People to People

1. Form pairs, standing in a circle around you in the middle.
2. Initiate a beat by clapping your hands, and invite your group to follow your lead for a few moments.
3. Explain that during the beat, you will call the names of any two body parts, eg “NOSE & ELBOW.”
4. On this command, each person turns to their partner and touches one part of the announced anatomy to the other anatomical part belonging to their partner.
5. Everyone repeats the names of the body parts as they keep the beat.
6. Upon completing this task, everyone resumes their clapping, awaiting the next command.
7. Continue this routine several times, until the command “PEOPLE TO PEOPLE” is randomly called, at which point, everyone seeks a new partner.
8. The person who is left without a partner, resumes the role of the person calling form the middle.
9. Play several rounds, or try a variation.

Video Transcript for People to People
presented by Mark Collard

So everyone’s got a partner? And I’m actually part of the exercise on this occasion because we need an odd number on this occasion.

We’re going to use this space here and as we discussed earlier today there are no boundaries. The fun is here. So you just determine where you are in relation to that but basically, this is the place in which we’re going to use.

And when I call this call, this command, your objective is to quickly find yourself a new partner. So when I say “People to People”, you just rush off and go find yourself somebody new.

Okay, so let’s just test that highly refined skill first. So you’re about to say goodbye to your partner but you may come back to them later on. So, people to people.

(people finding partners)

Good. Let’s just try it one more time. People to people. You want to find them quickly.

(people finding partners)

Now note the next level. When we say “People to People” I’m actually going to go jump in. I’m now also looking for a partner. So it’s possible that if you’re left over effectively it’s then your turn to say “People to People”. There’s going to be more we add to this but I want you to get this basic skill first.

So whenever you hear “People to People” find yourself a whole new partner and quickly find a partner so that if you happen to be the last person, guess what? You have the joy of saying the next “People to People”. Are you ready? People to people!

(people finding partners)

Alright. Jason, you have the honour.

(People to people.)

Alright. One more time. What do you got, Kev?

(People to People.)

(people finding partners)

Yes, you’re going to be my partner. In fact, who’s looking for a partner because I’ll jump out now. Jump in here, Sherri.

Okay, so that’s all pretty cool but after about the first three or four moves it starts to get a little boring because we now need to ramp up the extra challenge here.

So while you are with your partner, the person who happens to be on their own is now going to call out a series or parts of your anatomy. And your objective is to match that piece of your anatomy with your partner’s piece of anatomy.

For example I might say “toe to toe”, in which case you would simply touch the toe of your partner on one side and then touch the other. So it’s actually twice. So it’s toe to toe, toe to toe.

(Like that?)

Yeah.

(Both at the same time?)

You can do one at a time, so toe to toe, and then do toe to toe. So let’s just practise that. So toe to toe and go ahead and do it.

Great. Now we’re going to add some beats to that. So I’d like you now to clap and it goes to about this beat. That’s it. Beautiful. And toe to toe. Great.

And now add the saying of it as you do it. Elbow to elbow.

(Elbow to elbow.)

(Do we still do toe to toe?)

No, just do one at a time, that’s good, although if you’re very clever you could do it all at the same time. Good job.

(Elbow to elbow.)

Palm to palm.

(Palm to palm. Palm to palm.)

Buttocks to buttocks.

(Buttocks to buttocks. Buttocks to buttocks.)

Alright, good job. Now hold it there. You repeat it twice, so it would be buttocks to buttocks, buttocks to buttocks, and then you’re ready, you go back into the claps ready for the next signal, alright?

Of course at any point, you’ve already learned the skill, the person who’s out there on their own could say “People to people” of which of course… You almost went there, didn’t you?

And then of course the next person gets the joy of calling out the next parts of the anatomy. Got the idea? Alright. Let’s get into the beat. And hip to hip.

(Hip to hip. Hip to hip.)

That’s it. And heel to heel.

(Heel to heel. Heel to heel.)

Hand to knee.

(Hand to knee. Hand to knee.)

Go back to clapping. People to people.

(people finding partners)

Alright. Frank.

(Shoulder to shoulder.)

(Shoulder to shoulder. Shoulder to shoulder.)

(Elbow to knee.)

(Elbow to knee. Elbow to knee.)

(People to people.)

Ask everyone in your group to find a partner, and form a circle around you in the centre.

Start a beat by clapping your hands (about a clap per second) and invite everybody to join in for a few moments so they can get the hang of it. Feel free to move to the groove, it will only encourage further random acts of silliness later on.

Explain that you (the person in the middle) will shortly call out the name of any two body parts, such as “NOSE AND ELBOW.” On your command, everyone turns to their partner and touches their nose to their partner’s elbow – and vice versa.

Also, keeping in time with the beat (one beat per body part,) everybody sings/calls out “NOSE TO ELBOW” twice as they do it, ie one for each partner match. Upon completing this anatomical shuffle, your group resumes their clapping, awaiting the next command.

This routine continues several times until the person in the middle calls “PEOPLE TO PEOPLE,” which occurs whenever they wish to change the pace or have simply run out of anatomical ideas. At this point, everybody is obligated to leave their current partner, and look for a new one.

Amidst all this running about, the person in the middle works feverishly to locate a partner too. As new partners are won over, everyone resumes the beat, and a new person (the one left without a partner) calls out the next set of body parts.

Continue playing until your group runs out of puff, or try a variation.

To make this exercise work, everyone needs a partner, except one person, ie you need an odd number of people. Pull yourself in or out of the activity to make the numbers work where necessary.

Encourage people to look for a partner on the other side of the circle to them, ie not their immediate neighbour. And/or, suggest that with each round, everyone is obligated to find a partner they have not paired with before.

This exercise could be an ideal and fun technique to reinforce a ‘real’ lesson on anatomy. Use the scientific or medical names as an extra challenge.

A hint, if someone calls out “lips to lips” or something to that effect in an effort to look smart or cool, keep the beat going, and respond with a smile, Challenge – by Choice.

You could integrate People to People as part of a well-designed SEL program to develop your group’s ability to make caring and constructive choices about personal behaviour and social interactions across different situations.

Specifically, this activity offers opportunities to explore and practice the following social & interpersonal skills:

Self-Awareness

• Demonstrating Self-Confidence, Honesty & Integrity
• Experiencing Self-Efficacy

Self-Management

• Demonstrating Self-Discipline & Self-Motivation
• Setting Personal & Group Goals
• Taking Initiative
• Use Planning & Organisational Skills

Social Awareness

• Demonstrating Empathy & Compassion
• Understanding & Expressing Gratitude
• Appreciating Diversity
• Respecting Others

Relationship Skills

• Communicate & Listen Effectively
• Seeking and/or Offering Support
• Build Positive Relationships
• Work Collaboratively

Responsible Decision-Making

• Demonstrating Curiosity & Open-Mindedness
• Making Reasoned Judgements
• Anticipating & Evaluating the Consequences of One’s Actions
• Promoting Personal & Collective Well-Being

You can learn more about SEL and how it can support character education here.

Behavioural Norms

Given the physical nature of this exercise, it is clear the focus required to interact and engage with others may speak to the benefits of having developed a set of supportive and healthy behavioural norms in advance. Or, if not, you could use these less-than-desired interactions or outcomes to explore what sorts of behaviours your group would prefer to see. For example, you could invite your group to reflect on the level of safety consciousness that was demonstrated during the activity and relate this to a set of observed impacts on others.

Safety

Expanding on the physical dimensions of this activity, you could also invite your group to reflect on the emotional and mental toll of their participation. For example, challenge your group to consider how likely they would want to pair with someone whom they just observed was playing really roughly with another person in the lead up to “PEOPLE TO PEOPLE?” This also speaks to the emotional intelligence of your group insofar as their capacity to read and navigate certain social cues.

• Mix & Mingle: Invite everyone to mix and mingle with the rest of the group, until randomly an anatomical call is made, at which point everyone must find any partner to match the prescribed body parts.
• Quick Escape: To provide an escape route for people who are not comfortable standing/talking in front of others, let them know that they can say “PEOPLE TO PEOPLE” at any time – like, as soon as they find themselves without a partner.
• Multiples: Form groups of three or four people. If more than one person ends up in the middle, ask these people to share the calling of anatomical parts and join the matching action together.
• Vary The Pace: Vary the rate of the beat, ie make it ‘speedy-Gonzalez’ or slow-motion style.
• Unique Stretch: Take a look at Isometric Stretch for another physically-active partner energiser.

Do you now your tibia from your trapezius? What about your gluteus maximus form your humerus? Each of these terms sound pretty fancy, but you’ll know most of these anatomical parts by their common names such as shin, bottom and upper arm. Let’s take a journey of the human body and all of its amazing parts in this next exercise…

Welcome to today’s anatomy lesson. In this lesson, I will call out a series of anatomical features of your body, and invite you to identify them with a partner as quickly as possible. Don’t worry, there’ll be no embarrassing moments here, just a bit of fun and stretching…

Coupled with one or more reflection strategies, here are some sample questions you could use to process your group’s experience after playing this fun, active energiser:

• What was your favourite anatomical match? Why?
• What did you notice when you worked with a partner to match the prescribed body parts?
• Were some body parts harder to match or touch than others? Why?
• How quickly did you grab a new partner when “PEOPLE TO PEOPLE” was called? Why?
• Did you observe any behaviours or actions that concerned you?
• Generally speaking, how would you describe the nature of your physical engagements?

Interactive ‘Get-To-Know-You’ Session

What You Need:
8+ people, 40 mins, ‘Sit Down If… Questions’ (Print+Play), pen & paper, 2 x long ropes

• Numeric Networking – fun, non-threatening get-to-know-you exercise involving numbers
• Sit Down If… – simple, non-verbal revealing elimination game
• Comfort Zone Circles – powerful tool to explore diversity within your group
• People To People – energetic & fun partner game

Extremely Fun ‘Energiser’ Session

What You Need:
8+ people, 30 mins

• Thumb Wrestling In Stereo – hilarious re-working of a classic partner game
• Mirror Stretch – active partner activity which sharpens observation skills
• ESP – passive, fun activity which invites partners to think alike
• People To People – energetic circle game