Frog, Dog, Monkey

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Observe how people locate signals, filter background noise, and coordinate non-verbally under sensory constraints.

Use it when: Use as an active energizer or as a light demonstration of filtering signal from ambient noise in communication sessions.

Skip it when: Skip when the room has fixed furniture or tripping hazards, when participants experience high anxiety without sight, or when the group has sensory aversions to loud, chaotic noise.

Group arrangement: Whole group moving in an open space, sorting into three animal clusters. Spotters observe from room perimeter.

Timing: Based on the 5 to 15 minute band in source materials; 10 minutes fits a fast round and focused debrief.

Materials and tools

• Pre-cut slips of paper with animal assignments (Frog, Dog, or Monkey)
• A clear, open room free of tripping hazards
• Optional blindfolds or sleep masks (entirely optional)

Before participants arrive

1. Clear tables, chairs, bags, and cables to the perimeter of the room.
2. Prepare slips marked Frog, Dog, or Monkey in roughly equal ratios for expected participants.
3. Plan for at least one spotter per 8 people. If you do not have co-facilitators, invite participants who prefer not to close their eyes to serve as spotters.

Say this to open

You will each receive a slip naming an animal: Frog, Dog, or Monkey. Keep your animal secret. Your goal is to gather with everyone who shares your animal. You cannot use human words. You can only make your assigned animal sound: Frogs say Gribbit, Dogs say Whoof, and Monkeys say Ooh Ooh. You will complete this with eyes closed or with eyes cast directly down at your own feet. If you prefer not to participate in the physical search, you can join me around the perimeter as an active safety spotter.

How to run it

1. Explain rules and assign roles 2 minutes

   Explain the safety rules: slow walking only, hands raised in bumper position, and either eyes closed or eyes cast directly down at your own feet. Invite anyone who prefers not to search to serve as a perimeter safety spotter alongside facilitators. Distribute one animal slip to each remaining active participant. Ensure active participants divide roughly evenly across the three animals.

2. Scatter and set visual stance 1 minutes

   Ask active searchers to scatter across the open room. On your signal, participants close their eyes or keep eyes cast directly down at their own feet. Spotters position themselves evenly along the room perimeter to gently steer anyone who gets close to a wall.

3. Call and cluster 4 minutes

   Give the start cue. Participants continuously call their animal noise (Frogs say Gribbit, Dogs say Whoof, Monkeys say Ooh Ooh) and move slowly toward matching sounds. When matching animals meet, they link arms or tap hands and continue calling together to locate remaining peers. The activity ends when three distinct groups have formed or four minutes elapse.

4. Verify groups and debrief 3 minutes

   Call halt. Have everyone open their eyes and check their animal slips to see if clusters are accurate. Invite two or three participants to answer the debrief questions based on how they isolated matching sounds amidst the noise.

Debrief questions

• What specific listening tactics helped you locate your animal group through the room noise?
• How did your communication shift once you found a partner compared to when you were searching alone?

Finished output: Three distinct participant clusters grouped accurately by assigned animal sound, with everyone who chose to search accounted for.

Remote

This physical sound-locating mechanic cannot run online because video conference software collapses audio into a single monaural or stereo mix without room acoustics. A labeled remote alternative is Sound Match: participants turn off webcams, one player hums a pitch, and others take turns unmuting to match the pitch until the whole room harmonizes.

Hybrid

Hybrid delivery is not recommended because spatial sound localization does not translate across video software. If remote participants are present, run a separate remote grouping game or place remote attendees in breakout pairs to complete an audio-only listening task.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may keep eyes cast directly down at their own feet rather than closing eyes or wearing blindfolds.
• Participants who prefer not to move without sight or who wish to pass on physical activity may take a room spotter role to guide colleagues away from obstacles.
• Participants with vocal fatigue or hearing impairments may clap a steady rhythm or use a small handheld noisemaker instead of making vocal calls.

If the session gets stuck

Participants move too quickly or bump into one another aggressively.

Call pause immediately. Remind everyone to hold hands up in bumper position with bent elbows and shuffle their feet slowly.

Room noise gets overwhelming and drowns out calls completely.

Call a three-second silence pause. Let participants listen to where calls were originating, then restart calling at moderate volume.

Terms used here

• Bumper position: Hands held forward at chest height with elbows bent and palms outward to cushion accidental contact with walls or people.