• Top ten activity: Indicates activities included in my top ten lists for individual or group activities.
• Related activities in this book: Lists other activities generally related to the activity described. The criteria for inclusion were relatively specific. Broader criteria would have meant a much larger number of other activities and the result would not be that helpful. For instance, an activity that involves participants drawing something and passing it to other group members would be related to other activities that include drawing. However, it would not be considered as related to activities that involve passing words to other group members.
• Suggested uses: The two primary uses of all activities in this book are idea generation and training in how to use idea generation procedures. Thus, the primary objectives of each activity reflect these uses and are very clear-cut. The 101 activities also have specific applications suited to different types of organizational
problems. They are not, however, as clear-cut as the two primary objectives involving idea generation. As a result, this probably is the most subjective element of the classification scheme used to guide activity selection. There is little research available to guide these decisions. My general recommendations are based more on intuition and experience than on any scientific criteria, so take that into account when using the guide for specific topics. The uses listed are for problems involving: Strategy, New Products/Processes/Services, Advertising/Marketing, and Human Resources (see the legend in the selection guide). This is not to say you should limit your choices to the recommended activities or that you should not consider other types of problems. Again, experience will be your best guide.
• Estimated time requirements: Suggests the minimum amount of time required for an activity. The number of groups and number of participants in groups will affect these estimates. In the selection guide, activities with a single or double asterisk indicate prior participant activity (*) or prior preparation for facilitators (**). For instance, Idea Shopping [14] requires participants to visit a store before attending an activity. Adouble asterisk, in contrast, denotes that facilitators will need to make preparations beyond what normally might be expected. An example would be Greeting Cards [96], in which facilitators must gather and organize materials for making greeting cards or Balloon, Balloon, Balloon [92], which involves purchasing balloons, inserting slips of paper, and blowing them up (of course, you also could enlist the aid of the participants in this instance).
Taken From : Pfeiffer 101 Activities for Teaching Creativity and Problem Solving
