Extreme challenge interview

Aims of the tool

· To help participants identify and recognise their personal expectations, concerns and feelings before a learning activity (EVS project, training course or youth exchange)
· To encourage participants to express their personal expectations, concerns and feelings
· To share the above information with other participants on the same project or activity

Description of the tool

Break the group up into pairs and explain:

“You have to interview your partner, imagining that the interviewee is preparing for a trip to an
exotic place as part of a challenge. Your task is to interview them about what they will do during
the trip and what they hope to achieve and learn. You need to find out how your partner is
preparing for the trip, and the worries, difficulties or obstacles that they expect to come across during the journey.”
Give the participants a script of the interview (you may print it out on the handouts or write it on a flipchart during the activity):
· Why did you decide to take up this endeavour?
· What are you planning to achieve and learn during the quest?
· What exactly is the quest about? What are you going to do? What is your daily life going to be like?
· How are the preparations going? Have you already got all the information about the place you are going to?
· What do you expect to be the most difficult par t of the journey?

Tell them they should allow a maximum of 15 minutes per person, before the pairs switch roles, and the interviewers become the interviewees. Ask them to write down the most important information about each other on a piece of flipchart paper, which they will present afterwards.
When all the participants have interviewed each other, ask them to present their results. Each
participant will talk about the person that he or she has interviewed. Allow 30-40 minutes for the
presentations part.
Stick the posters with the information on them on the wall. Set aside 10-15 minutes after the presentations for debriefing, comments and summary.

Debriefing

· Do all the journeys have something in common?
· What are the most common worries and expected difficulties?
· What are the most useful preparation tips?
· Which of the ones presented by your colleagues caught your attention? Why?