A team communication exercise: describe it, don't show it
Most communication training talks about clarity. Unlock makes the group need it: every player holds part of a sequence of images that only words can share, the team has to agree the order, and every wrong attempt costs a minute. By the second round the group has invented its own shared language, and it can see on the scoreboard what that was worth.
- Communication skills trainers
- Team leaders
- Onboarding and induction
- Cross-functional teams
- Remote teams
What you run
The game that does this
Unlock
Everyone holds a piece. Only talking puts it together.
- In the room
- Online
- Phone or laptop
- Your own content
Unlock
4 – 1,000 participants · 20 – 90 min · 8 credits per participant
In Unlock mode the images of one sequence are shared out between the players of a team. Nobody may show their screen, so precise description, careful listening and one agreed Submit are the whole game. Up to ten rounds with the same set, and a cumulative leaderboard that shows each team's time round by round.
Everything about UnlockHow the session goes
Before, during, after
Step 1
Before
Rehearse the session once from your own phone. Choose the image set in Assign Images, or build one from your own pictures with Create Custom Unlock. Plan teams of four to eight and tell people which team number to type when they join.
Step 2
During
Brief the one rule twice: never show your screen, describe it. Start round 1 and watch the leaderboard: correct places, attempts and time for every team. Use Broadcast Message for time warnings. When the round ends, give each team two minutes to agree how they will do it better, then start round 2.
Step 3
After
Put the cumulative leaderboard on screen and ask each team what changed between rounds. The answer is almost always a shared vocabulary, an agreed order of speaking, or one person owning the Submit button. Then ask where the same thing would help at work.
Debrief
Questions that turn the game into learning
- 1What did you do differently in round 2, and what did it do to your time?
- 2Which words worked for describing the images? How did you agree on them?
- 3Who pressed Submit, and how was that decided?
- 4What did the one-minute penalty do to how carefully you checked?
- 5Where at work do people hold pieces of a picture that only words can share?
What it costs
128 credits = $128
16 participants × 8 credits for Unlock, for a 45-minute exercise with two or three rounds. A rehearsal with two people is free.
- Sessions with up to 2 participants are free
- 100 free credits when you sign up
- You pay only for the people who actually join
Questions
How is this different from the active listening exercise?
The active listening exercise uses Pixtory, where each person holds one picture of a story. Unlock mode is a sequence puzzle played over several rounds, so the focus shifts from listening to a whole system of communication: describing precisely, agreeing a language and improving it round after round.
How long does it take?
Twenty minutes for one round and a short debrief, forty-five to sixty for two or three rounds with a proper debrief. The second round is where most of the learning shows up.
Can I use my own images?
Yes. Create Custom Unlock builds a set from your own pictures at no extra cost: the steps of a process, a product launch sequence, or your company values.
Does it work with remote teams?
Yes, and it is often more revealing online, because the team cannot point or gesture. Each player uses their own screen and each team talks in its own breakout room.
Rehearse it for free before your first real group
Sign up in two minutes, get 100 free credits, and rehearse any game as often as you like: sessions with up to 2 participants are always free.