When Contestants Cheat

We recently developed a custom game show experience for a pharmaceutical company's annual sales event. By all accounts, the event and the game were incredibly successful--keeping participants engaged, motivated to absorb presentation content, and keeping the event energy high.

However, we were amazed to find out that whenever the teams could, they were trying to cheat to get ahead or win. (Our sense of game show fairness was appalled!)

The kicker? The content was all about rules and regulations within the industry: how they couldn't bribe, cheat, make false or leading claims, or imply incentives in trying to sell their drug into the medical industry. The content? About not cheating in the industry. The game show participants? Cheating. And shamelessly, too.

When we were writing our game show book, we sent an advance copy to fellow training game guru Thiagi. We had included tips on how to prevent cheating (though we never imagined it on this grand a scale), and Thiagi commented: "Advise trainers to think: What does cheating say about the culture of their organization?"

And what *does* cheating in a mere game show say about the mentality of the audience? It's not all bad:

• They're invested in the game 
• They want to win
• They're highly competitive
• They may break rules to get to success

In this case, the highly competitive sales force in a very lucrative field just didn't want to lose. In their industry there are multi-million-dollar penalties for subverting the rules. Because the cheating was happening on such a grand scale in the event, there was no way to fairly enact penalties--the teams that "weren't" cheating just weren't getting caught, and at some point one must be careful that the host doesn't devolve into scolding and penalizing above conveying information.

The cheating was allowed to continue, but only because the following elements were in place:

• Low-value prizes. The higher the value of the prize, the more people will be at each other's throats about cheating and the enforcement of the rules. 
• The contestants were getting the information--and in some cases were reinforcing the information more through their cheating ways than would have normally occurred. We didn't mind that they were looking up answers in their materials in some cases since it was still reviewing the information.
• The host was willing to go-with-the-flow and game play was not interrupted significantly by the teams' antics.
• Judges were used to keep the host out of the fray.

If the prizes had been great, the content had been taking a back seat to winning, or the event was being disrupted then penalties or a pause in the game would have had to be enforced.

There are a few ways that one can help minimize or prevent cheating--though we find that if a team is determined to cheat it is very hard to fight against that drive successfully and come out looking like a positive host.

• Keep prizes small. In most cases, we find that winning is a prize in and of itself and contestants don't even inquire about what they're going to "win" when they get into the game.
• Have judges. Judges can spot infractions and enforce penalties without the host having to sully their hands.
• Clearly explain the rules beforehand--this way when one is broken, everyone acknowledges the reference/rule.
• Enact small penalties for rule infractions. You don't want to turn into "bad-cop" trainer, but knowing BEFORE they cheat that there will be a penalty for that behavior can prevent cheating. 

At the end of the game, the point isn't to win--so some rules of civilized game play can be discarded or treated with a light touch. As long as contestants are engaged and involved with the content (accomplishing the game's purpose of aiding and abetting learning) and are in good spirits about the game play, a little cheating doesn't always significantly harm the game.

Creating Questions: Creating Knowledge Experts

We do a lot of custom game creation for clients--either as part of a consulting/launch package with Gameshow Pro, or as part of their event, workshop, etc. This entails taking their content--often in packets, brochures, PowerPoints, etc.--and distilling the important information, then making that information into questions.

What we've found is that, well, we're learning a LOT about a lot of different topics. Question creation is creating subject matter experts out of us! (Go ahead, ask me about the double loop process in knowledge database creation...)

This makes sense. It takes a deep understanding of material to create good questions. You have to find the key content, have a question that is appropriately relevant AND create plausible distractors.

This isn't a unique discovery, however. For years, we've been hearing how teachers have used Gameshow Pro with their students--having the students create questions for each other. So maybe it's time to start bringing question creation into the corporate world as a learning tool for trainees.

The benefits of question creation:
A creator spends an extended amount of time with materials--familiarizing themselves with both the content and where to FIND the content.
This creates a feedback loop of question creation--sharing--answering that reinforces information multiple times without feeling redundant
The creator has to absorb more information than merely contained within the question

Implausible Distractors

One of the tricky parts about writing multiple-choice game show questions is including plausible distractors. Those are the answer options that are NOT correct, but still sound correct enough to provide an appropriate level of challenge.

However, there are some times when you want a multiple choice question, but the plausible distractors aren't so obvious or even necessary. Perhaps you just want a quick review, and it's more important to reiterate the information than to make the question challenging. Perhaps you're looking for a speedier game that relies on quick recall instead of making a judgment call. Perhaps there's just a lack of available distractors in your content.

Whatever the reason, occasionally you need an implausible distractor... and this is when we like to add a little humor into the game show. For instance, I was recently creating questions for a customer using their content, and this was a question used [content changed slightly to protect information privacy]:

Q: What's “in it for you” to search the answer database if you already know the answer?

A. Search-typing builds finger strength
B. You don’t have to retype the solution
C. It validates your answer
D. Both B&C

 The answer was D, of course. Answer option A is an implausible distractor--you pretty much know that's not going to be the answer, but it is slightly amusing. In this case, the client didn't want to conflate the content by adding more benefits or benefits that were slightly-off or *could* technically be right, but weren't.

The benefits of using humorous implausible distractors can be:

• They break the pattern of thinking, causing a participant to pause in the routine of game play
• They can increase the level of cognitive processing without increasing the difficulty of a question
• They add entertainment value (and can be a place to insert relatable in-jokes)
• They can highlight the point you're trying to make
• They are also fun to write

Implausible distractors aren't always necessary, but in the right game play situations, they can add a level of levity and fun to even a serious game--without detracting from the content.

Hey! Keep it Down in There!

We recently helped a client Gameshow Pro 5 in their educational workshop.

This session was part of a multi-day event, and attendees could sign up for any session that they so chose. Groups would rotate after a set amount of time--giving attendees the opportunity to be in more than one session and making the presenters give multiple presentations with the same content.

When our client came to us, they were concerned about the interest level of their content. This was a sales group we were dealing with, and they had heard all about the new customer management system (the topic of their workshop), but they weren't adopting the technology as the sales leaders had hoped. So how were they going to generate excitement around not-new information?

With a game show, of course*!

The workshop ended up being structured like so (game show sections in italics):

Welcome

Introductory game questions (2 questions using Gameshow Pro 5's AllPlay game)

Subject: Account Planning

Review game: Account Planning (5 questions: GSP5 AllPlay)

Subject: Customer Management System

Review game: CMS (5 questions: GSP5 AllPlay)

Summary, additional info and questions

Review game: Both topics (6 questions: GSP5 Classroom Feud)

Closing words

We divided the audience of 60 into two teams--based on the complex criteria of being either on the left or right side of the room. For the AllPlay games, every member of the audience had their own keypad and entered answers individually--the percentage of correct answers going toward their team's score. For the Classroom Feud game, we took several volunteers from each side to come up and play for their team (while the audience cheered them on).

The entire session ended up being about 90 minutes--with games interspersed to keep the energy high.

And boy, was the energy ever high! Aside from a marked increase in attention to the content (just in case anything came up in a game), and retention of the content (as seen in tracking their individual responses) there were two stand-out results:

1. Since the workshop breakout rooms were beside each other at the hotel, you could hear the game being played in other classes. Not the game sound effects, mind, but the cheering, encouragement and general good time. One of the other leaders--jokingly--asked the facilitators to "Keep it down in there!"

2. As a result of the energy spilling out of the room, spontaneous attendance to the workshops increased dramatically. The client had people come up and say, "I know I wasn't signed up for your class, but do you have room for one more..." People *wanted* to come in and play, because it sounded like there was life and energy in the session. It attracted quite the crowd, and as a result MORE people received and retained the information than would have otherwise.

The game shows were a great success. Both the presenters and the audience had a tremendous amount of fun--but it wasn't fun without a purpose. Most importantly: the audience walked away with the message.


*Disclaimer: Game shows may not be the answer to everything... just most things. ;)

What'll be new in 2011?

2010 was an amazing year for game shows in training!

Here at LearningWare, we:

• Developed new ways to embed AllPlay Web within a webinar using Adobe Connect, omNovia and other platforms. 
• Got a new keypad partner in Meridia--allowing for our customers to have greater flexibility with their audience response keypad choices. 
• Released Gameshow Pro 5--adding new game boards, a new design, a new backend, AllPlay functionality and MORE to the most popular game show software for training.
• And more (including moving into a new office)!

BUT we're not resting on our laurels. Here's what's on the docket SO FAR for 2011:

• New games for QuizPoint, our popular online game show software.
• New games for AllPlay Web, bringing more variety and engagements into webinars, elearning and virtual classrooms.
• An iPad control app: The ability to completely control our Gameshow Pro 5 software using your iPad.
• OSHA 10 and OSHA 30 Construction games: Pre-packaged, plug-and-play games making OSHA training entertaining, effective and far more engaging.

But that's just a start. Going into the next year, we'll continue to innovate by leaps and bounds--helping instructors deliver more engaging, effective and fun training.

So what do you want to see in 2011?

Simply Having a Wonderful Game Show Time

Here's an idea: A Virtual Holiday Party.

We all want to connect with our family, friends, co-workers and other loved ones over the holiday season. (Or at least some of the above.) However, distance, travel, time and budget often prohibit us from having everyone we want come to the holiday festivities.

Recently, we attended a virtual holiday party held by speaker/author/trainer/guru/wonderwoman Lou Russell. Since she couldn't get all her friends, clients and co-conspirators together, she hosted the party online.

Of course, the question comes up: how does one create a party atmosphere in a virtual environment?

Interact-interact-interact! Lou hosted a variety of party games. Using collaborative webinar technology, attendees could decorate a Christmas tree, play the dreidel game, list thoughts of community and family for Kwanzaa--and even play a holiday trivia smackdown (including Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and Festivus questions)!

The latter was played using AllPlay Web--our software that lets you create and play game shows in a real-time webinar environment. The webinar audience (of about 100) was divided into two teams--the elves and the reindeer. Each person had a virtual keypad on their desktop that allowed them to answer the game questions. The reindeer triumphed in the end (despite a valiant effort from the elves), but everyone interacted and had a festive holiday competition.


The virtual holiday party was a fabulous idea for getting everyone together. In fact... hmm... we might "borrow" that idea for next year. :)

If you want to get a taste of the holiday competition, you can play our QuizPoint holiday game--using many of the same questions that were played during the virtual party. Just click here and good luck!

You're Using a Game Show for THAT?!

When we talk to customers, we're always surprised at the broad range of content/material they incorporate into the game shows.

We were even more surprised as we uncovered that some trainers were using game shows to cover very traditionally sensitive/serious topics: sexual harassment, diversity training, etc. Topics where one wouldn't normally see people cheering, or --heaven forbid-- having fun.

I asked one trainer--a coordinator for student living on a college campus--why they were using game shows to train students on recognizing and reporting sexual assault. This was his response: "The subject is very serious and VERY important. However, we need to have an open dialog about it, and playing the game show diffuses the tension inherent in the room. People feel more open."

Here are some of the reasons why playing a game show with sensitive subject matter can be beneficial:

Your content is serious, but YOU don't have to be. Just because the content is serious, doesn't mean you have to take yourself seriously. It's okay to have fun--even in sensitive situations. Obviously, one doesn't want to be irreverent to the point of offensiveness--and pre-framing so that the content isn't trivialized is important--but adding competition to engage the audience is no crime.

The more important the subject, the more important the retention. It's critically important that employees know how to recognize harassment in the workplace. If the training is not engaging, they're less likely to remember the content. Game shows are a proven strategy for increasing attention and retention. Even though the content is serious, having a dry, non-engaging training session may jeopardize the content itself.

Games diffuse tension. No one likes to talk about personnel issues, for instance, but sometimes an open dialog is absolutely necessary. The friendly competition of playing a game breaks the ice and diffuses the tension in the room; allowing a trainer to segue into a deeper discussion.