How to Draw Straws over Email
Determine your participant pool., Assign a letter for each participant., Select your short straw., Encrypt your document., Email the encrypted document to all participants., Send the password to your participant pool.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Determine your participant pool.
The number of participants will directly correlate with the number of "straws" you need.
For example, a pool of 6 participants mandates a total of 6 straws. -
Step 2: Assign a letter for each participant.
For the aforementioned example of 6 participants, you would use letters A, B, C, D, E, and F.
These letters represent your straws. , Create a new document in Microsoft Word, pick a letter from your list at random, and enter it into your document.
This letter will be your short straw.
You can also assign a number to each “straw” for the purpose of creating a random ordered list--for example, you might type in "A3, B6, C2, D1, E4, F5"
wherein the participant who chooses “D” will be listed first, “C” will be listed second, and so on.
Similarly, you can randomly assign tasks to letters, such as “A
- Powerpoint, B
- Timekeeping, C
- Coffee and Doughnuts...”.
Thus, the participant who draws “A” will be in charge of the powerpoint, “B” will be in charge of timekeeping, and so on.
This is a fair way to distribute undesirable tasks.
In both of these cases, you would type the full list into Word, rather than just one letter. , This step ensures that other participants won’t be able to accuse you of skewing the results.
For Word 2010 and up, you will need to click "File" in the upper left-hand corner, then select the "Info" tab.
In the ensuing menu, click "Protect Document"
select "Encrypt with Password"
and enter a password of your choice.
Click OK to confirm; some versions will ask you to re-enter your password before accepting it.
Click "Save As" and save the file as a Rich Text File (.rtf) to complete the process.
For earlier versions of Word, click the Microsoft Office Button in the upper left-hand corner, click "Prepare"
and then click "Encrypt Document".
Enter your password into the Password box that appears and click OK to confirm.
Click "Save As" and save the file as a Rich Text File (.rtf) to complete the process. , Attach the file to an email in which you ask participants to respond with their choice of letter from the given range--for example, A through F.
Make sure participants know to select "Reply All" when answering.
Emphasize that letters may only be chosen once.
If you are in the participant pool, let your recipients know that you have to choose your letter last so you don't have an unfair advantage. , Once everyone has chosen a "straw"
send out the password so your participants can open the Word documents to see which one of them wins (or loses). -
Step 3: Select your short straw.
-
Step 4: Encrypt your document.
-
Step 5: Email the encrypted document to all participants.
-
Step 6: Send the password to your participant pool.
Detailed Guide
The number of participants will directly correlate with the number of "straws" you need.
For example, a pool of 6 participants mandates a total of 6 straws.
For the aforementioned example of 6 participants, you would use letters A, B, C, D, E, and F.
These letters represent your straws. , Create a new document in Microsoft Word, pick a letter from your list at random, and enter it into your document.
This letter will be your short straw.
You can also assign a number to each “straw” for the purpose of creating a random ordered list--for example, you might type in "A3, B6, C2, D1, E4, F5"
wherein the participant who chooses “D” will be listed first, “C” will be listed second, and so on.
Similarly, you can randomly assign tasks to letters, such as “A
- Powerpoint, B
- Timekeeping, C
- Coffee and Doughnuts...”.
Thus, the participant who draws “A” will be in charge of the powerpoint, “B” will be in charge of timekeeping, and so on.
This is a fair way to distribute undesirable tasks.
In both of these cases, you would type the full list into Word, rather than just one letter. , This step ensures that other participants won’t be able to accuse you of skewing the results.
For Word 2010 and up, you will need to click "File" in the upper left-hand corner, then select the "Info" tab.
In the ensuing menu, click "Protect Document"
select "Encrypt with Password"
and enter a password of your choice.
Click OK to confirm; some versions will ask you to re-enter your password before accepting it.
Click "Save As" and save the file as a Rich Text File (.rtf) to complete the process.
For earlier versions of Word, click the Microsoft Office Button in the upper left-hand corner, click "Prepare"
and then click "Encrypt Document".
Enter your password into the Password box that appears and click OK to confirm.
Click "Save As" and save the file as a Rich Text File (.rtf) to complete the process. , Attach the file to an email in which you ask participants to respond with their choice of letter from the given range--for example, A through F.
Make sure participants know to select "Reply All" when answering.
Emphasize that letters may only be chosen once.
If you are in the participant pool, let your recipients know that you have to choose your letter last so you don't have an unfair advantage. , Once everyone has chosen a "straw"
send out the password so your participants can open the Word documents to see which one of them wins (or loses).
About the Author
Donna Hernandez
Creates helpful guides on pet care to inspire and educate readers.
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