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: c67915427b23cd9138b982703ee5b2a142628dfb3771fd797710d384f053b4fa

# Excited

Seven volunteers hold scrambled letter cards forming C-D-E-E-I-T-X while the room calls out instructions to reposition them into the word EXCITED. The group then debriefs which structural task factors created excitement and motivation.

**Time:** 10 minutes. Original source documents 3 to 5 minutes; UWT expands to 10 minutes to allow an unhurried volunteer transition and debrief.
**People:** 9 to 24. Seven letter holders at the front; remaining participants act as the directing audience.

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Identify specific task mechanics that generate excitement, urgency, and motivation in a collaborative group.
**Use it when:** Use when opening a session on motivation, workflow design, or team engagement to experience rapid task energy before analyzing it.
**Skip it when:** Skip when the group cannot comfortably tolerate sudden loud, overlapping talking or when fewer than nine people are present.

## Materials and tools

- 7 large cards (US letter or A4), each printed with one bold letter: C, D, E, E, I, T, X
- Flipchart or whiteboard with markers
- Timer or clock
- Digital whiteboard with 7 movable letter cards (for remote delivery)
- Video conferencing platform with chat and wide webcam (for hybrid delivery)

## Before participants arrive

1. Write one large bold letter on each card: C, D, E, E, I, T, X.
2. Clear an open line at the front of the room where seven people can stand side-by-side and swap positions easily.

## Say this to open

I need seven volunteers to come up front for a quick three-minute challenge. Audience, your job is to direct them. Volunteers, please hold your card up facing the audience. These letters spell a seven-letter English word. Audience, call out directions to move the holders into the correct order. Go.

## How to run it

### 1. Position volunteers and distribute cards (2 minutes)

Ask for seven volunteers to stand in a line facing the room. Hand one letter card to each person in the scrambled order C-D-E-E-I-T-X. Instruct volunteers to hold their letter chest-high or overhead so the room can see clearly. Explain that the cards form a single seven-letter English word.

### 2. Direct the reordering (3 minutes)

Instruct the audience to call out movements to the cardholders. Letter holders move only when an audience member directs them. Example: 'Person with letter D, move to the far right.' Letter holders follow audience directions in real time. If the room stalls past 90 seconds, give a hint: 'The word describes high energy or anticipation.' When the anagram is solved, count to three and have everyone read EXCITED aloud together.

### 3. Thank volunteers and transition (1 minutes)

Thank the letter holders, collect the cards, and invite them back to their seats. Lead a brief round of applause for the entire room.

### 4. Debrief engagement mechanics (4 minutes)

Lead a focused whole-group debrief. Ask: 'What specific design features of this task created energy or urgency?' Record 3 or 4 structural factors on the flipchart. Then ask: 'Which of these features could we add to a routine work task to make it more engaging?' Take 2 practical ideas from the room.


## Debrief questions

- What specific rules or constraints made this task feel energizing rather than tedious?
- How did immediate visual feedback and informal shouting affect your willingness to jump in?
- Which element from this challenge could make a routine workplace task more engaging?

**Finished output:** A flipchart list of task design mechanics that increase engagement, paired with concrete workplace applications.

## Remote

Create a shared digital whiteboard slide containing seven movable virtual sticky notes labeled C, D, E, E, I, T, X. Assign one participant to act as the mover who drags notes on screen. The remaining participants call out or type directions to reorder the notes. Run the debrief using main audio and chat.

## Hybrid

Assign in-person volunteers as the letter holders in front of a wide-angle webcam so remote participants have a clear view. Remote participants shout directions over audio or enter them into the meeting chat, which an in-person co-facilitator calls out immediately. Conduct the debrief across both audio and chat.

## Access and participation choices

- Volunteers may sit in front-row chairs instead of standing while holding cards.
- Participants sensitive to sudden overlapping noise may observe quietly or contribute instructions via chat rather than speaking.
- Any letter holder may step down at any point and swap with another willing audience member.

## If the session gets stuck

**Multiple audience members shout conflicting directions at once and the letter holders freeze.**

Remind the volunteers: 'Pick one clear direction you hear and follow it. Audience, adjust your calls as you see people move.'

**The audience cannot solve the anagram and progress stalls.**

Offer a direct clue: 'The word begins with E-X.' This restores momentum while keeping the exercise within time.


## Terms used here

- Jolt: A brief, experiential facilitation exercise designed to spark an immediate insight for later analysis.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in The Thiagi Group archives (2015) and SessionLab, titled 'Excited'. Both attribute the design to Sivasailam Thiagarajan (Thiagi).

Retains the original Thiagi Group mechanic, letter set (CDEEITX), and core debrief questions about task motivation. UWT extended the duration to 10 minutes to support deliberate setup, safe volunteer return, and flipchart capture. Added complete hybrid and remote variations, explicit accessibility adjustments, and full materials lists.

[The Thiagi Group](https://www.thiagi.com/archived-games/2015/3/1/excited)

[SessionLab](https://www.sessionlab.com/methods/excited)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/excited/