ESP

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Coordinate non-verbal choices simultaneously with a partner without advance signaling.

Use it when: Use as a quick physical warm-up or transition energizer when a group needs a brief burst of movement and interaction.

Skip it when: Skip when participants have mobility limitations that make rapid turning uncomfortable, or when the room lacks space for paired physical movement.

Group arrangement: Pairs (or one trio if numbers are odd)

Timing: Playmeo lists ESP as a brief energizer; UWT structures it into a 10-minute session.

Materials and tools

• No specialized materials required.

Before participants arrive

1. Clear enough floor space for participants to stand in pairs back to back with elbow room to turn safely.

Say this to open

We are going to test our unspoken synchronization in a quick game called ESP. You and a partner will try to pick the exact same gesture at the exact same time without speaking or coordinating beforehand. First, let us learn the three options together.

How to run it

1. Learn the three gestures 2 minutes

   Introduce three distinct poses or gestures. For example: hands raised high in celebration, hands flat over heart, or arms crossed. Model each pose clearly. Have the whole room practice all three gestures together two or three times until everyone recognizes them instantly.

2. Pair up and position 1 minutes

   Ask participants to find a partner and stand back to back. If there is an odd number, create one trio where two people face a single partner, or invite an extra participant to serve as the round caller alongside the facilitator.

3. Play five matching rounds 4 minutes

   Lead five rounds. For each round, call 'One, two, three, turn!' On 'turn', both partners pivot around to face each other and immediately display one of the three poses. Partners keep score of how many times they match poses exactly. After five rounds, announce a quick partner swap and run another five rounds if time allows.

4. Debrief synchronization patterns 3 minutes

   Gather the whole room while standing. Ask two or three volunteers to share what strategies or intuitions they found themselves using.

Debrief questions

• What influenced your choice of gesture when you could not plan it out?
• Did you find yourself falling into predictable patterns, and did your partner pick up on them?
• What made synchronization feel easy or difficult?

Finished output: Pairs complete five rounds of simultaneous pose selection and tally their match score.

Remote

Run in gallery view. Pair participants using names in chat or breakout assignments. Instead of turning around, participants start by covering their webcams or looking down. On the facilitator's countdown of 'One, two, three, show!', everyone reveals their camera or looks up while showing their chosen hand gesture to the lens.

Hybrid

Pair in-person participants with each other on the floor and remote participants with each other on video screens. The facilitator gives the countdown aloud for both cohorts simultaneously. Avoid pairing an in-person person with a remote screen to eliminate lag advantages.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may remain seated and simply close their eyes or look away instead of standing and turning.
• Gestures can be limited to small hand motions (such as open palm, fist, peace sign) to accommodate limited upper-body mobility.
• Any participant may opt out of movement and serve as the round caller or scorekeeper.

If the session gets stuck

Participants change their gesture after seeing what their partner chose.

Remind everyone that speed does not win points; both players must hold the gesture they chose the split-second they turn around.

An odd number of participants leaves one person without a pair.

Form a trio where one person attempts to match either of the other two, or have the extra person call the cadence for the room.

Terms used here

• ESP: Extrasensory perception; used here colloquially as a playful theme for guessing what another person will do without words.