Tangram is a puzzle that originated in China. The puzzle was first introduced to the Western world by the American Captain M. Donnaldson in February 1816. Donnaldson took the puzzle to the United States where it quickly gained popularity thanks to the book The Eighth Book Of Tan. From America tangram reached England and from there the European mainland. Tangram may refer to the Chinese Tang Dynasty and the Greek word Gramma. In addition to creatively puzzling different geometric figures, tangram is also extremely suitable for use in communication training.
Item layout
- Tans, the pieces of the puzzle
- Using tangram in communication training
- The effect of the telephone game
Tans, the pieces of the puzzle
A complete tangram puzzle consists of 7 tans (the pieces). The 7 tans consist of different shapes, if all tans are placed against each other in a certain way they form one large square in the whole. Many different geometric figures can be put together with the tans. According to the rules, all tans must be used to make a figure. The shapes of the 7 tans are:
- 2 large triangles
- 1 medium triangle
- 2 small triangles
- 1 square
- 1 parallelogram
Using tangram in communication training
A tangram puzzle is also an ideal part of communication training. As part of the training, a so-called telephone game can be played in which one person starts puzzling and another person gives instructions from a distance. A person then pretends to be a helpdesk employee. This person has an image of a figure that can be made with the tangram puzzle.
The other person is a puzzler and has a complete tangram puzzle. This person supposedly calls the helpdesk. The puzzler will make the tangram figure on the basis of instructions from the helpdesk employee. Of course the puzzler is not allowed to see the picture of the figure and the helpdesk employee is not allowed to see how the puzzle is being played. By continuing to ask questions and listen carefully, the helpdesk employee and the puzzler can get a visualization of what is meant.
The execution
The puzzling can possibly be done through a real telephone conversation, but the most practical way is that the two people sit in the same room with their backs to each other, so that they cannot see each other. To make it more difficult it can be agreed to use alternative names for the tans such as “pyramidIf triangle or square is said, this falls under specialist language and counts as a penalty. For example, the helpdesk employee can give a description of the tans, but could also ask what the puzzler sees. penalty points.
The telephone game can also be played with several “help desk employees”. If a person is unable to resolve the matter, a so-called warm transfer can be made to a colleague. The colleague can then continue from the point where the other person could not get it out. As in a real situation, the puzzler in this case must be informed that a colleague is going to help further.
The effect of the telephone game
By playing the telephone game, participants can train and test their communication and creative skills. By means of improvisation the problem solving ability of a participant emerges. Of course, the figure of the tangram puzzle does not have to be accurate to the millimeter with the image of the figure. However, it is intended that it looks as good as possible. Participants can be tested on their stop words and professional language. Teaching a suitable welcome phrase (part of the day, name of the company and the name of the employee) and the course of the telephone conversation are also central.