Name-Tag Mania

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Help participants learn names and initiate brief personal conversations using visual prompts.

Use it when: Use at the start of a workshop or training when participants do not know each other well and need low-pressure conversation starters.

Skip it when: Skip when participants already work together closely every day, or in spaces where moving around to mingle is impractical.

Group arrangement: Individual drawing followed by fluid mingling in pairs or trios.

Timing: Based on the 5-minute mingling window in source records, plus time for drawing, attaching cards, and a brief debrief.

Materials and tools

• One blank 4x6 inch index card per participant (plus extras)
• Assorted colored pens or markers (at least one per participant)
• Roll of masking tape or box of safety pins to attach cards to clothing
• One chime or timer for the facilitator

Before participants arrive

1. Place index cards, markers, and tape or safety pins on a central table.
2. Clear enough floor space for participants to walk around comfortably.

Say this to open

Take an index card and a marker. On the top half, write the name you want us to use today in large letters. On the bottom half, draw three or four simple sketches or symbols that tell us something about you, such as your hometown, a hobby, or a favorite food. Stick figures and basic shapes work great. For example, you might draw a coffee cup, a bicycle, and an outline of a mountain.

How to run it

1. Introduce and create name tags 4 minutes

   Distribute cards and markers. Read the opening script. Give participants 3 minutes to write their names and draw their 3 to 4 symbols. Give a 30-second warning before time expires.

2. Attach cards 2 minutes

   Instruct participants to attach their cards to their shirts using tape or pins. Anyone who prefers not to wear a card may hold it in hand or place it visibly on the table.

3. Mingle and share 6 minutes

   Ask participants to stand and pair up with someone nearby. Partners take turns guessing or explaining their drawings. Ring a chime every 90 seconds and call out switch so each person talks with 3 or 4 different partners.

4. Debrief 3 minutes

   Bring the room back together. Ask 2 or 3 volunteers to share an interesting detail they learned about a partner, ensuring they only share information their partner openly consented to discuss. Take reflections on how the symbols influenced conversation.

Debrief questions

• What was an unexpected symbol or hobby you learned about from a partner?
• How did having visual cues on the card change the way you started your conversations?

Finished output: Every participant produces an illustrated personal name card and completes brief introductory conversations with several peers.

Remote

Use a shared digital whiteboard where each person claims an index-card frame. Participants type their name and use simple shape tools, freehand drawing, or pasted icons to add 3 to 4 symbols. Run 4 breakout rounds of 90 seconds each with pairs to mirror the in-person mingling switches, or run 2 breakout rounds of 3 minutes each with instructions to swap turns at the 90-second broadcast prompt.

Hybrid

In-person participants create physical cards. Remote participants create digital cards on a shared whiteboard. For the mingling phase, pair in-person participants with remote attendees by having in-person participants open the digital board and video room on a laptop or smartphone, or designate a hybrid mingling station where in-person attendees rotate to greet remote attendees on camera.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may write short words or single letters instead of drawing symbols if they prefer not to sketch.
• Wearing the card on clothing is optional; holding the card or placing it on a desk is fully welcome.
• Participants may pass on explaining any specific symbol or skip sharing personal background without giving a reason.
• Volunteers during the debrief should only share facts their partners explicitly agreed were open for group sharing.

If the session gets stuck

Participants hesitate to draw because they feel they lack artistic skill.

Remind everyone that rough stick figures, icons, and simple geometric shapes are encouraged. Artistic perfection is not required.

Participants stay in conversation with one partner and fail to rotate.

Ring a clear chime and announce that it is time to say thank you and find a new partner immediately.