Practicing Collaboration with Others

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Practice incorporating diverse proposals and perspectives while jointly creating a physical model.

Use it when: Use during civic planning workshops, campus policy retreats, or community assemblies when groups need to explore new or existing initiatives without tense verbal polarization.

Skip it when: Skip if the session requires fine-grained policy drafting, immediate binding votes, or if participants cannot engage in tactile, parallel-attention exercises.

Group arrangement: Single whole group around a shared central table, or two tables of up to 10 participants.

Timing: Matches the 55-minute session outline published by the Collaborative Discussion Project.

Materials and tools

• Bulk assortment of interlocking building bricks (at least 30 to 50 bricks per participant)
• 1 timer or stopwatch for the facilitator
• 1 large central table or grouped desks reachable by all seated participants
• Dry-erase board or chart paper with marker for listing pitched initiatives

Before participants arrive

1. Place the bricks in a loose pile in the center of the table.
2. Arrange chairs all around the perimeter so everyone can reach the central workspace.
3. Designate three participants or invited guests in advance to present five-minute proposals on initiatives to keep, discard, or explore.
4. Write the three proposal topics on the board.

Say this to open

Welcome. Today we will build a model of our ideal shared community using these bricks. While our hands are busy assembling the city together, we will listen to three short proposals about initiatives for our community. After each pitch, we will open the floor for two-minute lightning responses using 'yes, and...' to connect our physical builds with the spoken ideas. You can build, speak, or simply listen while contributing bricks. Let us begin building.

How to run it

1. Introduce the build and kick off the model 10 minutes

   Gather everyone around the central brick pile. State the overall focus of the shared city. Invite everyone to start building physical structures on the table together. Introduce the three designated pitch speakers and describe the rules for listening while building.

2. Deliver three initiative pitches 15 minutes

   Call on the three designated presenters one at a time. Each presenter takes up to 5 minutes to pitch keeping, cutting, or testing a specific community initiative. The rest of the group continues assembling the brick city while listening. Give a warning at 4 minutes for each speaker.

3. Run the lightning response round 20 minutes

   Open the floor for fast 2-minute elevator responses from other participants. Speakers share their reaction to the pitches or introduce complementary proposals for the city, connecting their point to something currently being built. Up to 10 participants speak. Encourage the phrase 'yes, and...' to build upon earlier ideas while hands stay active on the model.

4. Debrief the shared build 10 minutes

   Stop construction. Ask participants to step back and examine the completed physical city. Facilitate a reflective discussion using the debrief prompts, taking 3 to 4 spoken reflections from volunteers.

Debrief questions

• What common themes emerged across the three main pitches and the lightning responses?
• Which physical features in our model represent the programs or ideas we discussed?
• How did keeping your hands busy with the bricks change how you listened and responded to each proposal?

Finished output: A collaborative physical brick model representing community priorities, accompanied by a spoken list of proposals and responses.

Remote

Tactile construction cannot be replicated online without altering the defining mechanic. To run an alternative online version, use a shared digital canvas with virtual shape blocks. Participants co-arrange shapes to build a visual community map in real time while presenters give audio pitches, followed by 2-minute spoken responses queued via digital hand raises.

Hybrid

Hybrid delivery splits the hands-on dynamic. Remote participants should pair with an in-person partner acting as their physical builder over a dedicated video feed. The remote partner directs brick placement via audio while taking their turn during the lightning response round.

Access and participation choices

• Participants who prefer not to handle bricks can act as design coordinators or timekeepers.
• Participants may pass on delivering an elevator response and contribute solely through building or listening.
• Provide bricks of varied sizes to accommodate diverse fine-motor grip needs.

If the session gets stuck

Participants stop building and only stare at the speaker during the pitches.

Gently prompt the room: 'Remember to keep your hands moving on the bricks as you listen.' Model this by adding bricks to the center.

Speakers exceed their allotted speaking time.

Use an audible chime at the 5-minute mark for pitches and the 2-minute mark for lightning rounds, thanking the speaker and transitioning immediately to the next person.

Terms used here

• Keep, Cut, or Flirt: A proposal framework where participants decide whether to maintain an existing program, terminate it, or test it out on an experimental basis.
• Yes, and...: An improv-based conversational rule where a speaker accepts what was previously offered and adds a new dimension to it rather than arguing against it.