Crafting Circle

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Observe how team members ask for help, offer guidance, and collaborate while working with their hands.

Use it when: Use during informal team gatherings, retreat open space, or recurring social check-ins to build rapport without forced conversation.

Skip it when: Skip when the group lacks portable physical craft projects, when fine motor tasks exclude members, or when a session requires strict task-driven business decisions.

Group arrangement: Small tables or breakout groups of 3 to 6 people.

Timing: UWT suggested 45-minute standard session based on Teampedia's open-ended format.

Materials and tools

• Individual craft projects brought by participants (such as knitting, sketching, origami, or mending)
• Optional communal backup materials: 4 packs of origami paper, 12 blank sketchbooks, and 24 drawing markers

Before participants arrive

1. Arrange tables and chairs in clusters of 4 to 6 so participants can view each other's work easily.
2. Place communal backup supplies in the center of each table for anyone who did not bring a craft.

Say this to open

Welcome to our crafting session. Today we work with our hands while sharing informal conversation. If you brought a personal craft like knitting, sketching, or mending, set it up now. If you did not bring one, take paper or drawing supplies from the center of the table. You can teach someone a technique, ask for advice, or work quietly alongside your peers.

How to run it

1. Introduce crafts and set up 5 minutes

   Invite everyone to sit in clusters of 3 to 6. Each person takes 30 seconds to state what they will work on today, or they may simply select paper and drawing supplies from the table. State clearly that participants may converse or work silently as they prefer.

2. Work and informal skill exchange 30 minutes

   Participants work on their projects in their small groups. People may show techniques to neighbors, request feedback, or observe others. If one person offered to lead a specific mini-lesson, they demonstrate it now while others follow along. Keep time and announce when 10 minutes remain.

3. Table round of progress 5 minutes

   Ask each person to take 30 to 45 seconds to show their progress to their small group or explain one technique they explored. Anyone may pass without explanation.

4. Group debrief 5 minutes

   Bring the full room together. Call on 2 or 3 volunteers to answer one of the debrief questions on how peers asked for, offered, or received support.

Debrief questions

• What did you notice about how people offered or requested help while working?
• What was easy or challenging about explaining a physical technique to someone else?
• What did you learn about your peers that could help the team collaborate on work projects?

Finished output: Completed or in-progress craft pieces, along with team observations on giving and receiving peer guidance.

Remote

Run via video meeting. Participants bring a personal craft or simple paper and pencil to their desk. Position cameras downward toward work areas if comfortable, or leave them on standard video. Use breakout rooms of 3 to 5 people for the 30-minute crafting block, then return to the main room for debriefing.

Hybrid

In-person attendees cluster around a central table microphone and display camera. Remote participants join via laptop pods or individual screen displays at each table. Remote members show their work to their assigned table group using individual webcams.

Access and participation choices

• Provide varied materials such as basic paper folding, doodle pads, or simple sorting tasks so high fine-motor skill is not required.
• Participants may choose to work quietly without teaching, observe without producing a craft, or pass entirely during show-and-tell.

If the session gets stuck

A participant did not bring a craft and feels left out.

Offer simple backup supplies like origami paper or sketch pads from the room supply table.

One person dominates table conversation with non-stop instruction.

Remind tables halfway through that everyone is welcome to work quietly or shift topics naturally.

Terms used here

• Open Space: An unstructured workshop session where participants choose their own topic, pace, and depth of interaction.