Ping Pong

An activity from Paul Z Jackson

How it Works

I learned Ping Pong from Marxist magician Ian Savile. In running the activity during workshops, I sometimes find the explanation is more complicated than the activity. The faster we start, the faster everyone understands. I’ve made the explanations and instructions as lucid as I can. You may still find that it takes a real running for some of the mechanisms to click into place. If anything is unclear or if there are variants which you’d like to let me know about, please contact me at paul@impro.org.uk and I’ll do my best to help.

Ping Pong is a communication game, in which partners succeed by establishing a rhythm together. The temptation is to try to catch your partner out, which can also be fun. (There’s often a lot of laughter.)
It's a game for pairs or for a sequence of pairs. Games for a sequence of pairs are something of a rarity. Depending on how many pairings you want everyone to experience, you can call "Change partners" more or less frequently.

Instructions

1. Trainer says:
o Find a partner. This is a fast-moving game, it’s not a commitment for life. Actually, you’ll be changing partners very soon and will notice the differences between one partner and the next.
o One of you is A, the other is B: it doesn’t matter which is which. We’re going to play Ping Pong, and A is going to serve first. A serves a "Ping", to which B responds with a "Pong".

2. Trainer demonstrates that "Ping" and "Pong" are purely verbal, played with partners face to face, preferably standing.

3. Trainer says:
o It’s a game of rhythm. A serves one "Ping" at a time, waits for the "Pong", then serves another "Ping" and so on. Find the rhythm that suits you and your partner best, then vary it.

4. After about 25 seconds, the trainer says:
o Change server. B is "Ping" and A is "Pong".

5. The trainer needs to remember to call "Change server" every half minute or so throughout the sequence, until judging the moment is right to hand the responsibility over to the group, saying, "You decide with your partner when you want to change server."

6. After A has served two sequences of "Pings", trainer says "Change partner."

7. New partners play the same game for a minute or two.

8. Bell.

9. Now A can serve either a "Ping" or a "Pong." If A serves a "Ping", B responds with a "Pong." If A serves a "Pong", B responds with a "Ping." A can serve any sequence of Pings or Pongs, but only one of either until B responds. It’s still a game of rhythm.

Side Coaching

Trainer circulates, encouraging players to vary speed.

Debrief

How did your partners vary? How did the difference in partners make a difference in you? Were some pairings you experienced more co-operative and others more competitive? Any parallels to work life there? What about home life?

How did you react to mistakes? Were you annoyed with yourself, cross with your partner, or was there a smattering of healthy laughter?

Impro Note

One improvisational element here for the trainer is to judge the moments to swap servers, swap partners and keep the game moving. Ping Pong is very easy to learn and play, but there's danger of boredom as the learning points are recognised. New partners or a new variation of the game help keep it interesting.

Improvisational elements include the experience of making instant choices - of partner and the sequence they elect to serve up. This illustrates the Impro principle of Freedom Within Structure in a very simple way. The structure at its most basic is the choice each server makes between Ping and Pong, and the freedom to choose one or the other. It’s amazing how some players get themselves tangled even within such a simple improvisational framework.

Paul's Tips for Overcoming Resistance

I've tried hundreds of different improv activities with thousands of people. Each individual has inevitably contributed to the process.

Occasionally, however, someone refuses to participate. The activity seems too complicated; they've got a headache, a weak heart, a bad back. Or the person simply doesn't want to play. Whatever the excuse, here are a few tips for overcoming resistance:

• Modify the activity's instructions so they're easier to follow.
• Use humor to disarm and encourage-threats will get you nowhere.
• Give people the option not to play.
• There's nothing worse than being forced to do something you don't want to do.
• Let them observe. They'll still learn something, although not as much as they will if they join in.
• Explain the value of the activity and what they'll miss if they don't participate.

Email Paul