Ping Pong Communication Challenge

Growing up, my parents kept a ping pong (table tennis for you purists) table in our basement. I spent many many hours playing and for a while was actually pretty good. I remember my Uncle George used to have what I considered to be epic battles. Upon further reflection, it is very possible that my "second father" held back so as to keep things interesting for me. I take this quick trip down memory lane as next week all of us at work are participating in what we hope will be a fun table tennis tournament. Strictly an internal event, this event is being organized as a team building exercise to help boost office morale.

Another primary purpose is to strengthen inner-office communication. This is why all the matches in our so-called tournament will be one team versus another. By random drawing, everyone, including our president, has been teamed up with a co-worker not of their choosing. This means for the duration of their games, people are going to have to work closely with another in a situation that will certainly be fast-paced, hopefully fun, and perhaps even a tad stressful. Plus, some folks at our workplace claim to be good players while others, like myself, describe themselves as being are less than that in ability. Given all these elements, each team is going to be faced with a genuine communication challenge.

Such a challenge is going to be one faced by all players and all teams, regardless of their ability or whether they win or lose. Each player will need to communicate verbally and non-verbally with their partner as well as be able to assess the actions of their opponents. While there is no question each person's level of skill will be a determining factor in who ultimately wins or does well, how well they communicate will also play a major role. Such an observation applies to a multitude of life's scenarios, not just ping pong.