The Surrogate Class Exercise

Abstract

This paper presents an experiential exercise designed to address issues and problems in the communication process. Individuals are asked to provide a surrogate to attend an experiential class session in their place, and to debrief the surrogate for specific and general information. Risk is introduced by the possibility of a quiz on the surrogate class experience. Discussion of the communication process, the barriers to the communication process, and how to overcome barriers to communication provide a valuable training experience.