)
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Step 4: Invite the psychiatrist back into the room. They ask questions, one person at a time, to deduce the rule. (10-15 minutes)
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Step 5: Gently guide the psychiatrist if they are struggling to maintain engagement. (Ongoing)
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Step 6: Once the rule is identified, invite a new volunteer to be the psychiatrist and repeat. (5 minutes)
- Encourage the group to choose creative and challenging rules.
- Monitor the psychiatrist's enthusiasm and provide hints if needed.
- Allow the psychiatrist to ask questions to the entire group instead of individuals.
- Introduce a time limit for the psychiatrist to guess the rule.