Personal Presentations Activity
A simple exercise in which each participant prepares a personal presentation of him/herself sharing several important experiences, events, people or stories that contributed to shaping him or her as an individual. The purpose of personal presentations is to support each participant in getting to know each other as individuals and to build trust and openness in a group by enlarging the social arena.
The goal of this activity is to help each participant get to know each other as individuals and build trust and openness in a group by expanding social reach.
Each participant prepares their personal presentation: a short presentation about “3 things (experiences, events, people, stories) that have contributed to shaping the person I am today.” The presentation should be visualized using words and symbols on a single flip-chart paper. Give participants about 15-20 minutes to prepare this.
Presentations: Each participant gets 3 minutes (or more depending on time and group size) to present his/her presentation to the whole group. Encourage focus and active listening.
If you are a smaller group, where time is not limited, facilitators can invite members of the group to ask questions to each person immediately after his/her presentation.
Important Tips
It can be effective for one facilitator to do his/her presentation before participants be their own. This helps role model personal storytelling and supports participants to select their own things to share.
It is very important to create a safe and inviting space since individuals will share personal stories.
In some cases, individuals may share experiences that generate emotion in themselves and/or within the group. As a facilitator, remind participants that this is normal and welcome. If individuals become very emotional, follow-up with them individually after the session.
Moment of Reflection
- How did this activity help you identify the experiences, people and moments that built you as a person?
- How do you feel after making the personal presentation? Why?
- What do you think of the presentations shared by other people? Did you identify with similar experiences?
- After the presentations, what did you discover about yourself and others?
The topics of this publication: reflection, self, mindfulness, integration, interactions, foster relationships, emotions, empathy, trust, active listening
