Awareness Circle Activity
The Awareness Circle helps participants get to know each other without saying a word and shows that everyone on a team has a connection. Another great takeaway from this activity is to take note of the diversity (or lack thereof) in the room and consider this as a point for future team development.
Getting to know people is easier for some members of a group than it is for others. While extroverts can start chatting to new team members with ease, introverts may find it more difficult to bond with their team and create meaningful team bonds.
Gather your group and have them form a large circle so everyone can look at each other’s faces. Inform that this is a silent exercise, no talking what-so-ever, even if you do not understand the statements.
The facilitator has a list of statements, such as:
- I play a musical instrument
- I’m the oldest in the family
- I have traveled to another country
- I am artistic
- I’m a foreigner
- I am a believer
- I am the only child
- I’m the youngest in the family
- I don’t believe in God
- I am an activist
The facilitator reads some of the statements, one at a time. At the end of each statement pause. Instruct that if the statement is true for an individual, they should step forward into the circle.
Take a moment to have each participant look around who is in the circle with them and who is not. Then step back into the circle to listen for the next statement.
When all of the questions have been read, invite the participants to add, one at a time, a statement that is true for you that hasn’t been mentioned already.
Moment of Reflection
- What was this exercise like for you?
- What did you like about it? What didn’t you like about it?
- Was there anything that surprised you?
- What was it like to be the only one in the middle?
- What did folks notice about how people are classified just in the categorization of questions asked (race, gender, social grouping, etc.)
The topics of this publication: interactions, integration, active listening, team bonding, motivation, diversity, reflection, disinhibition, distension, foster relationships
