Curious George Questions

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.

Group arrangement: Small groups of 3 to 5 people

Timing: Source specifies 5 to 15 minutes; UWT recommends 15 minutes to allow proper small group conversation and full debrief.

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.