Icebreaker Mechanics

Materials Needed: Sheets of Tissue Paper

SCHEDULE

FACILITATORS MANUAL

Hello, COA LeaD 2014 Faci Volunteers! First
and foremost, we would like to thank you again for
participating in this event. Having you guys around will
definitely make this years COA LeaD all the more
successful! What you are holding right now is the
official Facilitators Manual. This will be your guide
throughout the event as you help the participants
through the different activities, from ice breakers to
team challenges and to the final culminating activity.

Each activity for the day is described in full
detail with the materials needed, number of
participants, rules and goals of the game, and sample
processing questions. The processing questions serve
as a guide only, which means you may add to it or edit
it a bit to suit your facilitation style and audience. At
the end of the manual, there are a couple of facilitation
tips that you could use to help you out in assisting the
participants. If you have any questions about the
content, make sure to ask any member of the faci
core team for clarifications before the event
proceedings.

Despite not being the participants for this
event, as facilitators, please do not forget to also have
fun and enjoy this COA LeaD experience. Once again,
thank you for joining us and may we all work together
to make this event the best that it can be!

To jumpstart your LeaD experience, here are
the activities lined up for our participants, and for you
guys:

0730
0830
0900
0910
0915
1000
1020
1115
1145
1300
1405
1605
1620
1635

CALL TIME for core, facilitators, hosts

(Venue: TBA)

Registration of Participants
National Anthem and
Opening Remarks
Ice Breaker: Tissue Game

Each column of students will be given plies of
tissue. The goal of the activity is to blow all the tissues
given towards the back of the line without touching
them. The participants at the very front will blow and
pass the tissue to the next person behind them and so
in until it reaches the back. Once the tissues reach the
participants at back, participants must bring these back
to the front, again by the same mechanic of blowing.

The goal of the activity is to reach 20 points. 1
point per tissue. If a tissue falls and/or a participant is
caught passing the tissues using other means apart from
blowing, the tissues must be brought to the front of the
line.

Hole in the Wall Mechanics

Materials Needed: 12 boxes, blindfolds, scotch tape

Speaker #1 and Q&A
Activity: Hole in the Wall
Speaker #2 and Q&A
Talk Show: Departmental Talks
LUNCH

(Venue: Gonzaga Cafeteria)

Departmental Talks

(Venue: Breakout Rooms)

Culminating Activity
(Venue: SEC Field)

Processing of Culminating Activity

Closing Remarks
Closing Prayer

Participants are to form groups of 6 and elect a

leader. Blindfolds are to be handed out to all team
members except the leader. All team members other
than the leader are instructed to put on their blindfolds.
The team leaders must take their seat somewhere close
to their respective teams and must to sit on their hands
or put their hands behind their back. For each team,
position boxes and scotch tape in various locations
around the room. As much as possible keep these items
at a reasonable distance from each other. The team
leaders may not move from their position and may not
use their hands; they may only instruct their blind
teammates.

Objective: stack boxes to form a hole-in-the-wall
type of structure. No team member may complete more
than one task. After completing his/her respective task,
he/she may remove the blindfold.
Tasks:
1. Find three boxes, line them up horizontally
2. Find two boxes, stack on top of the end-boxes from
the first task.
3. Find two boxes, stack both on top of the leftmost
stack of boxes.
4. Find two boxes, stack both on top of the rightmost
stack of boxes.
5. Find three boxes, line them up horizontally at the
topmost of the structure.
6.
(For team leader) Pass through the hole in the wall
without letting the boxes fall. If the structure
collapses, team members must build the structure
again following the order and respective tasks.

Culminating
Activity Mechanics
(Spaghetti & Marshmallows, Patience, The Ice Bucket Challenge)
Spaghetti & Marshmallows

Materials Needed: 30 uncooked spaghetti sticks, 1

marshmallow, and one year of masking tape

Participants are to form groups of 5 members. Each
group will be given a set of spaghetti sticks, one yard of
masking tape, and one marshmallow, which must be placed at
the very top of the structure. Task: Create the tallest and
sturdiest tower/structure in 15 minutes using only the materials
given. After the allotted time, participants will be asked to let go
of all materials and their created structure for judging. All
structures must be able to stand for 30 seconds, otherwise
they will be disqualified.

Patience

Materials Needed: Needles and thread, hula hoops, baby

bottles, stacks of paper, peanuts, chopsticks, math
problem solving sheets

Participants are to form groups of ten. Members of
each group will be given tasks to accomplish:
1. 2 members will thread 5 needles
2. 2 members will feed a teammate using a baby bottle while
making a hula hoop rotate on his other hand while the
drinking partner drinks and rotates a hula hoop on his
other hand.
3. 2 members will count all the pieces of paper from a large
stack.
4. 2 members will transfer peanuts using chopsticks from
point A to point B (Must be far from each other)
5. 2 members must solve a very long and difficult math
problem (must only use PEMDAS method)

Participants who are finished with their tasks may opt
to help others their other teammates. The team that
accomplishes all the tasks the fastest, wins!

The Ice Bucket Challenge

Materials Needed: Small buckets, large buckets, eggs, ice

water, water balloons, strings

Participants will be divided into groups of 5-6
members. Each group will be given a small bucket filled with
ice water with strings attached to them. Each member of every
group is to hold on to one string attached to the bucket.
Together, each member of the entire group must make their
way towards the big bucket, where they must transfer the
contents of their small buckets. Members are not allowed to
hold/carry/touch their buckets directly; they may only move
their buckets and transfer the contents using their respective
strings.

Scattered around the area are water balloons and
eggs. Participants may use these to slow down other teams.
The team that finishes first, wins!

PROCESSING
QUESTIONS
(for activities)
Hole in the Wall

1. How did you select a leader? What are your

bases? What do you think were the essential
qualities of a leader?
2. (For leader) What did you feel as a leader?
3. To the team, how did you feel about depending
solely on the instructions of your leader?
4. What difficulties did you encounter in this
activity?
5. What do you think was the goal of the activity?

Spaghetti & Marshmallows

1. What was the groups building strategy?

2. How did this strategy lead to the groups
success/failure?
3. (For groups whose structures failed) What
happened? What went wrong? How could your
group have bettered your chosen strategy?
4. (For groups whose structures passed the
requirements) What key element/s in your
strategy enabled your team to make a sturdy
structure?
5. What important traits/characteristics did you
see in your teammates that enabled the group
to accomplish the tasks?

Patience

1. How did you feel about the activity? Describe

what you felt about the different tasks/
challenges. What difficulties did you encounter?
2. What was your strategy to accomplish
everything?
3. How did you designate roles?
4. Did you do your part/task well? Could you have
done better?
5. Were there times when you wanted to quit?
Why or why not?
6. What made you push through despite the
difficulties?
7. What do you think was the goal of the activity?
What lessons can you learn from it?
8. How else can you apply what youve learned
from this activity?

DEPARTMENTAL TALKS

Questions to help initiate open discussion/sharing

Presidents
1. What do you think is a presidents role in an
organization? What makes him/her different from
other leaders in the organization?
2. What traits, attitudes, and/or disposition makes an
effective president?
3. How do you think a president should address his
fellow leaders and members? How should he
communicate with them?

Secretary General
1. What is the current state of your organizations
information processing?
2. As a potential Secretary General, how can you
effectively take note and disseminate information to
all members of the organization?
3. What do you think is the most difficult task as a
Secretary General, and how will you overcome this?

Finance & Marketing

1. Assess the needs of your organization: how is
financial management and marketing relevant to
your organization right now?
2. What do you think is the importance of the having
good marketing and financial management for your
organization?
3. How do you think you can step up as a financial
officer or marketing head?

Human Resources
1. How is a good human resources department
relevant to your organization right now?
2. Assess the HR department of your organization at
present: how may you step up in this department?

Project Management
1. What made you want to start heading projects for
your organization?
2. What qualities and traits must good project
managers possess? What personal characteristics
do you possess that would make you a good project
manager?
3. What project/s are you eyeing to head in your

how to be
a good

FACILITATOR

Content-wise
1.
2.
3.
4.

Know completely the context you are processing

(i.e. the activity that just happened). Your
participants will know if you havent a clue as to
what is going on.
Make sure youre not teaching them the right
answers. Let the answers come from them; you
are here to facilitate the drawing out of these
responses/revelations from them.
Remember that the manual is only a guide. You
dont have to stick to it word per word. Use your
own facilitation style to keep your participants
more engaged in the activities.
Be flexible. Be aware of contingencies. Things
dont always go according to plan so you must be
ready for such times.

Verbal

1. Speak to your participants with a clear voice. Sure

that all are within voices reach so as to better
facilitate processing.
2. Be conscious of your audience and their basic
language backgrounds. Speaking in straight
Tagalog when addressing straight English-speaking
participants may not be the best choice to make.
3. Avoid lulls in conversation (i.e. awkward silence).
Know the content of your activities and processing
beforehand so as to ensure its smooth,
productive, and effective flow.
4. Be conscious of the time frame of all activities.
Speed up or slow down when necessary. Ask
more leading questions if the main point needs to
be raised quicker, also to better aid the flow of
discussion.

Non-verbal/Visual

1. If processing in a room full with other groups, find a

quiet area where your group could process and
synthesise with ease.
2. When speaking with your audience, maintain eye
contact. Mimic facial reactions and dispositions (i.e
smiling when theyre sharing a light-hearted
experience) so as to make participants more
comfortable and at ease.
3. Maintain a disposition/attitude conducive to the
activity at hand. If the activity calls for you to be
lively, be as energetic as you can! Your liveliness
will rub off on your participants. A somber mood
will reflect on your participants in the same manner.
4. Avoid carrying notes and/or your manual with you.
Study the content of all activities before the event
itself. Your participants will sense your
unpreparedness.

FINAL REMINDERS

PROCESSING TIPS & TRICKS

Before the Event

1. Study the OpSched and this manual so

as to be completely prepared for all the
activities and events of the day itself!
2. Go through the processing questions for
the activities and departmental talks. Try
to come up with your own questions
given certain situations that could arise
(i.e. if the participants dont seem to be
getting the main point of the activity,
provide leading questions).
3. Observe your facial expressions when
relaxed, your resting face. As odd as it
sounds, how you look when listening or
giving attention to your participants has
an effect on how they generally act or
respond to you. Try not to look stoic or
uninterested even if unintended, as this
will have ill effects on how your
participants will generally act.

During the Event

1. Youre not there to teach them a lesson.

Youre there to guide and help them come
to certain revelations about the activities
and speakers they just experienced.
2. If youre stuck with what kind of questions
to ask first to get the conversation/forum
started, its always good to first ask what
their experience was like, what happened
in the activity, and what they felt
throughout the activity. Processing is
always founded on the real experience of
the participants.
3. Avoid asking close-ended questions (i.e
what, who, when) which generally lead to
one-worded answers. Ask open-ended
ones (i.e. why, how) so as to generate a
multitude of responses.

1. Attire: Faci shirt, jeans, closed

shoes, ID
2. Bring your assigned group sign!
3. Always keep a smile on! Let the
participants know that youre happy
and excited for them to be here at
COA LeaD!
4. Get a good nights rest the night
before the event! This will help you
start the day with a happy and
rested disposition!
5. Know the OpSched by heart.
6. Have the best time! :)
7. In case of problems and/or
concerns about the event, contact:

Faci Head: _______________________

Faci Deputies and Core:

_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________