Today’s energiser will play with your sense of sound. Here are some easy to follow instructions.
1. On a PowerPoint slide or sheet of paper write down some misinterpreted lyrics.
2. Ask participants to work in pairs and figure out three things- what the true lyrics are, the name of each song and the artist.
See if you can decipher these ones below.
- "Kick a chicken with it"
- "Bald headed woman...bald headed woman to me"
- "The ants are my friends, they're blowin' in the wind..."
- "Hit me with your pet shark"
- "Show them hot monkey"
- "Getting jiggy with it" – Getting Jiggy With It by Will Smith
- "More than a woman...more than a woman to me" – More Than A Woman by Bee Gees
- "The answer my friends, is blowin’ in the wind..." – Blowin’ In The Wind by Bob Dylan
- "Hit me with your best shot" - Hit Me With Your Best Shot by Pat Benatar
- "Showin how funky (and strong is your fight, it doesn’t matter whose wrong or right)" - Beat It by Michael Jackson
3. To keep the conversations going, ask people if they have ever misinterpreted lyrics. Ask them to share their examples. Give some funny ones yourself.
After this exercise I like to highlight how easy it is to mix up messages in the workplace. The good news is that there are little things we can do to prevent this happening. Paraphrasing what people say, asking questions and summarising verbal conversations in emails all help. As you can see this exercise leads into many useful conversations about individual differences and how they influence work.
That’s your second energiser! Your third one will be posted tomorrow looking at your sense of smell.
Warm wishes,
Sarah Eqbal
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We are excited to be exhibiting at #AHRIHRP in Brisbane and HRIZON: World HR Congress in Melbourne this year!
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New post: Do you have a learning transfer strategy for 2012? http://t.co/qQGpqKkO
Thanks!
Submitted by Jacqui Lee (not verified) on Wed, 01/09/2010 - 10:13am.Thanks for the energisers Sarah. Will definitely use these in my next workshops.
Jacqui
My pleasure Jacqui. Have fun
Submitted by Sarah Eqbal (not verified) on Wed, 01/09/2010 - 1:33pm.My pleasure Jacqui. Have fun with them and let me know how you go!
Best wishes,
Sarah
Great energiser Sarah!
Submitted by Mark Gilroy (not verified) on Tue, 31/08/2010 - 7:20pm.Great energiser Sarah! Another one which always used to get me (and still does) is taken from the Sly & Family Stone song 'We Are Family'.
I think the real lyric is "..just let me say for the record, we're giving love in a family dose" ... but I always heard it as "..just let me staple the vicar". Listen for yourself - it's uncanny!
I remember reading some research about the priming involved in listening skills. A team of psychologists were able to prove that if you show incorrect lyrics whilst listening to the real ones - most subjects will report that they heard the incorrect lyrics. In other words, in most situations, unskilled listeners will hear what they expect to hear.
I like your mondegreen
Submitted by Sarah Eqbal (not verified) on Wed, 01/09/2010 - 6:08pm.I like your mondegreen example Mark, it's very funny!
That is also a nice reminder about how expectations influence what we hear. This is so important because what we hear influences how we behave. And of course this affects how well we get along as a team. Perhaps if teams spent a bit of time focusing on their Linking Skills especially in the area of Active Listening they could improve work relationships and performance!
Best wishes,
Sarah
Mondegreens
Submitted by Elyssebeth Leigh (not verified) on Tue, 31/08/2010 - 4:09pm.Thanks - the visual exercise was fun and so is the sound one.
Thought you might to share that these are called 'mondegreens'. see the wikipedia entry
A mondegreen is the mishearing or misinterpretation of a phrase, typically a standardized phrase such as a line in a poem or a lyric in a song, due to near homophony, in a way that gives it a new meaning.[1][2]
American writer Sylvia Wright coined the term in her essay "The Death of Lady Mondegreen," published in Harper's Magazine in November 1954.[3]
Regards
EL
Thanks for sharing that
Submitted by Sarah Eqbal (not verified) on Wed, 01/09/2010 - 1:39pm.Thanks for sharing that curious fact Elyssebeth. I think Mondegreens would be a perfect name for this energiser! I look forward to all your other interesting comments.
Best wishes,
Sarah