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: 0a1a6f123c9bc0c620c7b31bba61c7fcf537d0db72efe8edf7e5834c8393c408

# We Connect Cards

Participants pair up, ask each other a prompt from a question card, swap cards, and find new partners for multiple brief rounds.

**Time:** 15 minutes. Playmeo recommends 10 to 15 minutes. This run sheet allocates 15 minutes including setup and debrief.
**People:** 4 to 24. Pairs in rotating mingling rounds; one trio if an odd number is present.

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Enable low-stakes, structured introductory conversations across a group using self-paced partner swaps.
**Use it when:** Use at the start of a workshop, team orientation, or training session when people need to practice talking and active listening.
**Skip it when:** Skip when the group is already deeply familiar with one another or when the agenda requires direct, technical work immediately.

## Materials and tools

- One question card per participant (either commercial We Connect Cards or index cards prepared from the supplied prompt list)

## Before participants arrive

1. Prepare at least one prompt card per participant, distributed evenly across three categories: light, reflective, and deep.
2. Clear sufficient floor space for people to mill around and form pairs comfortably.

## Say this to open

We are going to do a fast partner exchange using conversation cards. In a moment, you will each get one card. Pair up with someone, read your card's prompt, and listen to their answer. You have complete control over how you answer; you can speak briefly, pick a different perspective, or pass. Then switch roles, swap cards, and find a new partner.

## How to run it

### 1. Distribute cards and pair up (3 minutes)

Hand one card face down or face up to each person. Announce the initial matching criterion, such as finding someone holding a card of the same color or category. If there is an odd number of participants, form one group of three. Read the opening script.

### 2. Exchange first round and swap cards (4 minutes)

Partners decide who asks first. Partner A reads their card question out loud; Partner B answers in any way they wish. Partner B then reads their card question to Partner A. Once both have shared, they trade cards physically. They raise a hand to signal they are looking for a new partner.

### 3. Rotate partners for additional rounds (5 minutes)

Participants pair with someone new and repeat the exchange using their newly traded cards. Direct participants to keep each interaction to roughly two minutes, swap cards at the end of each conversation, and find another partner. Signal the final thirty seconds before bringing the room back together.

### 4. Convene and debrief (3 minutes)

Call the group back to a circle or their seats. Collect the cards or have participants hold them. Ask two targeted debrief questions to the room, taking three or four brief responses.


## Debrief questions

- What made a question easy or interesting to respond to?
- How did holding complete choice over your answer affect how you participated?

**Finished output:** Every participant has completed two to three structured one-on-one introductory conversations with peers.

## Remote

Display a numbered slide or digital board containing the prompt cards. Randomly place attendees into pairs in breakout rooms for three minutes with an assigned prompt number. Regroup, reassign breakouts with a new prompt number, and repeat for two to three rounds. Participants can pass or use the chat.

## Hybrid

Pair in-person participants with in-person partners on the floor. Pair remote attendees with remote partners in digital breakout rooms. Avoid cross-medium pairs to prevent audio feedback and technical delays. Share prompt text via both physical index cards and a shared digital screen.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may pass entirely on any card, answer partially, or reinterpret the prompt without providing an explanation.
- Seated stations can be established so individuals with mobility constraints do not need to stand or walk across the room to switch partners.

## If the session gets stuck

**One partnership gets stuck in an extended conversation and does not trade cards or switch partners.**

Provide clear time announcements every two minutes: 'If you have not swapped cards yet, do so now and look for your next partner.'

**An odd number of participants leaves someone standing alone without a partner.**

Instruct anyone with a raised hand to immediately join an existing pair to make a trio, where all three answer one prompt or take turns.


## Terms used here

- Prompt categories: The division of questions into light, reflective, or deeper topics, historically coded by card colors (green, blue, purple).

## Participant material: Printable Prompt Card Set

Green (Light):
1. What is an everyday object you find surprisingly useful?
2. What hobby or activity makes you lose track of time?
3. What is a piece of advice you are glad you ignored?
4. What simple sound do you find relaxing?

Blue (Reflective):
5. What skill have you developed recently that surprised you?
6. What kind of environment brings out your best thinking?
7. What is something you used to believe that you changed your mind about?
8. What is a project or accomplishment you felt genuinely good about?

Purple (Deeper):
9. What value guides your everyday decisions most consistently?
10. What is a challenge that taught you something valuable about yourself?
11. What is an assumption people sometimes make about you that is inaccurate?
12. What does a satisfying, successful day look like for you?

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Playmeo activity documentation by Mark Collard, which attributes the underlying cards to Chad and Will at We & Me.

The original Playmeo instructions reference proprietary We Connect Cards published by We & Me. UWT retained the core mechanic of paired prompt reading, swapping cards, and rotating partners while adding a standardized, non-proprietary 12-question printable deck, a hybrid accommodation model, and structured step timings.

[Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/ice-breakers-get-to-know-you-games/we-connect-cards)

[Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/ice-breakers-get-to-know-you-games/we-connect-cards/)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/conversation-starter-cards-to-build-connections-we-connect-cards/