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Riddle Me This – Three

6/12/2025

With the last FUNdoing Post I completed my trilogy of Icebreaker Questions Decks. This post will complete another trilogy – the 'Plus' Riddles Yearly Top 10s. Jump over to Riddle Me This – One (updated with some added Plus discussions) and Riddle Me This – Two for the first two downloads and more details about the Plus Process.

In short, I like using 'bonus time' (instead of filling time) to add a little more group interaction and problem solving. Riddles are a fun way to practice asking questions, listening, and deductive reasoning. The riddles in these collections can also be used to open conversations about the topic of the riddles. For example:

What uses words but never speaks?

The group will then proceed to ask me questions that are answered with a "yes" or "no". After deducing the answer to be A Book, I can continue with some questions about the 'topic' of books: What's the last book you read? What did you like about the book? What did you dislike about the book? What book do you recommend to others? Why do you recommend this book – what can be experienced with this book?

So, 'Plus' Riddles include some additional thinking and conversation. Along the same lines as Icebreaker Questions at the beginning of a program, I use these riddles after my groups have spent some time problem solving together – later in the program.

Have these riddles in your pocket (paper or digital copies) for those bonus times to keep the connections and conversations going. I also like to print a copy and cut the riddles apart so I can distribute them to participants so they can lead the experience (with my help if needed).

Riddle Set Three (Note: clicking on the link will show you a preview of the PDF, it does not automatically download the document.)

riddles_top10evenmore_fd061325.pdf
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Have fun out there!

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

Icebreaker Cards Set 3 (Print-N-Play)

5/23/2025

It's that time of the year when we're thinking about staff training and summer programming. And who doesn't think about icebreakers when we bring people together. And, icebreaker questions! We're always looking for more of those.

This year I've completed my Trilogy of Icebreaker Cards. Three decks was a 'product' goal I had several years ago. My process goal along the way of creating and collecting questions was to find interesting topics to have a conversation about. Not just answer, but dig in a little bit. Yes, some of the questions in the three decks are surface level fun-to-answer questions. However, I think most of the 96 questions in the trilogy (32 question cards in each deck) can take a conversation to another level of connection.

Levels of Engagement (Action)

I've been promoting the idea of three levels of engagement when it comes to connections and conversations. (There may be more, but I'm sticking with three for now – let me know if you have other levels you're thinking about or using. And I just added the idea of 'Action' meaning, simply, levels of experiential participation.)

Level 1: Everyone pick up a card at random (maybe all the cards are face down on a table). Then, participants pair up. Each person asks their question and their partner answers. Then, they switch cards and go off to ask and answer with someone else in the group. Play for 8 to 10 minutes and we've gotten people to talk with each other – an initial connection.

Level 2: Same as Level 1, but this time after someone answers a question (in the pair), the question asker asks a follow-up question related to something they heard the answerer say. Hence, initiating a conversation (Level 1 interactions, for me, are connections, not conversations). At Level 2 we're just asking one additional question as a way to practice 'curious' listening, conversation behaviors, and getting to know someone on a slightly deeper level.

Level 3: At this Level I'm planning extended time (maybe 15 minutes as apposed to 5) to practice conversations and get to know someone (or more) on an even deeper level. I discuss with my groups what they like about having good conversations – appreciated behaviors during a conversation. Then, encourage everyone to consider practicing these behaviors during the activity.

Here's the experience: Pair up participants (before picking up cards/questions). Then, one person from each pair goes to pick up a question to talk about with their partner – you can leave question cards facing up so they can be seen, or face down asking them to pick up a random card/question. (Be sure to set a time limit on this choice – I recommend 30 seconds.) When the person picking the card returns to their partner, the two sit down somewhere and talk about (have a conversation) about the topic on the card. Allow for about 7 to 8 minutes for the conversations to take place and then bring everyone back together to reflect on the 'conversation' experience. One objective of this process is to identify useful conversation behaviors in order to 'transfer' them to future experiences. (NOTE: There are more aspects of setting up a Level 3 conversations which I'll cover in the near future.)

The above are just some basic ideas on using icebreaker question cards. And I know you have others ways to use them as well. So let's get you the Trilogy of fun so you can get started. Here are the decks (deck 3 is the latest one). Please, let me know your favorite questions for good conversation experiences. I want to put together the best 30 from the decks for a 'Conversation Curriculum' module I'm working on.

Thanks!

NOTE: When you click on the Download File link, you will have an opportunity to preview the file before downloading.

icebreakercards_deck3.pdf
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icebreakercards_deck2.pdf
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icebreakercards_deck1.pdf
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Have Fun out there!

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

Human Square: Practicing Communication Behaviors

5/9/2025

I finally programmed time to lead this challenge with a group of 23 adults. It was a group of people who regularly connect so they knew each other’s names and they had established a comfortable level of trust with each other (I asked about this during the needs assessment).

Short Version: (published at FUNdoing, June 2014)
Move everyone together into a close-together clump (graphic on the left). Ask them to put their bumpers up and close their eyes. Challenge them to get into a square without opening their eyes (get to the graphic on their right).

Long Version – Behind the Scenes:
One of the objectives of this group was to explore communication behaviors. They wanted to confirm which behaviors were working for them, which ones they could improve upon, and which ones they were missing. I thought that Human Square would help with detailed communication, purposefully checking in with each other, and the importance of listening.

Midway through the experiences of a three-hour program, I asked everyone to find some personal space, and be close enough to each other so if they reached out, they could touch the people around them on the shoulders (graphic above left). Then we all practiced the art of ‘bumpers up.’ This is where our hands are up in front of us, elbows are slightly bent, and palms are open with our fingers are pointing to the sky and thumbs are touching. This position gives us a little safety cushion when we are walking around in tight spaces with other people (especially when our eyes are closed – after bumpers up practice).

First, we mingled (I was in the crowd modelling some behaviors) with eyes open, around the activity area for about a minute saying hello to each other as we bumped bumpers and shoulders from time to time. I asked everyone to stop, shake out their hands and arms, and then put their bumpers back up. Then, I asked them to close their eyes and mingle around the group again. This time, being more purposeful with their movements and their traveling speed – slow.

During this part of the practice, I had my eyes open watching the group’s behaviors and reactions and turning people back into the group (e.g., calling their name or using my bumpers to turn them) for more practice. After another minute I stopped everyone, had them open their eyes and shake it out. For the most part they ended up staying physically close to each other, so I was ready to introduce them to the Human Square challenge.

The Challenge: Starting from where everyone was standing, I asked them to bring their bumpers back up, thumbs touching……and close their eyes again. Then, I told them the challenge: “Now, I’d like you to move yourselves into a square formation – four straight sides of approximately equal length – without opening your eyes.” I paused for some dramatic effect and to notice (look and listen) for the participant’s reactions.

I then took some time to discuss the ‘moment’ we were in. Here’s the gist of what I said:

“Let’s take a short pause. Please open your eyes and lower your hands – shake them out a bit. Good. Let’s take a team breath. [We learned this at the beginning of the program.] Good. Now, some of you might have moved, figurativley, into a different zone of comfort when you heard what we’re about to attempt. Some of you might be ready to jump right into the challenge. [We learned about the comfort zones earlier as well.] I just wanted to take a moment to reflect. We’ve been working on some communication behaviors. What behaviors have been working for you? [We took time to discuss.] Okay. What communication behaviors haven’t been working for you, ones you’ve been starting to improve? [We took time here.] What communication behaviors do you think you will need for this next challenge? [We took time here.] So, you believe you can remember to use these behaviors to successfully move through the challenge? [Time for responses.] Knowing about the challenge, what other behaviors might you need to implement to support each other during the challenge? [Time for discussion.] Okay. Now that we have reviewed some helpful behaviors, where are you in the comfort zone levels? And if you are in the red zone, what might help you move to yellow? [Discussion here.] [NOTE: We didn’t have anyone identify themselves as being in the red, but we did have several yellows – they shared that the review helped to remind them they ‘had each other’s backs.’ It was inspiring to hear their comments.]

Before setting ourselves to start, I did remind them they had the choice to open their eyes if they needed to. However, if they opened their eyes they were required to stop moving and not speak. If they chose to close their eyes again, they could resume moving and speaking.

Ready! We set the bumpers up, closed eyes, and began. What I remember the most was the first verbal comment: “Does anyone have any ideas about this?” A bit of chaos began the adventure with people talking over each other, but they came up with a norm that helped. Someone stepped in to organize the comments, using names and taking turns. Eventually they formed four groups, each group linked arms into a circle then each opened into a line. Then, the ends of each line were identified and they organized themselves to connect by the ends.

I did step in to verbally share about being careful moving in their lines since some people did not have their bumpers up anymore – however, the ends of the lines did. Once they started, it took about 15 minutes for them to get into the square. (FYI: I was not allowed to share pictures of the process with this particular group. I’ll get some in the future.)

When they believed to be in their square, I asked them to open their eyes. After some celebration and the verbal release of comments and anectotes, we explored the questions we discussed before staring the challenge:

What communication behaviors were helpful?
What communication behaviors did not work?
And what was missing?

We spend the next 20 minutes in a productive review.

The Human Square, I felt, really helped to emphasize communication outcomes for this group. They collected data from their discussion on flip chart paper and planned to use this data as they worked on improving their interactions with each other.

As we all know, each group has a makeup of different participant’s preferences and persepectives. It’s up to us to make our best (educated) guess as to what experiences will help them reach their desired outcomes.

Thought Experiment: What are the factors that might have led this group (above) to a meaningful experience with Human Square?

Please leave your thoughts and ideas in the Comments.

All the best,

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

Tools for Team Builders: Making a Hole Tarp (video)

4/27/2025

I learned the Hole Tarp activity from my friend Tom Heck, probably about 10 years ago. In the last three weeks I saw the Hole Tarp several times during some of my activity hunting boughts (and then realized I never got this one to the FUNdoing Blog). So it's still alive and well. HERE'S a retro video from Tom. In his video you'll see some white tape near each hole. His challenge for the group was to get them to roll the tennis ball across each piece of tape without the ball falling off the tarp.

As you'll see in the video (below), I use lines of different lengths to cross. I have also developed a nice progression with the Hole Tarp (below) to account for the skills and abilities of each group in play. Each Hole Tarp can accommodate 6 to 8 participants. When you have more than 8 people in your group, be sure to have more Hole Tarps on hand. Each group is then free to work their way through the different challenge levels at their own pace. I like to see how many Levels each group can make it through in 15 minutes. (I hope to have a video of some groups in action soon.)

Here is a quick summary of the challenge Levels:

Main Rule: The ball many not be touched while it's on the tarp.
Level 1: Cross as many lines as possible before the ball falls off the tarp. When all five lines are crossed, move to the next Level.
Level 2: Circumnavigate each hole. This means, the ball must travel around each hole crossing the hole's line twice. When all five lines have been crossed, move to the next Level.
Level 3: Circumnavigate each hole ON BOTH SIDES of the tarp. After going around all five holes on side one, get the ball to side two, without touching it, and go around all side two holes.
Level 4: Circumnavigate as many holes as possible. Go around the five holes on side one. Get the ball to side two and go around all five holes. Then, go back to side one and circle the five holes there. Then, back to side two, and so on.

I'll do a full write up of other aspects of the Hole Tarp (like using two tennis balls) once I catch some groups in action. Until then, fill in the blanks as to what makes sense for the challenge Levels.

And, you can reach out to me if you have questions.

Editorial Note: Shooting video by oneself is a bit tricky. Forgive the 'interesting' moments and absorb the intent. Thanks.

Have fun out there!

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

P.S. A big thanks to Training Wheels for letting me film at the warehouse!

Word Building, Ltd. (CrowdWords)

4/10/2025

In 2015 I posted Word Building with Jumbo Letter Tiles. It was a more portable version of Word Building using 3.5 inch noodle chips (with letters written on them). I'm going to share with you (below), the next iteration of Word Building – using 'limited' (Ltd) resources. I recommend you take a little journey back in time and read the original post to get the big picture. This limited edition might be clearer with the additional information.

Needs & Numbers:

You'll need a letter set. The prepped and ready large tile version of choice (for me) is CrowdWords (developed by Trevor Dunlap and Matthew Broda – their activity guide includes 26 ways to use the larger letter tile set).
In this 'limited' version it might be faster to make your own letter set, based on the 'concept' words you have chosen, using index cards or small paper plates. See the original Word Building post for details. (Be sure the letters don't show though the paper product you are using. A light highlighter color works well.)
Use a 50-foot activity rope or four cones to outline the 'letter pool' – a rope circle or cones at the corners of a square.
One spot marker (hula hoop or carpet square) for each team. If inside, you could tape out a small square as a 'spot' for each team.
Flip chart paper (on a stand if you have one), tape and some colorful markers.
This one plays well with 12 to 30 participants (you will be dividing into groups of 2 or 3 people).
And a timing device.

Set Up: The preparation for the game is a little more focused (additional time is needed to prepare). Choose a concept you want to work on and discuss (reflect upon) based on an objective a group is working towards. It could be teamwork, leadership, trust, collaboration, community, etc. For example, I asked an AI engine to give me 15 five-letter words related to behaviors of a cooperative community – the bonus included a little information on how the word fit – 'Blend' - harmonizing differences into unity.

Then, I picked 10 of them for the 'word list' I'm going to use with a group of 30 participants:

Build
Reach
Share
Trust
Model
Value
Adapt
Align
Offer
Blend

In preparation for the activity, I'll write all of these words on one piece of flip chart paper.

Once I have all the words, I'll need a letter tile for each letter in each word – I need 50 tiles to make all the words. With this particular list I would make my own tiles since there might not be enough 'Es' or 'As' in a set of CrowdWords(?). Then, here's the other time requirement. I want to include at least 15 to 20 extra letter tiles that ARE NOT in any of these words. So, I will make a couple of 'Js', a couple of 'Ks', and a few 'Ys', a couple 'Qs', 'Ws', 'Xs', and 'Zs'.

NOTE: If you are going to be working with less than 30 participants, you might not need as many words. Think of how many groups of three you will be making (and maybe there are one or two groups of two), and be sure to have a word for each team. For example, if you have a group of 16, you'll have four teams of three and two teams of two. You need six five-letter words.

Almost ready! Now that you have your letter set, place down your rope circle (or coned square) and place all the tiles, letter-side down, inside the shape of choice. This is the 'letter pool.' (See the header picture above.) Somewhere near the letter pool display the list of words your going to use with your group. Place down a spot marker for each team around the letter pool. Each spot should be about 5-feet from the pool. Now you're ready.

Let's Play Word Building
When your group arrives, creatively divide them into small 'teams' of three (and some twos if needed). Invite each team to locate one of the spot markers and stand by it. They are ready for the rules. The rules for this limited version are just about the same as the original – just some minor additions. Your going to frontload the game this way:

"You are all on a small team. During this game, each team is required to gather enough letters to make one of the five-letter words on this chart." [Point out the chart.] "These words are related to some of the behaviors that take place within a cooperative community."

When you have purposefully planned time for this, discuss some of the words on the list – "How are these words related to a cooperative community?" You are priming the group with information about community behaviors. Some they might use during the activity, some they may not. Like this: Prime-Experience-Reflect. "What behaviors showed up for you and how were they helpful," for example.

Then continue: "This is a timed event. Your group, all the teams, is challenged to complete the task as quickly, and safely, as possible. Time will start when the first person enters the letter pool in front of you. Time stops when every team has created a five-letter word. Here are the rules of play:"

RULES of PLAY

Only one player from each team can enter into the letter pool at a time (e.g., if there are 10 teams, up to 10 people can be inside the letter pool).
After entering the pool a player is only allowed to pick up one letter tile.
If a player chooses to take this tile from the circle, no one in the 'group' may look at the letter until it is flipped over onto the teams spot marker.
All players on each team must take turns going into the letter pool - meaning, all players from a team must go into the pool once before someone can go in a second time and so forth.
If a team decides to keep the letter taken from the pool it is placed down on their spot marker and must be touching the spot or be touching a letter that's touching the spot.
If a team decides NOT to keep a letter it is brought back into the letter pool and placed letter-side down inside the pool. In other words, if a letter is not wanted it goes back into the pool – letter-side down. This mean a letter tile may not be given to another team.
Each team may have up to six letter tiles at their spot - when the seventh letter tile is brought to a team's spot one must be taken back to the pool on the next player's turn and placed letter-side down before picking up another tile.
When all teams have spelled out a five-letter word at their spot, the time stops.

Here's what I like about this variation:

My educated guess is (I haven't tried this version yet), many groups will not have the foresight to assign each 'team' a different word from the list at the start. They do not yet know there are just enough of the right letters to make all the words. To discover this fact, they will have to fail, identify the problem, and solve for it before the next attempt. NOTE: I predict I will get this question at some point: "Do we all need to build a different word?" I will answer (repeating the directions), "Every team will need to build a word from this list." (I do not want to solve a problem I'd like them to solve.)
There are resources that will not be needed to complete the task. What will they do with them? How will they discover they are not needed? What will they do with them? Will they be 'in the way' or will they put them somewhere so they they won't repeat work that is unnecessary?
When will they discover that helping each other, within the rules, is essential to getting 'better.' Who will discover this and how will it be accepted by others?
Will the participants focus more on the task, and getting faster, or will there just as much focus on the process and the people within the process – listening to and taking care of each other's needs.

I'm guessing three or four games will shift the mental models needed and move groups to a faster time and acceptable interaction – process improvement. Check out the original post for some additional reflection questions I like to use with this activity.

Let me know what you discover and if you find any other useful additions (or omissions).

Thank you for what you do out there!!

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

Name Games (Revisited)

3/14/2025

The 2025 Training Season has started and we're jumping back into the popular topic (and experiences) of learning names – using 'Name Games.' Back in 2016, I posted the 'Let's Talk About' topic of Name Games. I shared the historical favorite, Toss-A-Name Game from Karl Rohnke and my point of view about Name Games, and it's still as strong in me as ever:

I know "Name Games" in two ways. Activities that use names as a helpful behavior within a task, and activities that are used to learn and practice names.

My name-learning games include challenging my participants to 'test out' early on in the program. This testing is a risk-taking experience chosen (or not) by each person. It's not required, just simply offered as a way to motivate learning names. (Read more about the process of testing out at the link above.)

Over the years I have posted some of my favorite Name Games. Each game is accompanied with an invitation to test out one's knowledge of the names in the group.

Name Card Exchange is the one I start with most often because I can use name cards in so many other ways (see also, Story Cards). The link takes you to a deep dive into the activity (one of the What? & Why? entries at the OnTeamBuilding blog. If you don't want to go too deep, just read the What? part – how to play).

Name Warp Speed is a good one for learning names through observation and listening during a fast paced challenge. It's a no-prop version of the activity Group Juggle.

I did an update of Toss-A-Name Game with Proper Tossing Procedure in 2024 to add a bit more learning about effective communication.

Toss-A-Name Game Crowd Calling. This is a new one for me. I just found it in Karl Rohnke's Bottomless Baggie (1991) when I found the Name Tag variation below. Karl credits this variation to 'Torbert.' Simple: “…as the object [only one is used in this game] is thrown to a player [after the group is introduced to this change], the thrower no longer calls that person’s name. Instead, all those in the group who remember the catcher’s name, shout it out.” The one object is tossed around until it appears everyone is calling out everyone's name.

I used Name Tag a little bit in 2024, but it lacked a group learning process. However, I just ran across a variation to Name Tag Karl Rohnke shared in Bottomless Baggie (1991) that I'm excited to use. [Please read up on Name Tag before you read this easy tweak.] “When [the first] person taps someone and says their name, they must join hands with that person and move as a pair [eyes open] to tap and name a third person [all in the chain must say the new person’s name]. Then, the three go tap someone else – all three linked players say the fourth person's name, and so on. The game ends (stop the timer) when everyone has joined hands" (p. 103).

Fill Me In This season I brought back Fill Me In back into my line up (Rohnke, FUNN STUFF Vol. 1, 1996). It's like Toss-A-Name Game without tossing stuff and plays like Name Warp Speed (above) without the structured pattern. Everyone circles up. If they don't know everyone's names yet go around the circle sharing first names a few times – players are encouraged to pay attention to the names so they have some options to start the game with. Then, one person begins the action.

The starter says someone's name and walks towards them to eventually take their spot in the circle. The person whose name was called must now move from their spot and call another player's name in the circle, walking towards them in order to take their spot. After one of the random patterns is started, and continues, another person can start another pattern, calling a name and walking towards that person to take their spot, and so on. Players are encourage to observe, learn, and use new names (new to them) during the process so they can 'TEST OUT' (see above) between rounds.

Remember, the simple assignment of 'testing out' can turn any name game into a 'learning names' game.

What is your favorite name game? Leave us a Comment so we can learn more.

All the best,

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

Relationship & Trust Building Cards (Print-N-Play)

2/28/2025

A recent client wanted me to begin their requested teambuilding program (for six people) with a trust activity. The client was concerned about the trust level in this particular management team. Instead of explaining my belief that every experiential group activity has the potential to focus on the concept of trust I simply agreed to include one.

Serendipitously, I ran across an activity called 'Trust' while searching SessionLab for reflection activities. [The link goes to a post called, '53 team building activities for work (and to have fun!)' – mentioned in the last FUNdoing post. Scroll down to the 'Team Bonding' section in the post to find the details for the Trust activity from the Thiagi Group.] I decided to use this one for a 'Consider & Tag' experience as a way to find out some of the top concepts and behaviors the team of six had about trust in the moment.

Building Relationships & Trust Cards – Consider & Tag (my name for the experience)

Needs & Numbers: One set of 30 R&T Cards (and some blank cards - included in the PDF) for a group of 6 to 24. You'll also need some markers (I like providing Sharpies), some masking or painters tape (easier to remove from the walls and the cards), and some small pads of PostIt notes).

Set Up: My favorite way to set up the cards is to tape them on an open wall (safe to tape things onto – some places do not like things taped to their walls). I tape the cards with some good distance away from each other (if I have it), so when participants are doing a little 'Gallery Walk' to 'Consider' the information on each card, there is room to move around each other.

In the case of my group of six, I placed the cards around the the edges of the large conference room table in the room (another way to display the cards). I had enough room around the (gigantic) table to spread the cards out enough to make room for viewing.

There have been Consider & Tag experiences where I scattered the cards around on the floor as well. Be creative with the space you have. Just be sure there's lots of room to move around the cards.

Process: The basic frontloading I use for any Consider & Tag experience is to present the related concept the cards support and then provide some time for the participants to consider which cards are most important to them. This consideration period can be anywhere from 3 to 10 minutes (or more) depending on the groups objectives and the time you have.

Then, there will be a time for everyone to 'Tag' their top choices. The number of tags everyone gets varies based on the amount of time you have for the experience. For example, I tend to give groups larger that 12 three tags (each person's top three choices), and groups of 12 or less I ask everyone to tag their top five choices.

Tagging shouldn't take too long, participants will have a pretty good idea (after considering) of their top choices once they begin tagging. Before tagging, everyone will need a little pack of PostIts. (I take the standard pack of PostIts and break them up into 4 or 5 little packs and put all these little packs in a convenient place to pick up.)

Then, decide, based on the group, if you would like each person to write their first name on their PostIts or leave them blank. Is the group ready to let everyone know their choices, or will it be better to be (somewhat) anonymous? Once the tagging process is understood by the group, let them tag away.

When someone is done with their tagging, they can return to their seat (if you are set up for sitting), or they can spend more time 'considering' – walking through the cards some more to see if they want to change their mind, or take a little break until everyone is done.

When the tagging is complete, it's time to look at the data. Let participants quietly return to some gallery walking to see what was tagged. I like to remind my groups that the data represents what their group members find most important to them in that moment – it doesn't mean cards without tags are not important. There have been a few times, based on a group's objectives, when we also spent a little time talking about diverse perspectives.

Processing: After an appropriate amount of time to review the data (gallery walk), the group can discuss the findings. Here are my two favorite questions during this part:

What is the data telling you?
What else is the data telling you?

Of course, there are a variety of ways to discuss the group's experience based on their objectives. I like this process because it brings a BIG concept (in my latest experience with the cards, building trust) into some focus as to what is most important to the group at the time. In my example, my group of six started talking about the top tagged cards (above) and were ready to develop some future actions to put the concepts and behaviors into practice.

Extending Idea I had a little time to try something with this management team of six to experience some consensus-building. I asked them to rank the six cards shown above in order of importance. I said, "If you were to use these concepts and behaviors as your immediate priorities and put team into action, which one would you start with, then, what would be your second, third, fourth and so on."

After about 10 minutes, I stopped the group to notice the point that 'deciding' on priorities and actions takes time and commitment, as they already knew. So, I said, "As a group, how do you want to go about allocating the time you need to tackle the goals you have for yourselves in the coming months?" (This was a task I left them to think about and address during the second day of their retreat.)

If building consensus skills was one of the group's objectives, I would have provided more time for them to work out the priority of the cards. But with the brief encounter with the exercise, the group recognized the point. (And I know I can extend this process with any Consider & Tag activity in the future.)

Here are the Relationship & Trust Building Cards. Let me know how they work for you. Leave us a Comment.

relationshiptrustbuildingcards_cavert_2025.pdf
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All the best,

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

The A-Files (Vol. 4)

2/14/2025

Here's another installment of The A-Files. I run across short activity snippets in my piles and files (both paper and digital) all the time, from conference workshops to ideas generated in that space between asleep and awake. Some fast (short-form) fun that might catch on. Check out the others volumes: Vol.1, Vol.2, Vol.3

What You Say – Courageous or Play It Safe

What You Say is a staple icebreaker in my programming repertoire. It's a tell-things-about-yourself experience with some 'challeges' by choice built in. I often use it to frontload a program to talk about the adventures ahead, the opportunities everyone has to choose their level of challenge along the way, and the chance to explore ones comfort zones in a supportive environment. My friend Jon shared another challenge he includes with this one. (Jon told me he calls this Brave or Play it Safe. I use 'courageous' in order to weave in some of the work from Brene' Brown. See below.)

Using a deck of standard playing cards, take out the face cards and then scatter out the Aces through 10s on top of a table or on the floor, rank side up (making a pool of cards). Before getting into the instructions of the activity, frontload the experience with a discussion about the concepts of courage and playing it safe. (Brene' Brown talks about 'ordinary courage' – the fact that most people make courageous (i.e., brave) decisions every day. Being courageous is not always about epic deeds. Just getting up each morning and facing the day can be a courageous act.) Then, provide the instructions and share this final directive with everyone before they choose a card: "Before you choose a card, I'd like you to make a choice. For this first round, will you choose to play it safe, or be courageous? If your choice to play it safe, and remember this is your truth, your choice, choose a lower number. If you want to step out of your comfort zone a bit, be courageous, choose a higher number. Once you've picked up a card, pair up with someone in the group to share the information about yourself. If there is still some time left after sharing, ask each other questions about what you heard your parter tell you."

After the first round (e.g., 3 to 4 minutes), discuss with your group some of the reasons people chose the card/number they did. Be mindful about lining up this discussion with the program objectives of the group. After the discussion, collect all the cards, return them to the pool, mix them around, and then ask everyone to choose another card – playing it safe or being courageous. Play out a second round and then discuss the choices they made this time, and why?

Note: I've used this version of What You Say a few times now. However, I've placed it in the middle of my program sequence, reasoning that participants should have some time interacting experientially with each other before they are given a choice between being courageous and playing it safe. Using this one too early could force them to choose a higher number than they really want in order to 'save face' and not look 'weak' or 'chicken.' Build up some psychological safety and group support behaviors before this didactic choice and make the conversations meaningful.

Rope Challenge

I love to find (and develop) team building activities using webbing or rope. I found this energizer (my distinction) at the Develop Good Habits website (not a fan of all the adds, but I do run into content I like at this site from time-to-time).

Needs & Numbers: Use a 15-foot webbing (Raccoon) circle with groups of 4 or 5 or a 50-foot ropes circle with one group of 10 to 20.

Process:

Make a circle (tie the ends) out of your webbing/rope for each group in play.
Each group lays out their circle on the ground or floor.
Each group stands inside their circle and sets up their webbing/rope so it is taut on the back of their ankles.
The challenge, for each group in play, is to move the webbing/rope up from their ankles to their wrists without touching the webbing/rope with their hands.
When the webbing/rope reaches waist level, everyone in the group must raise their arms/hands up over their heads and keep moving the webbing/rope until it reaches their wrists.

'Hummdinger'

My circle of fun grew recently. My new acquaintance Silvio reached out and shared one of his adventures with me – the "Activities and Games by Silvio" YouTube channel. He's just getting started – you know I Subscribed. In his current batch of videos I found 'Hummdinger.' Love it! A nice interactive group clustering activity requiring audio communication – Humming. Do check out Silvio's video and explanation (link above).

Quick Synopsis: Provide and practice, by humming, four well-known songs like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star; Row, Row, Row Your Boat; The Alphabet Song – "A, B, C, D, E, F, G....; Queen Songs, ABBA Songs, or Songs from musicals – anything popular with your group. Have some fun practicing the songs so everyone is humming loudly in preparation. Then, ask everyone to quietly choose one of the songs – don't tell anyone. When ready, ask everyone to start humming their chosen song, mingle around the group and find others in the group humming the same song. Same songs stay together, humming and gathering up others humming their tune. When everyone is in a group, go around and let each group hum a few lines of their song to identify themselves to everyone – nice and loud.

One Breath Feedback

I'm often asked about how to prevent (or limit) over-sharing (i.e., talking to much), especially during a reflection session when time is limited. Here is a crafty way to set a boundary on talking (click on title above for full details). I found this idea at the SessionLab Post 1/21/25 (This particular activity is way down in the 'Check Out and Recap' section of the page – I thought you might like to see the entire post. LOTS of activity ideas.)

Quick Synopsis: After sitting down for a reflection session, ask your group a question that will highlight some learning from the last activity. Tell everyone to quietly THINK about the question, then SHRINK down their thoughts into the important points, and then (breath deeply and) SHARE their highlights with the group using only one exhaled breath. After everyone has had the opportunity to share, ask another question participants can respond to in one exhaled breath of time.

Thank you for the work you do. Be courageous out there!

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

Key Pad Express 2

1/23/2025

I designed Key Pad Express (a.k.a., 'Chicken Express' when tossing a rubber chicken during the challenge), back in 2016 for a multi-group corporate program. We were working on process improvement through better communication. I finally posted it to the FUNdoing blog in 2020 after finding the (lost) video. This version really changed the old Keypunch (Rohnke) activity for me, getting more players moving throughout the activity and adding more 'problems' to solve (e.g., throwing, catching, more responsibilities).

Recently I found myself thinking about other ways to use numbered spots and Pressure Play Too came to mind. With larger groups, of 30 to 50, participants work through the suits of playing cards moving from player to player in sequence. I think we can do the same thing with smaller groups using numbered spots.

Key Pad Express 2

Needs & Numbers: I have yet to try this version of Key Pad Express (only a conceptual idea right now). When I do, I plan to use it with groups of 6 to 10 participants per number pool (a number pool looks like the graphic above). Of course, when I have a larger group, I'll divide it up into smaller groups. I'm going with sets of 30 numbered spots (or numbered index cards). This gives at least three 'responsibilities' to each participant in a group (see below). A 50-foot rope can be used as a boundary of the pool (shown above), but it's not required.

Set Up: Scatter around 24 to 30 numbered spots (as shown above). If you are using a 50-foot rope, lay it out first in whatever geometric shape you like, and then scatter the spots inside – number sides up. (Again, the rope is not required.)

You can make numbered spots using small paper plates, index cards, or save those white plastic lids from yogurt containers (for example) and use a permanent marker to number them. Of course you can also buy yourself a set or two. Search online for 'numbered game spots' – there are lots to choose from!

The further you scatter apart the numbered spots, the more room players will have to move around others in the group. When the spots are closer together the physical risk factor of 'bumping' (i.e., crashing) into someone increases. So, choose the set up that is most appropriate for your group and their objectives.

Play:

Gather the group(s) around outside the number 'pool' area(s) - maybe about 5-feet away.
The challenge they will have is to 'Tap Out' all the numbers in the pool as quickly and safely as possible.
This will be a timed activity. (Each number pool group separately or as an all-group challenge – decide based on group outcomes. Individual group process improvement or an all-group – time stops when the last group is done. See Facilitator Notes below.)
Give each group in play time to plan without going into the number pool – they can move around it, but not step inside.
Here is the Expectation: When planning time is over, one player stays outside of their number pool, the other players will go into their pool and each stand on the first numbers. For example, in a group of 10, one person stays outside their number pool (they are not standing on a number), the other nine go into the pool, each standing on one number, one through nine.
When a player is standing on a numbered spot, the spot must be covered with the person's feet. The person can leave their number after being Tapped Out.
When everyone is set, "GO" is called and the facilitator starts the time.
The player outside of their number pool goes into their pool and Taps Out (i.e., tags) their teammate standing on the number 1 spot. Once tapped, this player leaves their spot to go Tap Out the player on the number 2 spot. Once tapped, the number 2 player goes to Tap Out number 3. Number 3 then goes to 4. This process continues until all numbers are Tapped Out.
Once a player Taps someone out, they have the responsibility to go to their next number in the sequence that is open. (Hopefully during planning, all players have determined their responsibilities – the numbers they are going to stand on. If not, problem solving will unfold.)
The numbers, not covered before the activity started, 10, 11, 12 and so on need to be covered (stepped on) by the players who Tapped Out their teammates. Essentially, a number cannot be Tapped Out unless someone is standing on it. And the tapper cannot stand on the number and tap themselves out. (Clever, but against the rules.)
When the number 30 is Tapped Out the player that was on 30 moves outside of their number pool and yells, "DONE!"
If groups are woking independently, the facilitator calls out the time when a group shouts "DONE" and keeps time running in order to call out the next times for other groups in play. When working for an all-group time, the facilitator stops the time when the last group yells, "DONE!"
After the first timed Round, the group(s) has (have) a baseline. Program enough overall time so at least two additional Rounds can be played in order for the group(s) to do some planning and problem solving to lower their time – process improvement.

Reflection: Discuss learnings and insights around the Planning Process; Roles and Responsibilities; Problems and Solving Problems; Personal and Group Safety; Cooperation and Collaboration (e.g., when 'all-groups' timing), as well as, Failure and Success – What led to each? What do we want to keep? What do we want to change?

Facilitator Notes:

Timing the Activity: When there are enough timing devices (e.g., stop watch, smart phone), you can require that each group keep their own time. This will necessitate the role of a timer. Then the question is: Will the timer be 'required' to participate in the process of Tapping Out? It's a bit challenging to multi-task during the activity, but it can be done. NOTE: When I have my groups time themselves, I provide stop watches. I prefer not to take the risk of a smart phone flying around the group. Make the best choice for your group at the time.
Human Locomotion: The challenge states, "as quickly and safely as possible." Have a thoughtful conversation about safety and expectations – what is reasonable for the group. Keep an eye on the group(s) and slow things down when needed.

We'd love to get some data on how this goes out there! Please leave a Comment below.

Have fun out there!

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

Figuratively Speaking Conversation Cards (Print-N-Play)

1/10/2025

During my continuous effort to understand how language is used to create meaning, I have run into a significant number of lists with two-word quotes or “phrases.” It became apparent that some of these phrases did not have a true literal meaning, they are used in a figurative context – an understanding of the phrase can take on slightly different meanings depending on the perception of the person using it. I’ve collected some of these figurative phrases (below) and put them on small cards to use as conversation starters in small and large group settings. The phrases can even be used as a way for one person to contemplate what shows up for them after drawing a card from the deck and reflecting on the phrases meaning and significant in the moment.

Activity Objective: Participants share the meanings of the phrases they hold during conversations with others in the group.

Facilitated Objective: Learn more about the ways peers, within a group, think about ideas and explore the use of figurative language.

Needs & Numbers: Print and cut out the 36 phrase cards below on light colored paper of your choice. For long-term use I suggest you laminated the cards. This set of 36 cards works well with one-on-one conversations and up to 36 participants in small group conversations.

Time: 15 to 20 minutes at any time during a program – longer if you plan for more ‘conversation’ practice.

Set-Up: On a table or open floor space, spread the cards out, phrase side up or phrase side down (for some mystery). When setting them out phrase side up, be sure all the phrases are visible for reading.

Procedure: These cards are simply prompts to short, or long, conversations – What does a phrase mean to the person holding it?

Initially, get a card to each person in the group. Cards can be scattered out on top of a table (as described above), or you can have a few people in the group deal out the cards to everyone.
Explain that these cards have a ‘figurative’ meaning (you might go into a bit more explanation if needed). Have participants take a moment to quietly reflect on the meaning of their phrase and how this meaning might be significant to them in their lives.
When ready, ask everyone to form groups of two or three people – encourage the group to be inviting and meet new people.
Let them know they will be sharing their thoughts about the phrases they are holding within this small group, and they will have about three minutes together to engage in short conversations about their thinking.
Remind everyone to stay curious and ask questions related to what others are saying to keep the conversation going.
At the end of the three minutes, ask the group to ‘shuffle’ their cards. Meaning, walk around and exchange cards with others mingling throughout the area.
When you say, “STOP” everyone should have a new card/phrase to reflect upon and talk about after getting into new groups of two or three people.
Provide time for several rounds as a way to put more new faces together.

NOTE: You’ll notice some blank cards included below for figurative phrases you’d like to add to your set.

Here is your Figuratively Speaking set of cards:

figuratively_speaking_2025_cavert.pdf
File Size:	779 kb
File Type:	pdf

NOTE: Clicking on the document link gets you to a preview – it does not automatically download. You can print yourself a master copy from the preview. If you want to save a copy to your computer, click the download icon at the top right of the preview page.

Please let us know how these conversation starters work for you. Leave us a Comment below.

Have fun!

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.