CultuRallye – Communication Training
CultuRallye is a communication training based on a gamified simulation that refers to interactions within an organization.
LOCATION:
All of Poland
DURATION:
2–4 hours
NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS:
From 9 to 70 people
LANGUAGE:
Polish or English
PROJECT FEATURES:
The CultuRallye-based communication training offers an experience of the challenges that arise when working in changing environments—whether it’s shifting teams, evolving projects, or dynamic market conditions.
The game takes the form of a tournament that sets a “trap” for participants—players assume everyone is playing by the same rules. But are they?
Communication is intentionally limited—part of the game is played in silence. Just like in real organizations, participants discover that each team may follow different rules. They also uncover the existence of “unwritten” norms that operate alongside official guidelines.
In the end, we’re all playing the same game, and the goal is to win. But how do you navigate such conditions?
Description of the CultuRallye Game
Participants play with wooden dice at small group tables. The course of the game resembles a dice game combined with gestures. With each round, the composition at the tables changes — which allows integration within different teams.
When players move to new tables, unclear situations and misunderstandings begin to emerge. They discover that each table operates according to slightly different rules and experience a shock — because they assumed everyone was playing by the same consistent rules.
These difficulties are intensified by the rule of silence (although players creatively compensate for this limitation and communicate using gestures). The competitive atmosphere adds pressure, making it even harder to communicate amidst a jungle of rules, a new team, and a new situation.
All of this serves as a metaphor for how organizations function in the VUCA world — full of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity
Training Areas
The game experience is emotional and engaging. The gameplay ends with a discussion of the phenomena that occurred during it. In “real” life, we often find ourselves in situations of undefined rules, and the CultuRallye simulation vividly allows us to feel the consequences of such “misunderstandings.” The insights and reflections that arise during the discussion can be successfully transferred to everyday work. Our communication training can be a starting point for reflection in the following areas:
- Self-diagnosis of one’s approach and reaction to change (different ways of mobilization, action, adaptation in situations of uncertainty, chaos, unpredictability)
- Overcoming hidden assumptions that create barriers in interpersonal contacts
- How do we align, standardize, and develop rules in an organization?
- Intercultural communication: contact with new people, understanding “foreign” cultures, explicit and implicit group rules
Benefits for Participants
• Action training in VUCA conditions and finding solutions to unexpected, potentially conflict-prone situations
• Experiencing the trap of assumptions that everyone understands the same rules and procedures in the organization — such a trap carries many consequences in cooperation, communication, and alignment
• Understanding that others in the organization may follow different rules and communication codes, and that precise communication is key to overcoming collaboration barriers
• Experiencing the process of developing shared rules and standardization in changing conditions
