Exercise · Emotional Intelligence for Leaders
Debate Game "Zigzag"
Experience the emotions of an argument in a safe game and learn to analyze your reaction: what set off the emotion and how it affected your words.
Time60 minutes
Participants2 teams
MaterialsChairs in two rows, self-analysis sheets
From the trainingEmotional Intelligence for Leaders
Why this exercise
It is easy to talk about emotional intelligence when everything is calm. "Zigzag" creates a real argument: participants defend a position they have been assigned, respond to each other along a chain and quickly notice where the emotion starts speaking instead of them. Self-analysis straight after the game turns this experience into a skill.
How to run it
- Propose a debatable work statement the group has opinions about. For example: "Fines for lateness improve discipline" or "Bonuses should depend only on results".
- Split the group into "for" and "against" teams — regardless of personal opinion. 10 minutes to prepare arguments.
- The teams sit in two rows facing each other. The first "for" participant makes an argument, the participant opposite responds and makes their own "against" argument, the next "for" participant responds to that one — and so on, zigzagging through everyone. No more than 30 seconds per turn, two or three rounds.
- Self-analysis (20 minutes), each person in writing: what emotions did I feel; where was the peak and what set it off; what was happening in my body; how did the emotion affect my words; was it useful for the task; what would I do differently.
- General debrief — 8 minutes.
Debrief questions
- Who noticed the moment when the emotion started to control their words?
- What set off the strongest reactions: the argument, the tone, the words, the people?
- What helped you stay calm in the argument?
Tips for the facilitator
- The topic should stir emotions but not touch on personal matters: no politics, no religion and no real conflict in the company.
- If the argument gets personal, stop the game: "We argue with the argument, not the person." In the debrief, use this moment as an example of a trigger — without names.
- Give anyone who does not want to argue someone else's position the role of observer: they note the emotional dynamics and speak first in the debrief.
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