Introduction Circle :: A Simple Warmup For Names and New Groups

Submitted by elias on Fri, 05/03/2010 - 19:02

This is a simple warmup exercise designed to introduce new groups to each other and their workshop facilitators in a casual, fun and simple way. This can be most useful to try to help participants remember each other's names as well as getting a glimpse at each others' personalities.

Participants

4-30 participants of any age

Equipment

  • Space to form a circle with participants
  • Optional: A small ball or item to pass around the circle

Duration

3-10 minutes, depending on size of the group

Activity

  • Get all the workshop participants to stand up and form a circle. 
  • You will now go around the circle and everyone will state 3 facts about themselves.
    • Your name
    • What you had for breakfast
    • If you were a superhero, what superpower would you have
  • The last couple of questions can be changed to suit your particular workshops, so they might be things like "What is your favourite movie?" or "Which suburb are you from?" etc
  • It is sometimes helpful to pass a ball or small object around the circle to create a sense of urgency. When someone catches the ball they have to start stating their answers, and as soon as they finish it, they pass the ball to the next person.
  • The facilitator should go first. The circle goes anti-clockwise, one person at a time.
  • Once everyone has answered the questions and the item has returned to the facilitator, it is then revealed that everyone must now pretend they are the person to their left. They need to answer the questions as if they were that person, for instance Alan needs to say "My name is Georgia, I had oats for breakfast and I would have elasticity as my superpower."
  • Again, the facilitator begins, and the circle goes anti-clockwise.
  • If participants get stuck, simply remind them of the name they were meant to remember, and get them to move along. Situations like this are easier with an item to pass along, so the circle has a focus to physically move with.
  • Once everyone has done this, the facilitator can now move on to the next activity.

 

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