Create Your One-Line Bio Together

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Draft and practice a concise, one-sentence introduction for use during an event.

Use it when: At the beginning of a conference, workshop, or collaborative session where participants need to introduce themselves quickly to strangers.

Skip it when: When participants already know each other well or when the session topic does not involve networking or personal roles.

Group arrangement: Individual drafting, then pairs (or one trio if odd), then small groups of 3 to 6 participants

Timing: Relationship Makers Handbook suggests 5 to 15 minutes; structured here as a complete 15-minute sequence.

Materials and tools

• 1 index card or sheet of scratch paper per person
• 1 pen or pencil per person
• Visual display or whiteboard showing the formula and neutral example

Before participants arrive

1. Write the bio formula on a visible board: 'I help [audience] [benefit] through [feature or method].'
2. Arrange seating so participants can pair up easily and form small clusters of 3 to 6 people.

Say this to open

We will take 15 minutes to write and practice a concise one-line introduction to use during breaks and discussions today. The formula is: 'I help [audience] [benefit] through [method or feature].' You will write a draft, test it with a partner, polish it, and read it in a small group.

How to run it

1. Introduce formula and write draft 3 minutes

   Display the formula: I help [audience] [benefit] through [method]. Give a neutral example: 'I help city librarians organize digital archives through open-source cataloging tools.' Give participants two quiet minutes to write a single sentence on their card. Anyone who prefers not to share paid work may frame their sentence around a hobby, community role, or volunteer project.

2. Pair test and rewrite 4 minutes

   Have participants turn to the person next to them. If the room has an odd number of people, form one trio. Partner A reads their sentence aloud. Partner B reflects what they heard and notes anything unclear. Switch roles at the 2-minute mark (or every 75 seconds for a trio). Each person uses the remaining seconds to rewrite their line on their card based on feedback.

3. Small-group read-around 5 minutes

   Combine pairs into small groups of 3 to 6 people (for example, two pairs merge to make 4, or a pair and trio merge to make 5). Each participant reads their revised one-line bio aloud once without extra backstory, or displays their card silently for others to read. Allow about 30 to 45 seconds per person so a group of up to 6 finishes within the time limit. If someone prefers to pass, they say 'pass' and the turn moves to the next person.

4. Debrief and planning 3 minutes

   Bring the full room together. Ask how people plan to use their sentence during today's session. Take two or three brief voluntary answers from the room.

Debrief questions

• Which word in your sentence changed the most between your first draft and your final version?
• How will you use this sentence during conversations or breaks today?

Finished output: A written, practiced one-sentence introduction on an index card for each participant.

Remote

Display the formula on a shared slide and in chat. Give 3 minutes for private drafting. Send participants into breakout pairs for 4 minutes to test lines. Regroup into breakout rooms of 3 to 6 participants for 5 minutes of sharing, or have participants paste their line into the main chat if the group is under 12. Return to the main room for a 3-minute wrap-up.

Hybrid

Pair in-person participants with in-person partners and remote participants with remote partners in digital breakout rooms. For the small-group round, maintain separate in-person clusters and online breakout rooms of 3 to 6 so cross-room audio interference is avoided.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may focus their bio on work, volunteer roles, hobbies, or community projects.
• Reading aloud is optional; participants may display their card silently, paste their line into chat, or pass completely without explanation.

If the session gets stuck

Participants write long paragraphs full of background history instead of one sentence.

Remind everyone to limit their text to one sentence that fits on a single side of an index card, sticking closely to the three-part formula.

Participant count does not divide evenly into standard group sizes.

For the pair step, allow one trio. For the small-group step, allow groups of 3 to 6 (for instance, a room of 7 splits into one group of 3 and one group of 4; a room of 13 splits into two groups of 4 and one group of 5).

Terms used here

• One-line bio: A single sentence identifying who you assist, the practical outcome you provide, and the approach you take.