The following is an exercise that you might try with friends. The first person expresses the message to the second person, who in turn expresses it to the third, and so on, until six people have heard it. Ordinarily, the message is audiotaped and played back. This allows the participants to see the many ways in which messages are altered as they pass from person to person. MESSAGE: A child has hurt herself at the pool, and I must report it to the police. However, it is necessary for me to get to the hospital as soon as possible. She was walking up the diving board and getting ready to jump, when someone in a blue bathing suit pushed ahead. A boy in a red suit tried to stop her, but she fell off and landed on her back. The boy claims it was the young girl’s fault, but she blames him.