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Exercises/Reflection and Learning/4Cs
Team Reflection · Reflection and Learning

4Cs

4Cs is a team reflection exercise for reflection and learning: it helps participants reflect on experience and turn observations into learning.

5 to 15 minutesTIME
Medium group (9-25)GROUP SIZE
ActiveENERGY
In personSETTING
High cognitive loadCOGNITIVE LOAD
Strengthens Learning Transfer This reflection and learning exercise strengthens Learning Transfer, one of the eight Gathering Effectiveness pillars.

How to run it

  1. Before the meeting, decide on a topic you want the players to explore and draw a 2×2 matrix in a large white space in the meeting room.
  2. Tell the players that this game is about exploring and sharing what they know about the topic based on the 4Cs. Define the terms of each “C”:
  3. Components are parts of the topic. For example, a component of a social commerce strategy might be responsive tweets. Components of a distribution channel might be 18-wheelers.
  4. Challenges are obstacles associated with the topic.
  5. Characters are people associated with the topic.
  6. Divide the group into four teams of roughly equal size. (A group of 5-7 people can work as one team.) Give them access to sticky notes and markers.
Live facilitator

Run this exercise live

The facilitator console stays in this browser. Its QR handoff is a short-lived participant snapshot containing only public exercise instructions, phase, prompt, and timer state.

Prompts to use +

Before the meeting, decide on a topic you want the players to explore and draw a 2×2 matrix in a large white space in the meeting room.

Tell the players that this game is about exploring and sharing what they know about the topic based on the 4Cs. Define the terms of each “C”:

Divide the group into four teams of roughly equal size. (A group of 5-7 people can work as one team.) Give them access to sticky notes and markers.

Run this with your AI assistant +

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

Adapt this exercise for my exact room. Exercise: 4Cs. Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: Before the meeting, decide on a topic you want the players to explore and draw a 2×2 matrix in a large white space in the meeting room.; Tell the players that this game is about exploring and sharing what they know about the topic based on the 4Cs. Define the terms of each “C”:; Divide the group into four teams of roughly equal size. (A group of 5-7 people can work as one team.) Give them access to sticky notes and markers.. Return a concise facilitator script with timing, wording, safety notes, and remote/in-person adjustments.

Origin unverified

  • Where we observed it: The strongest current observations come from Gamestorming; aggregators are listed as additional observations, not origin proof. (1 source observed, including Gamestorming.)
  • What that means: we track where an exercise has been observed in public sources. We do not claim to know who created it, or how popular it is.
  • No efficacy claims: appearing in this library is not a claim that the exercise is proven effective. Facilitator judgment and context decide whether it works for a given room.
  • Corrections: if you have evidence of an earlier or more accurate source, read our methodology and trust boundary and tell us.

Pairs well with