Lost at Sea was an activity we did to improve our teamwork skills. The task was to rank a list of items from least to most important in a scenario in which we were stranded at sea and needed to survive. First, we did this individually, which was done in order to see our opinion and then we ranked the items again in groups after that. It was interesting to learn about how everyone in my group ranked their items, and although it did not make me feel that I was wrong with my choices, it definitely made me reconsider. In our group, we had some disagreements with the importance of certain items, and part of that was based on knowledge. For example, I placed the radio quite high up because I believed that it would be crucial in trying to get help, but someone pointed out that it was one-way and essentially useless. I didn’t know this, so we placed that item much further down. If anyone disagreed with something that was suggested, we talked through it quite rationally and I am proud that the group handled itself in a mature manner. However, when we really clashed heads and could not really come to a conclusion until someone backed down, It became difficult to know if it was right or wrong.
On the one hand, if I relented, it meant that I was putting someone else’s opinion above mine and allowing for a conclusion to be reached faster. On the other hand, it felt as though I was undermining my own opinion and there was always the chance that I was right! I like to think that we didn’t really come to such a problem, but I did generally agree with what the group was saying overall. In hindsight, this was a good thing, since I did better with the group than I did by myself, but not by a lot. When comparing our rankings with the official recommendations, I think we got a bit accusatory towards one another, with people saying that they were right and got something lower or higher because they were swayed by someone else’s opinion. But we did survive, so I think it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. I discovered that it is important to voice your opinion when working in a group, even if you feel that you may be mistaken. Sometimes, I was worried that I would embarrass myself and look stupid by ranking a certain item too high or low, but even if I did make a glaring mistake, sharing it was better so that I could learn and understand instead of just agree without thinking. You cannot be too mellow, and let people disregard your input.
Overall though, it was an excellent activity, which improved my communication skills a lot. I found myself wanting to explain and share and adjust the way that I was speaking so that everyone felt included. One of the people in my group was someone I actually don’t speak to a lot and I’m proud that their voice was also heard. I made sure to let them suggest their ideas too and tried to ask them for their ranking, or if they agreed with a decision whenever possible. I think that working together was far more interesting and useful than working alone because of people’s different perspectives, knowledge and strengths.
