Gloria Gantes

LEI 4724
Activity: Gotcha!
Source: Gotcha A Sure-Fire Icebreaker. (n.d.). Retrieved January 28, 2016, from
http://www.campustalkblog.com/gotcha/
Equipment Needed: None
Activity Description:
Purpose & Objective: To stimulate responses, for example the startle response, and to
encourage imagination through the use of storytelling. Participant needs to grab the index
finger of the person to your left when the storyteller says gotcha
Set up:
1. Facilitator must introduce him/herself
2. Have participants arranged in a circle around the storyteller with their hands
connecting to each other. Each participant places their right index finger in the palm
of the person to their left.
Implementation:
1. Storyteller starts by telling the story. Then randomly yells gotcha!
2. Upon hearing the trigger word participants should try to grab, with their left hand, the
index finger of the person to their right. In order to not get caught, participant pulls
index finger away.
3. The person whose index finger is caught must come to the center and tell their story.
A story could be either fiction or nonfiction.
4. If multiple people are caught, the first person to volunteer becomes storyteller. If no
volunteers, facilitator would have to appoint someone. Process of yelling gotcha
and replacing storyteller is repeated.
5. Time permitted for game is between five and ten minutes, or until participants have
all gone
Reflection
Leadership Considerations:
This icebreaker activity is great because it accustoms the group into paying attention when
somebody is speaking and accustomed to following directions. First of, it is important to
allow for the participants to feel comfortable. If they do not desire to participate in this
icebreaker activity, they do not have to. The fact that participants are touching, allows for a
more personal connection while still respecting boundaries. Touch actually can help ease the
situation and make people feel more comfortable and connected. Its very subtle, yet
powerful. If a participant does not respect this, they must be reminded of appropriate social
contexts.
For a patient who has an auditory impairment, this activity can easily be modified by
instead of yelling gotcha, expressing movements that imply the same thing. In this case,
you can incorporate freedom of expression through dancing rather than storytelling but a
specific movement has to be identified in order to replace the trigger word. The second
adaptation would be for a patient who has post-traumatic stress disorder. Yelling loudly
might trigger some negative emotion or fear reactions in the patient; therefore it is important
to systematically desensitize them. Begin the story by softy expressing gotcha, and slowly
build up the pitch of the voice until you are able to stimulate fast reaction skills without
harming any emotions.
Essentially, this activity is supposed to get the group synchronized. Everyone is doing and
moving at the same time and that helps creates cohesion and alignment regardless of the
individuals abilities.