For two-and-a-half hours, the team at Information Access Group had our wits tested and our senses challenged at Dialogue in the Dark. Equipped with white canes, we were immersed into complete darkness. Then, after a moment of adapting to our new environment, our series of unknown challenges began.
Without visual cues, we immediately began talking over each other and not working together effectively. This, as well as a lack of clear leadership in the group, resulted in us running out of time and failing to complete our first challenge successfully.
After contemplating how we worked together during this task, we quickly recognised that verbal communication and effective leadership was essential.
With these lessons front of mind, our second challenge was much more successful. Communication was more effective and leadership was taken by members of the team.
To conclude our session, we were all treated to coffee, tea and cake – that we had to serve ourselves in the dark. Negotiating hot beverages and cake knives was a challenge! But we continued our newfound teamwork and managed to streamline our approach to cutting, pouring and serving.
What is Dialogue in the Dark?
Dialogue in the Dark was founded by Andreas Heinecke in 1988. After spending time with a colleague who had low vision, he wanted more people to understand what he had learned – that low vision or blindness should not be considered a disability. He believed that people with low vision or blindness simply experience a greater a range of other abilities. And he wanted people to feel empathy, rather than sympathy, for people with low vision or blindness.
The first Dialogue in the Dark experience was in Frankfurt in 1988. However, Guide Dogs Australia partnered with Dialogue in the Dark to bring the program to our shores. The organisation has employed more than 10,000 guides with low vision or blindness across 42 countries.
To book a corporate workshop or experience the public exhibition, visit their website.
What the team thought…
“I loved this experience. It was fascinating to listen to the team in action in such a focussed way. We all walked out of there with a new sense of achievement and a better understanding of our team dynamics. One team member in particular had an amazing sense of achievement – this was priceless. I highly recommend this experience to other teams.” – Lyndall
“The Dialogue in the Dark workshop was quite confronting. It forced everyone to listen and communicate more clearly. It’s only when such a valuable sense is taken away that you realise how much you take that ability for granted. Once the initial fear of the unknown was overcome, excitement took over. I was really looking forward to the challenges thrown at us in the workshop. All in all, I found the experience a really beneficial one and by the feedback received from my colleagues… they did too!” – Sean
“Dialogue in the Dark is something that I never would have thought to do, but I’m so glad I did. It was confronting, challenging and a tad scary – but it’s also one of the most incredible experiences I’ve had and I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.” – Emily
“When I think back on the experience, I immediately think ‘nothing is impossible if you put your mind into it’. We may all have had the same feeling of fear when we were in the dark, but then we began to utilise all of our senses, especially hearing and touch. We used touch to feel the objects in one of the challenges. We also listened to each other to come up with a strategy to solve the tasks. We recognised the each other’s strengths and delegated the tasks to the right people. And with the time restraint, we just had to finish it no matter how challenging it was. When we do things that we haven’t done before, we can be pushed to our limits. But it’s important to overcome the fear and win it. That’s why I think anything is possible, we just need to try and see how far we can go.” – Michelle
“Dialogue in the Dark was a little challenging but ultimately a fun and exciting experience. I think it forced us to really consider how we work as a team and appreciate the unique skills everyone brings to the table. It solidified trust amongst everyone and to me personally, reaffirmed my belief that as a team, we can do pretty amazing work.” – Kristen
