Games People Play
Impacting training through Gamification
By Steve Gillick
There are usually two meanings for the expression “games people play”. One refers to the
cynical head games that some people play in order to induce sympathy, feed their ego, confuse,
obfuscate, humour and more. While there are several songs on the subject, perhaps the most
direct was Joe South’s 1968 composition with the words “Oh the games people play now/ Every
night and every day now/Never meaning what they say now/never saying what they mean”.
The second meaning of the term refers to fun and educational games that replicate life
situations and experiences, solve problems, encourage interaction, or teach and review skills.
One of the buzz words in the industry these days
is “Gamification”, which may be defined as the
use of games to encourage participation during
a training meeting or conference and thereby
make the event more meaningful, relevant and
memorable. This is not a new concept. Take it
from me, a former summer camp director, who
used games to successfully train 100 staff every
year, who in turn used games to teach
everything from swimming to canoeing, to artsand-crafts, drama and sports. Today, one of the
biggest challenges for event organizers is to
ensure that the participants have a ‘take home’
of information that not only justifies their having
attended the event in the first place, but has a
lasting effect. By ‘Gamifying’ the event, there is
an excellent chance that this objective can be
reached and surpassed.
Know Thy Audience
A successful meeting or conference starts with
knowing something about the audience. That’s
the reason why seasoned speakers introduce
their topic by asking questions of the
participants. How many of you are bricks and
mortar travel agents? How many are home
based? How many managers in attendance?
How many agents have been in the industry for
5 years or more? Etc.
Now you thought the speaker was just killing
time to arrive at their own comfort level before
they begin their presentation. Not so. Actually,
the speaker is ‘gamifying’ the conference from
the very start by asking members of the audience
to participate—to interact if you will—and
provide some background on their careers or
personal lives. If the audience wholeheartedly
raises their hands or shouts out answers, then
this may indicate that the group is gregarious,
sociable and extroverted; one where members
of the audience enjoy getting up and speaking,
participating in skits or being singled out. This is
a group that will be engaged and contribute to
brain-storming sessions without worrying about
whether their ideas are silly or far-fetched.
These are the high energy ‘hams’ that will bring
out the fun in an event.
But even more so, an audience that includes
extroverts has an interesting effect on the
introverts in the group. Introverts are those
whose comfort level naturally leans toward
being more reserved or keeping their thoughts
to themselves. These are the people who avert
their gaze when the conference speaker asks for
volunteers, or who mentally run for cover (or
silently mouth expletives) when they are forced
to interact during a meeting or conference.
The curious thing is that introverts often feed off
the energy of the extroverts in the crowd. A
rambunctious extroverted audience can gather
in those who tend toward introversion and
involve them in the spirit of the event:
participation, interaction and fun. Everyone