Communication Derailed

Communication lies at the heart of any successful organization. Almost all organizational systems are dependent on effective communication, and within team-based organizations and organizations with fewer layers of management, clear, proactive communication is even more important. Still, sorting out how communication has an impact on organizations can be difficult, and we often overlook it as a source of problems.

New systems, organizational changes, and productivity demands are realities in today's workplace, and to effectively meet these challenges, positive communication is a must. Communication Derailed is a powerful, simulation-based communication style game that will help you to proactively equip your people with the skills they need to become good communicators.

Communication Derailed is a hands-on activity tackling three classic communication challenges: communication within a team, between teams, and during organizational stress. Three comprehensive, self-contained modules provide the necessary framework to conduct independent training workshops or a series of sessions.

In Communication Derailed, participants will discover the powerful results of both ineffective and effective communication within their organization. Working as employees of a toy manufacturing company, teams are charged with building new prototypes using fun, colorful parts. However, the hands-on tasks become complicated when they are presented with obstacles that challenge their communication skills. Through the experience of working together and with the help of the facilitator, participants learn how to overcome these problems. By doing so, they improve their performance through effective communication.

The Facilitator Guide is set up so each module is self-contained. The preliminary section provides the overall framework for the game, theoretical background, and general setup guidelines.

At the end of this simulation, participants will understand how to:

• Recognize how poor communication can damage an organization and why proactive communication is important.
• Understand how to handle unique communication problems.
• Learn how to improve communication skills.
• Create a personal action plan.

Communication Derailed is appropriate for individuals at any level of an organization where the three modules are able to be run independently or in a series. The individual modules are:

• Module 1: This can be run with new teams (to give them an idea of the challenges they may face) or existing teams (to expose and identify current communication problems). This can also be used for general team communication skill-building.
• Module 2: This is appropriate in organizations that require cross-team or cross-department work. Organizations with only a few levels of management will also benefit from this training.
• Module 3: This should be used in organizations that are in the midst of a transition. It will also be helpful to fast-moving organizations that function under continual time pressure.

Complete Game Kit: Order One Kit to Train up to Three Teams of Eight

The Communication Derailed Complete Game Kit consists of three unique modules, which may be used singly or sequentially. The modules are also self-contained, yet progressive, becoming increasingly demanding as the organizational circumstances become more complex.

Extra Parts Pack: Order One Pack to Train an Additional Eight Participants

Train a whole other team of participants per module with this Communication Derailed Extra Parts Pack.