Purpose: To provide an exercise that challenges participants to think creatively.
Time Required: 10 minutes.
Size of Group: Unlimited.
Materials Required: Sheets of paper (one for each participant) with the dot pattern shown below.
The Exercise in Action: To show his participants the importance of an open mind, creativity, and problem solving, Jack McKown, process controller for Hallmark Cards in Kansas City, MO, uses a “connect the dots” exercise as a brainteaser opener.
Draw a dot pattern (shown below) on a sheet of paper (make dots at least ¼ inch diameter). Then tell participants that if they are creative, they can draw a line through all the dots with only one line. The only rule is that the line must be drawn straight.
To set up the brainteaser: Give each participant a sheet of paper with nine evenly spaced dots on it. Tell participants the objective of the exercise is to connect all the dots with only one line.
Solution: Fold the paper over onto itself toward the center (so one-half of each dot from the left side of the sheet connects with one-half of each dot from the right side). Then draw a line down through the aligned dots.