Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

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: de99665dfad84d19463be55eb99dc43eb58a8014f8ce7a967a21495607f8f4e9

# Question of the Day (QOTD)

Participants answer a single framing prompt in pairs before a brief whole-room check-in. The activity establishes an early speaking turn at the start of a meeting.

**Time:** 10 minutes. UWT suggested 10-minute structure expanding on the open-ended source outline
**People:** 4 to 24. Pairs (or one trio if total participant count is odd) followed by limited whole-group sharing

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Give every participant an immediate low-stakes speaking turn aligned with the session topic.
**Use it when:** Use at the beginning of a recurring team meeting, workshop, or daily standup to get voices in the room.
**Skip it when:** Skip when meeting time is severely constrained or when the room is in immediate crisis response requiring urgent business first.

## Materials and tools

- Timer or stopwatch
- Display surface (whiteboard, flip chart, or slide) to write the daily prompt

## Before participants arrive

1. Select one question connected to the session topic or a neutral work preference.
2. Write the chosen prompt on the whiteboard, flip chart, or slide before participants enter.

## Say this to open

Welcome. On the board is our Question of the Day: 'What is one tool, habit, or routine that kept you grounded this week?' In a moment, you will turn to a partner, introduce yourself if you have not met, and take about two minutes each to answer. If you are in a trio, take about a minute and a half each. You may pass or share a shorter answer if you prefer.

## How to run it

### 1. Present prompt and assign pairs (2 minutes)

Display the question prominently. Read the prompt aloud. Ask participants to form pairs with the person seated next to them. If the room has an odd number of people, form exactly one trio. State that pairs have two minutes per person to answer, while any trio will split time evenly at about a minute and a half per person.

### 2. Pair exchange (4 minutes)

Start the timer for four minutes. Participants take turns answering the prompt. Announce the two-minute mark so pairs swap speaker and listener roles. Remind any trio to rotate through all three speakers across the four minutes.

### 3. Plenary sampling (3 minutes)

Bring attention back to the whole room. Invite 2 to 4 volunteers to share either their own answer or an interesting theme they noticed in their discussion. Do not go person-by-person around the entire room.

### 4. Transition to agenda (1 minutes)

Thank everyone for sharing. Connect the themes or the act of speaking directly into the first regular agenda item.


## Debrief questions

- What common themes or differences did you hear in your pair?
- How does the topic of this question link to the work we need to accomplish today?

**Finished output:** Every participant completes an initial speaking turn in a pair, with optional plenary sharing.

## Remote

Post the prompt in the meeting chat and on a title slide. Send participants into breakout rooms of 2 people (or 3 if odd) for 4 minutes. On return, invite 2 or 3 people to unmute or post short responses in chat.

## Hybrid

Pair in-room participants with someone physically near them. Group remote attendees into virtual breakout pairs. During plenary, take two comments from in-room pairs and two comments from remote attendees via chat or open microphone.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may speak, type responses in a shared chat, or simply pass.
- Anyone wishing not to share personal details can choose a neutral alternative prompt or simply listen to their partner.

## If the session gets stuck

**One person monopolizes the pair conversation.**

Set a distinct halfway chime and explicitly prompt groups to switch who is talking.

**Volunteers hesitate to share during the plenary segment.**

Ask an open question that requires lower commitment, such as: 'Did anyone hear an answer that surprised them?' If silence continues, move directly to the main agenda.


## Terms used here

- QOTD: Question of the Day; an opening conversation prompt.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Playmeo records, where the activity is attributed to Mark Collard.

Playmeo outlines QOTD as a daily icebreaker where the leader poses a topic-related question and invites sharing in small or large groups. UWT structured this open mechanic into a predictable 10-minute cadence using pairs, timed speaker swaps, and limited plenary sampling to keep within realistic schedule constraints.

[Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/ice-breakers-get-to-know-you-games/qotd)

[Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/ice-breakers-get-to-know-you-games/qotd/)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/daily-icebreaker-activity-sparks-meaningful-conversations-qotd/