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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: 9e0e43c28ab84ed0c4350f912264b7c70e6aa25492e174feba7ea65bf8d19385

# Curious George Questions

Small groups listen to or read lyrics from the song 'Questions' and discuss how curiosity influences their day-to-day team culture and work practices. Each group captures concrete observations and questions on a shared chart.

**Time:** 15 minutes. Source specifies 5 to 15 minutes; UWT recommends 15 minutes to allow proper small group conversation and full debrief.
**People:** 4 to 24. Small groups of 3 to 5 people

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Examine how team members ask questions and practice curiosity in their day-to-day work.
**Use it when:** Use when a team is diagnosing communication habits, kicking off an inquiry phase, or examining how open they are to challenging assumptions.
**Skip it when:** Skip when the team has urgent tactical tasks that leave no room for cultural reflection or when listening to pop music feels patronizing to the group context.

## Materials and tools

- Printed lyric handouts (one per person) or projected slide with lyrics
- One sheet of flipchart paper per subgroup
- Two markers per subgroup
- Audio playback equipment and recording of 'Questions' by Jack Johnson (optional)

## Before participants arrive

1. Test audio playback if using the song recording.
2. Write or project the lyrics where everyone can see them.
3. Distribute flipchart paper and markers to each table.

## Say this to open

We are going to explore how curiosity shows up in our daily work. We will read or listen to an excerpt from the song 'Questions.' Afterward, talk in your small groups about where asking questions helps our work and where our habits might get in the way. Jot your key points on your flipchart.

## How to run it

### 1. Introduce and review lyrics (3 minutes)

Facilitator delivers the opening script and plays the audio clip of 'Questions' or reads the excerpt aloud while participants read along on their sheet or the projected display.

### 2. Discuss in small groups (6 minutes)

Participants form groups of 3 to 5. One volunteer acts as scribe. Groups discuss two prompts: 'Where do we encourage genuine questions in our team?' and 'What holds us back from asking what we really want to know?' Scribes record key themes on the flipchart. Neutral example: a group might note that new hires hold back questions during weekly status meetings because the agenda feels rushed.

### 3. Review room insights (3 minutes)

Groups post their charts on the wall. Each group calls out one distinct insight or question they recorded, moving quickly around the room without repeats.

### 4. Debrief whole room (3 minutes)

Facilitator poses one synthesis question to the room and takes up to three brief comments before concluding.


## Debrief questions

- What is one practical question our team usually avoids asking, and what would happen if we asked it?
- What simple change in our meetings would make it easier to ask for clarification?

**Finished output:** Flipcharts listing specific organizational habits that support or hinder curiosity, plus candidate questions the team wants to ask.

## Remote

Display the song lyrics on screen or share them in chat. Play the audio through meeting audio or provide a direct link for participants to read or listen silently for two minutes. Send participants into breakout rooms of 3 to 5 with a shared virtual whiteboard to list their insights. Reassemble and take one typed or spoken highlight from each breakout.

## Hybrid

Keep in-person participants in room subgroups and group remote participants in virtual breakouts. Use an online collaborative canvas for all scribing so remote and in-person tables can read each other's notes simultaneously. When sharing back, alternate between an in-person table and a remote room.

## Access and participation choices

- Provide a clear printed or digital text transcript of the lyrics so audio playback is not required for participation.
- Participants may choose whether to speak during subgroup discussion or simply contribute written notes to the flipchart.

## If the session gets stuck

**Participants focus entirely on critiquing the music or lyrics instead of organizational culture.**

Refocus the room on the core theme by asking: 'Regardless of the musical style, what does this excerpt highlight about how hard it can be to ask the right question?'

**Audio equipment fails or cannot be heard clearly.**

Skip the audio immediately, direct everyone to read the printed excerpt silently for 60 seconds, and move into the group discussion.


## Terms used here

- Scribe: A participant who writes down the ideas shared by their small group on the shared paper or digital canvas.

## Participant material: Questions Lyric Excerpt

Questions, I've got some questions
I want to know you
But what if I could ask you only one thing
Only this one time, what would you tell me?
Well maybe you could give me a suggestion
So I could know you, what would you tell me?
Maybe you could tell me what to ask you
Because then I'd know you, what would you tell me
Please tell me that there's time
To make this work for all intents and purposes
And what are your intentions, will you try?
Impressions, you've made impressions...

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Relationship Makers Handbook, pages 124-125, referencing the song 'Questions' by Jack Johnson from the Curious George soundtrack.

Retained the source activity's mechanic of using the Jack Johnson 'Questions' lyric prompt to spark team reflection on organizational curiosity and recording insights on flipcharts. UWT added explicit subgroup sizes, timing allocations, prompt questions, neutral examples, remote/hybrid workflows, and accessible printed lyrics.

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/curious-george/