same manager is asked to repeat the exercise

After the results of the attempt to explain the diagram ,using one-way communication

have been recorded, the same manager is asked to repeat the exercise but the second

time facing the group and with unlimited opportunity for questioning. A similar type of

diagram is convened into words and back into a diagram again by the rest of the group.

There is a standard pattern to this second stage of the experiment. It takes longer, the

accuracy is usually much higher, it is rare for there to be no error, and again the

instructor over-estimates the level of accuracy. The assumption is usually made that, if

people have queries, they will raise them. The reality is though that, even in the relatively

placid context of a training course, people may have inhibitions about asking questions.

They may feel embarrassed about their inability to draw the diagram, be confused by the

instructj..Q.n, have wrongly thought that their reconstruction was correct, have failed to

catch the eye of the instructor at the right time, or lost interest. The instructor may fail to

appreciate that there can be this variety of reasons for people not raising queries and

make the common error of assuming that silence means that everyone has accurately

reproduced the diagram.
Bogus feedback

One of the crucial points that emerges from the rectangles exercise is that people

responsib\e for initiating communication need to consider both what the evidence is for

them assuming that communication has been effective and the consequences of

communication being defective. Y