The power of The Feedback Taxi

There are times when an exercise sticks with you for many years to come.  It could be the way it was run, the experience of taking part in it or even the aha’s or discussions that took place alongside it.

The feedback taxi was one of these for me.

It seemed strange at the time to ask virtual strangers to give feedback on each other, but it’s amazing to see what opinions and perceptions are formed in such a short space of time.  Powerful in fact. 

Given that as facilitators, we often have to form relationships with groups quickly when we don’t know them, it’s actually pretty interesting to see how we come across to people in such a short space of time.

So… how does it work?  It’s pretty simple really.

• Get people into groups of 4.
• Ask them to get 4 chairs and set them up like a taxi – with one driver and three passengers in the back seat. All seats should face the same direction.
• They will take turns to be the taxi driver – ask someone to start in that position whilst the others are passengers.
• Give 5 minutes for the passengers to give feedback on the taxi driver. Feedback should be positive but can be anything about them that the passengers have noticed or appreciated.
• The taxi driver sits silently, facing forwards and listens to the feedback.
• Once the five minutes is up they should thank their passengers and swap around.
• It could be useful at this point to jot down some notes if there is anything that stood out that they want to remember or be able to refer back to.
• Then repeat steps 3-7 until everyone has been the taxi driver.
• You could finish with some quiet reflection, paired conversation about what they heard or group feedback – whatever feels right.

It really is a fantastic exercise.  And whilst my experience of it was in a general sense, you could do this with groups who know each other well and you could focus the feedback on a particular aspect – leadership for example.

For me, experiencing this still stands out and I can remember some of the things that people said even though this was 7 years ago! One of the things I personally loved about this exercise was that as the ‘taxi driver’ I was facing forwards so no one could see my face. It meant that I didn’t have to respond in any particular way, I didn’t have to hold back emotions or a confused face; I could do whatever I needed in order to hear and take in the feedback. 

Could this fit into one of your upcoming workshops? Give it a go and see those smiling faces walking out of the taxi’s!

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If this kind of exercise is right up your street then check out the Toybox – it’s filled with activities and games that are filled with fun, creativity and playfulness.

Take me to the Toybox!