Back

Follow all instructions activity

You are here: Home / Free Games & Activities / Communication skills activities / Follow all instructions activity

Activity - Communication skills - Follow all instructions

Follow All Instructions – Listening & Assumptions Activity

This quick, surprising activity highlights how people often act before fully listening. It’s ideal for kicking off training sessions on communication, attention to detail, or team instructions. Participants usually laugh — and then reflect — when they realize what they missed.

Purpose

To demonstrate how easily people jump to conclusions without carefully listening or reading. Helps reinforce the importance of pausing, processing, and following instructions fully before acting.

What You’ll Need

  • One printed copy of the “Follow All Instructions” sheet per participant (see below)
  • Pens or pencils

Instructions

Distribute the handouts face-down. Ask participants not to turn them over until you say so. Emphasize that they should read the instructions carefully before doing anything.

Then say: “When I say go, turn your paper over and begin. Follow the instructions exactly as written.”

Most participants will immediately start doing the steps… without fully reading the last instruction.

At the bottom of the page, they’ll find something like: “Now that you have read all the instructions, do not do any of the tasks above.” That’s the twist — and the learning moment.

Debrief & Discussion

  • How many people completed all or most of the tasks before reaching the final instruction?
  • What made you act before finishing the full list?
  • What does this tell us about how we listen or follow instructions in real life?
  • Where might this type of assumption or shortcut cause problems at work?

Trainer Tips

  • Make it lighthearted — some may feel slightly embarrassed by the twist. Keep the tone fun and supportive.
  • Time the activity strictly and do not hint at the trick.
  • This is a strong opener for communication, customer service, or task accuracy workshops.

Optional Variation

  • Group Challenge: Run the same activity in teams and observe how they influence each other’s behavior or rush to finish first.

 

 INSTRUCTIONS

1. Write all of your teams initials at the top right hand corner of this sheet.

2. Write your first name on your sheet of paper.

3. Write the total of 3 + 16 + 32 + 64 here: __________________

4. Underline instruction 1 above.

5. Check the time by your watch with that of one of your neighbor’s.

6. Write down the difference in time between the two watches at the foot of this page.

7. Draw three circles in the left hand margin.

8. Put a tick in each of the circles mentioned in 6.

9. Sign your signature at the foot of the page.

10. On the back of the page, divide 50 by 12.5.

11. When you get to this point in the test, stand up, then sit down and continue with the next item.

12. If you have carefully followed all these instructions, call out ‘I have’.

13. On the reverse of this page, draw quickly what you think an upright bicycle looks like from overhead.

14. Check your answer to Item 9, multiply it by 5 and write the result in the left hand margin opposite this item.

15. Write the 5th, 10th, 9th and 20th letters of the alphabet here: ___________________

16. Punch three holes with your pen here : o o o

17. If you think you are the first person to get this far, call out ‘I’m in the lead’.

18. Underline all the even digits on the left hand side of the page.

19. Draw triangles round the holes you punched in Item 15.

20. Now you’ve finished reading all the instructions, obey only 1, 2, 20 & 21.

21. Stand up and say, “We’re the greatest team in the World!”

Explore Related Training Material Packages

This activity works well alongside our Emotional Intelligence Training Material Package and Presentation Skills Training Material Package. For more free exercises, visit our Free Games & Activities Library.

36 Full Courses & 6 Mini Courses.

39 Full Courses & 6 Mini Courses

Get all available programs
& save ...!!

Price: $4499.95 $2995.95

Great Value For Money

Read More
Train The Trainer + Presenting With Impact

The Presenter-Trainer Package®

Train The Trainer

Presenting With Impact

Price: $359.95 $299.95

SAVE $59.95

Read More
Retail Excellence Series

Retail Excellence Series®

3 Complete Courseware
Packages in 1

Frontline Retail Selling Skills

Retail Sales Planning & Forecasting

Passionate Retail Experts

Price: $539.855 $349.95

Pay for 2 Get 1 Free

Read More
Sales excellence series

Sales excellence series®

3 Complete Courseware
Packages in 1

Sales Management

Professional Selling Skills

Sales Territory Planning & Routing

Price: $539.855 $349.95

Pay for 2 Get 1 Free

Read More
Call Center Excellance Series

Call Center Excellence Series®

4 Complete Courseware
Packages in 1

Handling angry and difficult callers

Call control

Find a way to say YES!

Successful telephone debt collection

Price: $719.95 $449.95

Pay for 2 programs and Get 2 programs Free

Read More
Communication Excellence Series

Communication Excellence Series®

4 Complete Courseware
Packages in 1

Communicating with clarity and impact

Negotiating for results

Conflict resolution

Presenting With Impact

Price: $719.95 $449.95

Pay for 2 programs and Get 2 programs Free

Read More
Customer Service Excellence Series

Customer Service Excellence Series®

5 Complete Courseware
Packages in 1

Vision, Energy & Passion To Serve

Pathways to service excellence

Find a way to say YES!

Passionate Retail Experts

Setting others up for success

Price: $899.75 $599.95

Pay for 3 Get 2 Free

Read More

Find Out
Your Leadership
Style

Instant Download Training packages

All you need
to deliver a great training!

Our training material packages come with all you need to provide
a professional and accelerated learning solution with

training-materials-slides2

High Impact
Power Point Slide Deck

To support immersive learning, a high impact professionally designed power point slide deck to engage trainees at all levels.

training-materials-student-workbook2

Student
Workbook

A comprehensive reference workbook you can give out to your class participants as a quick future reference.

training-materials-trainer-guide2222

Trainer
Guide

With step-by-step clear directions with tips and suggestions on what to say and how to present each slide.

excercise-sheets2

Activity
/Exercise Sheets

Various training material and support documents to help you both explain and debrief the different exercises, activities and games Plus a fun final Jeopardy style review game as a fun ending for your training program.

additional-documents2

Additional
Support Documents

To ensure you have all you need to deliver a complete and professional training program, additional supporting documents are included with each full course material package. From training evaluation forms to 5 different certificate templates that you can edit and hand out to your participants at the end of your training.

job_aid_forms2

Job Aids
& Forms

Specific forms designed to extend and reinforce the training that participants can utilize back on the job to help them apply the new learned concepts (Select training material packages)

Get all our training Packages
and Save!

Save over $1500 and Get each full program for under $99.00 & 6 Mini Courses free