This is an exercise from teacher Corey Brown to practice giving and receiving offers.
Two people up. Give one a playing card (or a business card or even a scrap of paper). Then give them a suggestion. Either person can start regardless of who has the card.
Continue the scene until the person with the card makes any kind of an offer.
“Man, I’m beat,” or
“You look happy,” or
“Nice weather outside.”
Or a more indirect one, like, “John, get in my office,” which implies they’re at work and that the other person works for him, probably.
At that point—when the person with the card adds something—he passes the card to the other person. The card represents his offer. When the person takes the card, he must explicitly accept the offer.
“You look tired all right,” or
“I AM feeling pretty good!” or “Yeah, look at that blue sky,” or (as John) “Sure, Bill, here I’ll close the door.”
Simple is better. The response should just confirm the information.
Then you keep going until the person who now has the card makes another offer. Then she passes the card back, and the person taking it explicitly confirms that offer.
It’s not essential that the person who takes the card agrees with an opinion. If the person says
“This job sucks,” and passes a card, you could take the card and say, “I know—you really hate it here.”
Let the card go back and forth five or six times.