Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Help me prepare and run the exercise below. First ask for my participant count, time, setting, access needs and intended result. Check these against the stated limits. Use the supplied rules and materials. Explain any proposed changes before using them, and label them as adaptations. Do not invent source claims or require personal disclosure. Give me one step at a time when I say start. I manage the people, physical activity and clock; do not claim to observe the room. Ask me what happened before choosing a next step.

Reference revision: 8598ba3e303e260ea8c547d931194be60666ec85148d521c5c6c7e768a37ef4d

# Designing Inclusive Discussions

Participants design a kitchen layout for a fictional client with specific physical access needs, compare clashing designs, and translate universal design principles into concrete agreements for group meetings.

**Time:** 65 minutes. Source specifies 65 minutes across setup and five steps: 15 min design, 20 min showcase, 15 min discussion design, 5 min showcase, 10 min debrief.
**People:** 6 to 24. Small groups of 3 to 4 participants, plus whole-room synthesis.

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Compare universal design and specific accommodations by prototyping spaces and setting concrete agreements for group conversation.
**Use it when:** Use when launching a collaborative cohort, committee, or team that needs shared norms and accessible meeting practices.
**Skip it when:** Skip when the meeting has a brief transactional agenda or lacks time for conceptual analysis and structural design.

## Materials and tools

- Printed client profile slips (one profile per small group; 8 slips provided for up to 8 small groups)
- Printed Designing Inclusive Discussions Worksheets (one per participant)
- Pens or pencils (one per participant)
- Blank scratch paper or flip chart paper for sketching kitchen layouts (one per small group)
- Whiteboard or flip chart and markers for facilitator recording
- Summary chart of group discussion styles (prepared in advance or drawn using the supplied baseline data template)
- Laptops or tablets (one per group if running hybrid, or for all remote participants)
- Shared digital whiteboard platform (required for remote or hybrid sessions)

## Before participants arrive

1. Prepare the summary chart of discussion styles. If participants completed a prior style assessment, compile aggregate counts of preferred speaking pace, reflection time, and concerns. If no prior survey exists, post the provided baseline sample chart.
2. Print and cut client profile slips so each small group receives a distinct card.
3. Place blank sketching paper and copies of the worksheet at each table cluster.
4. Arrange seating into small group clusters of 3 to 4 people.

## Say this to open

Welcome. We often expect everyone to adapt to a standard environment, whether that is a workspace, a kitchen, or a meeting. Today we will design a kitchen for a client with specific physical needs, explore where those designs conflict, and apply universal design principles to build a discussion process that works for all of us. Keep your assigned client secret from other groups for now.

## How to run it

### 1. Design a client kitchen (15 minutes)

Form groups of 3 or 4. Deliver the opening script. Hand each group one client profile card secretly. Instruct teams to use scratch paper and Part 1 of the worksheet to map how their client makes a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, noting shelf heights, prep surfaces, reach tools, and cleanup. Stop when groups finish their layout.

### 2. Showcase kitchen designs and define universal design (20 minutes)

Bring the room together. Give each group up to 90 seconds to reveal their client and describe their kitchen layout. Note key design features on the board. Introduce Ron Mace's definition of universal design (usable by all people without adaptation) versus specific design (custom accommodations). Ask the room to identify where designs clash and what shared tools could serve everyone.

### 3. Draft discussion guidelines (15 minutes)

Direct participants to Part 2 of the worksheet. Point to the shared summary of discussion styles and anxieties. Have each participant write individual thoughts silently for 3 minutes on physical room setup, speaking norms, and participation tools. Then ask small groups to spend 12 minutes drafting a shared discussion design that addresses those varied needs.

### 4. Showcase discussion designs (5 minutes)

Invite a spokesperson from each small group to share exactly one key room setup adjustment or discussion norm in 30 seconds or less. Record these ideas on the central board.

### 5. Full group debrief (10 minutes)

Facilitate a whole-room discussion using the debrief questions. Take up to 4 responses across the room. Close by confirming two or three baseline communication norms the group will follow going forward.


## Debrief questions

- When you do not know participants' communication styles ahead of time, how can you still prepare an inclusive discussion space?
- When is it necessary to adopt a specific design accommodation even if it causes slight inconvenience to the majority?
- What is one concrete practice from today that we will use in our next meeting?

**Finished output:** A shared list of universal communication norms and physical meeting room adaptations recorded on a central flip chart.

## Remote

Assign each small group to a breakout room. Send client profiles by private direct message to each breakout room lead. Use a shared digital whiteboard with separate frames for each team's kitchen sketch and subsequent meeting guidelines. Conduct whole-group debrief in the main room.

## Hybrid

Form fully remote small groups in breakout rooms and fully in-person small groups in the physical room. Keep kitchen sketches and written discussion norms on a shared digital whiteboard that in-person groups access via a designated laptop scribe.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may sketch layouts on blank paper, write bulleted lists, or contribute verbally to their small group's design.
- Any participant may pass on speaking during the full-group showcase without explanation while remaining an active listener.

## If the session gets stuck

**Groups guess other teams' clients early and align their designs prematurely.**

Remind participants to focus solely on their assigned client's sandwich-making steps and keep their slip face down.

**Discussions about accessibility become debates about budget or impossible architectural remodeling.**

Redirect the focus to simple layout shifts, flexible furniture, and small handheld tools rather than structural renovation.


## Terms used here

- Universal Design: Designing environments and processes so they can be accessed and used by all people to the greatest extent possible without special modification.
- Specific Design: An adaptation or specialized accommodation made to address the particular access needs of an individual.

## Participant material: Client Profile Slips

Client 1: Person who is extremely tall (stands 6 feet 10 inches).
Client 2: Person who uses a seated wheelchair permanently.
Client 3: Person with complete loss of sight.
Client 4: Person who has severe difficulty reaching, lifting, or bending.
Client 5: Person with limited physical stamina who must sit after two minutes of standing.
Client 6: Person who is extremely short (stands 4 feet tall).
Client 7: Person with tremors that make fine motor coordination and holding small utensils difficult.
Client 8: Person who has limited balance and cannot carry items while walking.

## Participant material: Sample Discussion Style Baseline Summary

If prior group survey data is unavailable, post this baseline chart for Step 3:
- Preference for immediate verbal processing: 35%
- Preference for quiet reflection before speaking: 45%
- Preference for written input or chat: 20%
- Common discussion anxieties: fear of being interrupted, concern about talking too much, anxiety over unstructured open floors.

## Participant material: Designing Inclusive Discussions Worksheet

Part 1: Kitchen Design
Assigned Client Profile:
Task: How does your client make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?
1. Where are ingredients and tools kept? How does your client access them?
2. What is the preparation counter like? (height, reach, materials)
3. How does your client handle clean up?
(Use the provided blank paper to sketch your kitchen layout)

Part 2: Discussion Space Design
Review the group's communication patterns and tendencies.
1. Room layout: How should seats, displays, and pathways be arranged?
2. Conversation norms: What rules will balance quick talkers and reflective listeners?
3. Shared tools: What supports (visual, written, timed turns) will help everyone participate fully?

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Collaborative Discussion Project curriculum materials (Activity 1.10, Designing Inclusive Discussions).

Retained the core sequence from Collaborative Discussion Project: kitchen design for specific client, cross-group reveal, universal design definitions, and application to meeting norms. Expanded client profiles to 8 to avoid duplicates at maximum group size (24 people in 8 groups of 3). Clarified Step 4 sharing time to 30 seconds per group so up to 8 groups fit the 5-minute cap. Added baseline discussion style data card and blank sketch paper to ensure smooth execution. Added required hardware and digital platforms for remote and hybrid options.

[Collaborative Discussion Project](https://www.collaborativediscussionproject.com/items-1/110designinginclusivediscussions)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/10-designing-inclusive-discussions/