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: 0d7e8bfc195b5ca6dd0e4c18314f56dd3e931976cb1bb5e383715f67de3297b0

# Making Connections

Participants construct a complete circle by sharing individual traits and linking arms or standing adjacent whenever they discover common ground.

**Time:** 15 minutes. 15 minutes suggested by UWT for up to 20 people; the source does not list a specific running time.
**People:** 6 to 20. Whole group standing in an open room, forming a single connected circle.

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Identify shared interests across a group through direct verbal statements and sequential linking.
**Use it when:** Use at the launch of a new team, workshop, or cohort to discover mutual interests and build initial rapport across the whole room.
**Skip it when:** Skip when participants require complete anonymity, when physical proximity causes distress, or when session time is under 10 minutes.

## Materials and tools

- Room with cleared open floor space
- Flip chart and markers for visual tracking
- Short ribbons or markers for hands-off linking options
- Shared digital canvas and video meeting room (for remote or hybrid)
- Tablets or printed name placards on stands (for hybrid)

## Before participants arrive

1. Clear all tables and chairs to leave an unobstructed open floor.
2. Set up a flip chart and markers at the perimeter of the circle space.

## Say this to open

We are going to build a single connected circle based on genuine things we share. One person will step out, rest one hand on their hip, and name facts about themselves until someone finds a match. If that fact applies to you too, step forward and connect. We will keep going until everyone belongs to one unbroken circle.

## How to run it

### 1. Establish guidelines and consent (2 minutes)

State the goal: build one continuous circle where each person connects with two neighbors through a true shared trait. Clarify physical boundaries. People may link elbows, touch wrists, hold a ribbon, or stand shoulder-to-shoulder without touching. A participant who prefers not to stand in line may serve as the scribe at the flip chart, drawing the network and naming their own connections as nodes on paper.

### 2. Start the first connection (2 minutes)

Ask for one volunteer to start. The volunteer stands in the open floor area with one hand resting on their hip, creating an open elbow crook. The volunteer speaks one fact at a time about everyday life, hobbies, or habits (for instance, 'I have run a half-marathon' or 'I prefer tea over coffee'). They pause after each fact to check for a match.

### 3. Expand the chain (8 minutes)

The first person to spot a shared fact steps forward, declares the match, and links their free arm with the speaker's open elbow (or takes an adjacent non-contact position). This second participant puts their other hand on their hip and shares facts to attract a third person. Continue sequentially. If an individual struggles to get a match after three facts, prompt them to try broad daily topics like morning routines, pets, or travel.

### 4. Close the loop and debrief (3 minutes)

When only one unlinked person remains, they link with the chain's open end using a shared fact. Then, that final person shares facts directly with the original volunteer until they find common ground, joining both ends into a closed loop. Gather the group for debrief questions, taking reflections from 2 to 3 volunteers while maintaining the circle formation.


## Debrief questions

- Which commonality surprised you the most?
- What changed in the statements when the pool of unlinked people became small?
- How did seeing the physical circle form reflect the common ground in the room?

**Finished output:** A closed circle of participants linked physically, spatially, or by visual markers, where every neighbor shares an explicit commonality.

## Remote

Use a shared digital whiteboard. The facilitator adds a node with each participant's name in a large circle. Person 1 unmutes and shares facts. When another attendee shares that fact, they type 'Match!' in chat and unmute immediately to state the shared detail. The facilitator draws a line between their name cards. The matcher then takes the floor and shares facts about themselves to attract the next unmatched person until the final connection loops back to Person 1.

## Hybrid

In-person participants stand in an open semicircle facing the room camera and screen. Remote participants join via video. A co-facilitator mirrors the chain on a shared digital whiteboard. When an in-person attendee matches a remote speaker, an in-person buddy sets a tablet or name placard in line next to them, and the in-person attendee links or stands adjacent to that placard before speaking. When a remote attendee matches an in-person speaker, the remote attendee unmutes, claims the match, and an in-person buddy adds their placard to the physical line while the co-facilitator links them on the board. The matcher then speaks until the next person connects.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may link elbows, touch knuckles, hold a shared ribbon, or stand side-by-side without physical contact.
- Anyone who prefers not to link physically may act as the scribe tracking connections on the flip chart, or link purely by spatial positioning in the circle.
- Participants may pass on any personal fact and choose everyday topics such as favorite seasons, hobbies, or breakfast foods.

## If the session gets stuck

**A speaker lists overly obscure trivia and nobody shares the trait after several tries.**

Guide the speaker toward common categories such as favorite foods, transit methods, or weekend pastimes.

**The final person cannot find common ground with the original volunteer to complete the loop.**

Invite the first volunteer and the last participant to alternate asking simple yes-or-no preference questions until they identify a shared answer.


## Terms used here

- closed circle: A completed loop where the final person connects back to the original speaker, leaving no loose ends in the chain.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed on Playmeo, which attributes the activity to Mark Collard.

Retained the linking mechanic, elbow-crook stance, and closing loop from the Playmeo observation. Added structured timing for up to 20 participants, explicit non-contact and spatial options, specific hybrid handoff steps, and flip chart tracking supplies.

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

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

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/fun-interactive-icebreaker-game-for-groups-making-connections/