First Impressions
First Impressions is a team reflection exercise for reflection and learning: it helps participants reflect on experience and turn observations into learning.
How to run it
- Provide each participant with a set of cards containing descriptive words related to communication and leadership styles.
- Instruct participants to move around the space and give their cards to the people they feel best represent those words based on first impressions.
- Each participant reviews the words they received and reflects on whether these align with their self-perception.
- Guide a conversation about how first impressions affect perceptions and discuss how these impressions might change over time.
- Participants receive a set of cards and give them to the individuals they feel embody these words based on their first impressions.
- Define the purpose: Reflect on how first impressions influence our perceptions of others.
- Create an environment for collaborative learning and constructive feedback.
- Prepare materials: A deck of cards with descriptive words organized into 4 communication and leadership styles (colors).
- Set up the space: Ensure the space allows participants to move around and communicate comfortably.
- To conduct the activity virtually: Use collaborative platforms where words can be visually assigned to different names (e.g., interactive white
Run this exercise live
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Materials:
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Prompts to use +
Provide each participant with a set of cards containing descriptive words related to communication and leadership styles.
Instruct participants to move around the space and give their cards to the people they feel best represent those words based on first impressions.
Guide a conversation about how first impressions affect perceptions and discuss how these impressions might change over time.
Participants receive a set of cards and give them to the individuals they feel embody these words based on their first impressions.
Define the purpose: Reflect on how first impressions influence our perceptions of others.
Create an environment for collaborative learning and constructive feedback.
Run this with your AI assistant +
Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.
Adapt this exercise for my exact room. Exercise: First Impressions. Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: Provide each participant with a set of cards containing descriptive words related to communication and leadership styles.; Instruct participants to move around the space and give their cards to the people they feel best represent those words based on first impressions.; Guide a conversation about how first impressions affect perceptions and discuss how these impressions might change over time.; Participants receive a set of cards and give them to the individuals they feel embody these words based on their first impressions.. Return a concise facilitator script with timing, wording, safety notes, and remote/in-person adjustments.
Origin unverified
- Where we observed it: The strongest current observations come from Participatory Methods; aggregators are listed as additional observations, not origin proof. (1 source observed, including Participatory Methods.)
- What that means: we track where an exercise has been observed in public sources. We do not claim to know who created it, or how popular it is.
- No efficacy claims: appearing in this library is not a claim that the exercise is proven effective. Facilitator judgment and context decide whether it works for a given room.
- Corrections: if you have evidence of an earlier or more accurate source, read our methodology and trust boundary and tell us.