Purpose: To get people talking, and give participants an unusual and interesting topic of conversation for their first course break.

 Time Required: 15 minutes.

 Size of Group: Unlimited.

 Materials Required: Drawing utensils and paper for all participants.

 The Exercise in Action: If the Myers-Briggs Personality Indicator leaves you cold, try a substitute: the Pig Personality Profile. It might not be sound science, he says, but it’s good for a lot of laughs and effectively breaks the ice, says Gordon Cotton.

Cotton, a trainer at Marine Atlantic, Inc., Monchton, New Brunswick, gives participants the following instructions: “On a blank piece of paper, draw a pig. Don’t look at your neighbor’s pigs. Don’t even glance.” He provides no further guidance and does not explain the purpose of the exercise. (Note: You may find it interesting to follow the above instructions before reading the rest of this exercise.)

When participants are finished, he shares his tongue-in-cheek explanation that the pig serves as a useful test of the personality traits of the artist. He tells the class if the pig is drawn:

•   Toward the top of the paper, you are a positive, optimistic person.

•   Toward the middle of the page (top to bottom), you are a realist.

•   Toward the bottom of the page, you are pessimistic and have a tendency to behave negatively.

•   Facing left, you believe in tradition, are friendly, and remember dates, including birthdays.

•   Facing forward (looking toward you), you are direct, enjoy playing devil’s advocate, and neither fear nor avoid discussions.

•   Facing right, you are innovative and active, but don’t have a strong sense of family, nor do you remember dates.

•   With many details, you are analytical, cautious, and distrustful.

•   With few details, you are emotional and naïve; you care little for details and are a risk-taker.

•   With four legs showing, you are secure, stubborn, and stick to your ideals.

•   With less than four legs showing, you are insecure, or are living through a period of major change.

•   Further, the size of the pig’s ears indicate how good a listener the artist is—large is good. And the length of the pig’s tail—again, more is better—indicates the quality of the artist’s sex life.

Says Cotton: “I won’t attest to the accuracy of the results, other than to guarantee some laughter and amusement. I have delivered this test to about 400 participants and haven’t offended anyone yet.”

How and where training participants draw a pig on a blank piece of paper can provide humorous insights to their personalities. For example, because this pig was drawn near the top of the page, the artist is a positive, optimistic person. And because the pig is facing left, the artist believes in tradition, is friendly, and remembers dates.