A five-day retreat in Turkey

“A change is as good as a rest”therefor a retreat is essential. And it seems that the retreat we ran last week was a good change for an excellent team of people, who usually are working on creating job and self-employment opportunities for refugees in Turkey.

As so often, Sebastian’s favourite Communication game was a hit. In this, one person builds a structure with a few Lego stones, and another person has to rebuild an identical structure, but this person is not allowed to see the original, and can only receive oral instructions via a third person who acts as messenger – and of course, time is limited.

This led the team to reflect on a few ground rules for communication, especially in multi-cultural settings. A few of my favourites from the points that emerged here were:

– Initially give a feeling for what it is you broadly want (“it’s a tower”).

– Keep it simple, do not say it all at once, increase detail in layers.

– Take nothing for granted.

–  Use the cultural language of the listener, rather than your own.

–  Give space for seeking clarification.

In any case a fun week in beautiful Sapanca an a great five-day retreat in Turkey!