Here are a few activities I use when exploring the topic of diversity during presentations You are welcome to copy or adapt these activities for your trainings. I would LOVE to know if this information is useful for you; please send a quick message! Also, if you can think of something I forgot, please let me know and I can easily update the site! -ptw

Process Questions
Concentric Circles
Chatter Activity
Stand If You're Different
Color of Fear
Four Corners
Quotes About Marriage
Barnga (5 Tricks)

Process Questions

What was your first reaction to the activity?
What did you like? Not like?
What surprised you? Angered you?
What bothered you? Shocked you?
What saddened you? Frustrated You?
How did it make you feel?
What did it get you to think about?
What did you doubt?
What do you want to remember?
How could this activity be improved?

Concentric Circles

Count off by 2s (1,2,1,2,...). Ones stand in a circle facing outward, twos stands opposite a person in the circle. These form pairs who talk for a minute about a topic, and then you have one circle shift to the left and the new pairs are given a new topic. You should start and end each conversation with a handshake. (if there is an odd number of participants, you should also participate so everyone has a chat partner).
1. What are you hoping to get out of this workshop?
2. Why do you think some people would not want to attend a diversity workshop?
3. Share a time where you felt different than the rest of the group
4. What types of things do you think we might cover in a diversity workshop?
5. Recall the types of individuals who were left out or considered "different" in your high school/hometown.
6. What evidence could you offer that our society is becoming more tolerant/more accepting of diversity?
7. What evidence is there that there are still problems with nurturing diversity.
8. If you were given $1,000 to spend on increasing awareness of diversity in your organization (or community) how might you spend it?

LGBT Questions:
What is your first memory of dealing with the issue of homosexuality/bisexuality?
What did you learn about homosexuality from your parents? your church?
What are the "rules" in our society for being a woman?  a man?
What images can you recall from TV or movies?
Do you remember the first time you met someone who you perceived to LGBT?
What words to people use to describe gay men?  lesbians? transgendered people?
What are some of the sterotypes?
How do you think it feels to grow up in a heterosexual culture knowing that you are not heterosexual?
Why do some people choose not to publicly identify as LGBT?
how are more OUT and VISIBLE LGBT people treated on your campus?
What do you do to support LGBT people in your community?

Chatter Activity

1. Divide into groups of 5-10 and give each group a set of "etiquette cards." The set consists of cards that have one of the following instructions:
a. It is impolite to stand aloof, so stand close to the others until you nearly touch them. If someone backs off, keep moving closer.
b. It is impolite to stare at people, so avoid eye contact. Look at the floor or the speaker's shoes. Do not look at the speaker's face.
c. It is polite and reassuring to reach out and touch someone. Touch people on the arm or the shoulder when you speak to them.
d. It is impolite to crowd people, so maintain your distance. Stand away so that there is at least an arm's length between you and the nearest person. If anyone gets too close to you, back off until you have achieved the required distance.
e. It is important to get the people's attention before you speak; so hold your hand above your head and snap your fingers. Do this every time before you make a statement or ask a questions. That's the polite way to get everyone's attention.
f. It is important to show your enthusiasm; so jump in before other speakers have finished their sentences and add your ideas. Remember that it is rude to hold back your thoughts.
g. It is impolite to shout, so talk softly. Whisper. Even if people cannot hear you, do not raise your voice.
h. Be yourself! Behave as you would normally behave in an informal party situation.
i. It is impolite to be blunt and tactless. It is preferable to talk in abstractions and to approach the subject in an indirect fashion.
j. It is impolite to talk to more than one person at the same time. Always talk to a single individual standing near you so that you can have a private conversation. Do not address your remarks to the group as a whole.
k. It is friendly to share your thoughts and feelings without any inhibition; so make several self-disclosure statements. Describe your intimate feelings about different subjects. Ask personal questions of the other members of the group.
l. It is impolite to speak impulsively. Whenever somebody asks a questions, silently count to seven before you give the answer.

2. "We are going to have some small group discussions now. You have been given an etiquette card with directions that you should follow throughout the discussion. Please take a moment to read your instructions, and then hide the instructions so no one else will see them. Now get in groups of 4-6 with people who have the same color etiquette card as you, but do not discuss what was written on your card."

3. After they are in groups of 4-6: "You have five minutes to discuss the following topic. Remember to follow your etiquette card. Brainstorm a list of 10 movies or television shows that everyone in the group has seen. Discuss characters that either reinforce or challenge stereotypes based on gender, race or sexual orientation. For example, you might discuss whether Luke Skywalker and Princess Lea behaved differently because of their gender; or whether African American characters are treated the same as Caucasian characters on ER. (you may want to read the directions a second time)."

4. After 4 minutes of conversation: "You have one minute to finish your conversations." After 5 minutes: "Please thank your partners for the conversation and get in a group of three so that each of you has a different-colored etiquette card." Once they are in groups of three: "Now, join up with another group of three so that there are six people, preferably who have not been in a group together."

5. After they are in groups of six: "You are going to have another five minute discussion, again remembering to follow your etiquette rule. This time, you will share how people who were "different" in your high school were treated. Think of examples of a classmate from a different culture or race or someone who was gay or lesbian and explain how they were treated by teachers, students, friends, etc. Make sure everyone has time to share something in the five minutes."

6. After 3 minutes: "Two minutes are left; make sure everyone has time to share." After 4 minutes: "You have one minute to finish your conversations." After 5 minutes: "Please thank your partners for that conversation."

7. When everyone is quiet: "Now we are going to discuss this exercise. First, we'd like you to find someone who was not in either of your group conversations, introduce yourself and share with them what your etiquette rule was. Tell them something you liked and something you didn't like about your rule. Then thank your partner for that conversation and find someone else you were not in a group with and do the same thing. After you have talked with three people about their etiquette rules, please sit down and then we'll move on.

8. When everyone is sitting, ask them some questions to get a large group discussion going. Ask as many or few as time allows, and feel free to pick and choose, depending on your interests and what direction the discussion heads:
a. Was this easy or hard? (when someone responds, ask them 'why' they said that)
b. How did you feel during the conversations?
c. Which behavior did you consider to be the most rude or offensive?
d. What were the differences between your conversations in the first group and in the second group? Why did these differences occur?
e. True or False: There is more to a conversation than just the words and sentences. Why?
f. True or False: We tend to judge other people's behaviors based on the norms of our culture. Why?
g. True or False: Behaviors that we consider to be bizarre (or rude) may be acceptable (or polite) to other cultures. Why?
h. True or False: Sometimes you may feel negatively about another person without being aware of this happening. You might feel negative because you are disturbed by his or her conversational style.
i. True or False: After some time, people get used to unusual behaviors and begin paying more attention to the topic of the conversation.
j. What would have happened if the conversations had lasted for 45 minutes instead of 5 minutes?
k. What advice would you give to a friend who is about to participate in this activity for the first time?
l. What advice would you give to a friend who is about to meet a student from another country?
m. What strategies would you use to keep your attention on the topic of conversation and ignore distracting behaviors?
Activity adapted from "Diversity Simulation Games" © 1995, Sivasailam Thiagarajan

Stand If You're Different

This is an exercise that will allow you the opportunity to explore difference and diversity from a slightly different perspective. It is not intended to embarrass you, or to make you feel bad, or to put you on the spot, but more to allow you an appreciation for the times when all of us are different: alone, vulnerable, and feeling the need for support instead of alienation. What we would also like for you to experience is the importance of difference in your organization: the strength that the different perspectives afford us.
What we would like you to do is stand up when I identify a group to which you may belong. Please stand and look around at others who may also be standing and look at those who remain seated. And while you are standing or still sitting, be thinking about your feelings: times when you are proud and times when you are not so proud; times when you feel uncomfortable about standing when others are seated and vice versa. Please stand if:
You are from a state other than (whatever state you are in).
You are left handed.
You are the oldest or only child.
You are prejudiced.
You are shy.
You are not an American citizen.
You are the child of parents who are divorced or separated.
You have no physical handicaps.
You are the child of parents whose first language is not English.
You identify as biracial or multiracial.
You are Jewish.
Someone you love is gay, lesbian or bisexual.
You are from a family considered to be upper-middle class.
You have not yet stood during this activity.
You are prejudiced.
-adapted from several sources

Color of Fear

1. Stand up if you have heard Hispanics/Latinos/Latinas described or seen them portrayed in movies, books, TV and the media as pickpokets, thieves, cocaine dealers, loud, dirty, womanizing and abusive, and unable to speak English. Remain standing if you identify yourself as Hispanic/Latino/Latina. Notice who is here, and who isn't.
2. Stand up if you have heard Jewish people described or seen them portrayed in movies, books, TV and the media as good at saving money, greedy, always looking for a bargain, wearing flashy jewelry, or the women are snobby "princesses." Remain standing if you identify yourself as a Jewish person. Notice who is here, and who isn't.
3. Stand up if you have heard Caucasians described or seen them portrayed in movies, books, TV and the media as heroes, smart, the good guy and hard worker, the Anglo-Saxon image portrayed as the standard of beauty. Remain standing if you identify yourself as a Caucasian person. Notice who is here, and who isn't.
4. Stand up if you have heard African-Americans described or seen them portrayed in movies, books, TV and the media as lazy, living on welfare, loud, using drugs, having many illegitimate children, good at basketball and dancing. Remain standing if you identify yourself as an African-American. Notice who is here, and who isn't.
5. Stand up if you have heard Asian people described or seen them portrayed in movies, books, TV and the media as good at math, clumsy, brainy, nerdy, and unable to speak English. Stand up if you identify yourself as an Asian-American. Notice who is here, and who isn't.
6. Stand up if you have heard Native Americans described or seen them portrayed in movies, books, TV and the media as savages, scalpers, alcoholics, living in the woods, out of touch with modern society. Stand up if you identify yourself as an Native American. Notice who is here, and who isn't.
7. Stand up if you have heard Arab-Americans people described or seen them portrayed in movies, books, TV and the media as terrorists, wife-abusers, owning convenience stores, wearing flashy jewelry or cologne, and drug smugglers. Stand up if you identify yourself as an Asian-American. Notice who is here, and who isn't.

For the following questions, do not include immediate family as an example. [After reading each question, ask participants to look around the room to see who is standing and who is not.]

1. Raise your hand if in a work, school or social setting you have had the experience of walking into a room full of Caucasians. Stand up if you have this experience on a daily basis.
2. Raise your hand if in a work, school or social setting you have had the experience of walking into a room full of people of color. Stand up if you have this experience on a daily basis.
3. Raise your hand if in a work, school or social setting you have had the experience of walking into a room full of men. Stand up if you have this experience on a daily basis.
4. Raise your hand if in a work, school or social setting you have had the experience of walking into a room full of women. Stand up if you have this experience on a daily basis.
5. Stand up if in a work or school experience you have felt like you had to leave yourself at the door on a regular basis.
6. Stand up if you have ever been assumed to be dumb, illiterate, behind the rest of your class on the basis of your racial/ethnic background.[original source unknown]

Four Corners

1. Choose Your Corner:
The four corners of the room are each labeled with a different sign: Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree. After a statement is read, participants choose the corner which best describes their opinion. After short discussion within the small group, solicit comments from each corner.

2. Forced Choice:
Have the participants count off 1-4, and assign the 1's to one corner, etc. Then read a statement and have each group develop arguments to support the opinion they represent. Encourage them to adopt the role and search for plausible arguments.

3. Quick Version:
Have the 4 labels posted horizontally at the front of the room. Participants stand in a line perpendicular to the front and step to the right or left depending on whether they agree or disagree.

a. Having different admission standards for minority students is needed.
b. The Confederate flag should fly above the South Carolina State Capitol building.
c. Public high school students should be able to lead prayers before football games.
d. English should be declared as the official language of the United States.
e. Homosexuals should be given the same rights as heterosexuals.
f. Same sex couples should be allowed to marry.
g. Same sex couples should be allowed to adopt children.
h. Students should not have to pay "mandatory fees" if they disagree with the purpose/goals of some of the organizations who receive funding from those fees.
i. A baseball player who publicly makes racist and homophobic comments should be suspended and fined.

Quotes About Marriages of a Different Kind

1. These marriages must be forbidden, said the Republican senator from Wisconsin, "simply because natural instinct revolts at it as wrong."

2. A U.S. representative from Georgia declared that allowing these marriages "necessarily involves (the) degradation" of conventional marriage, an institution that "deserves admiration rather than execration."

3. These marriages are "abominable," according to Virginia law. If allowed, they would "pollute" America.

4. In denying the appeal of a couple that had tried unsuccessfully to marry, a Georgia court wrote that such unions are "not only unnatural, but . . . always productive of deplorable results….They are productive of evil, and evil only, without any corresponding good . . . (in accordance with) the God of nature."

5. Attorneys for the state of Tennessee argued that such unions should be illegal because they are "distasteful to our people and unfit to produce the human race. . . ." The state supreme court agreed, declaring these marriages would be "a calamity full of the saddest and gloomiest portent to the generations that are to come after us."

6. Lawyers for California insisted that a ban on this kind of marriage is necessary to prevent "traditional marriage from being contaminated by the recognition of relationships that are physically and mentally inferior. . . . (and entered into by) the dregs of society."

These quotes are culled from a Boston University Law Review article and a brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, though we did take the minor liberty of hiding the subject of the strangled rage, fear and righteous indignation. These quotes refer to interracial marriage and their authors' views of black people, white people and the proper interaction thereof.

The quotes date from 1823 to 1964 and, though the sentiments look hatefully ridiculous to us today, they had sufficient appeal and staying power that 15 states still criminalized black-white marriage until the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously overturned those laws in the appropriately named 1967 case, Loving vs. Virginia. Those whose unaltered words today resemble these statements, take note. The stench is familiar. The future is listening.
-adapted from a 1996 Chicago Tribune Editorial by Eric Zorn

Barnga (Five Tricks)

Barnga: A Simulation Game on Cultural Clashes by Barbara Steinwachs This game was designed by Sivasailam Thiagarajan (Thiagi). Please do not download or use any of these materials unless you have purchased this or another book that credits the original game designer!

score sheet
instructions (modified for each table)

Did what you were thinking and feeling change during play?
What were your greated frustrations and/or successes?
After acknowleding the altered rules, ask "what is OK to have done this to you?"
What specific real-life situations does BARNGA simulate?
set up:
5 minutes to learn rules and practice playing 5 tricks
then rules will be taken away and NO VERBAL COMMUNICATION
Tourney will begin: a few minutes of play at your home table.
-A round will consist of as many games as you can play in a few minutes. (a game winner is the player taking the most tricks, and if a game isn't over when round ends, player with most tricks so far wins)
-players move at the end of each round: player with most game wins moves UP one table, player with fewest game wins moves DOWN one table