Encanto Strength Finding

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Help participants articulate a personal strength to a peer while establishing a dedicated shared meeting spot in the physical workspace.

Use it when: Early in an in-person workshop or team orientation when pairs need a light movement break and an unforced personal sharing prompt.

Skip it when: Skip when the physical space is too cramped or noisy for navigation, or when participants lack physical mobility without an established seated navigation alternative.

Group arrangement: Pairs (one trio if group size is odd)

Timing: Playmeo lists 5 to 10 minutes; 10 minutes fits full pairs navigation and concise debrief.

Materials and tools

• No specialized materials required; one visible room clock or facilitator stopwatch

Before participants arrive

1. Check that the room has clear walkways free of trip hazards so participants can navigate freely across the floor.

Say this to open

Find a partner. To start, you will each take thirty seconds to share one imaginary superpower you would love to have. Then we will move across the room to reveal a secret spot and talk about our real-world gifts.

How to run it

1. Share imaginary superpowers 2 minutes

   Form pairs. If an odd number is present, form one trio. Partners take turns sharing an imaginary superpower they would love to possess and a brief reason why. Keep each turn to under one minute.

2. Pick secret spots and navigate 4 minutes

   Without speaking to their partner, each person picks an accessible secret spot or object in the room. Partner A stands still while Partner B walks around the room. Partner A guides Partner B to Partner A's secret spot using only warmer, colder, hot, or freezing verbal cues. Once Partner B touches or arrives at the spot, switch roles so Partner B guides Partner A to Partner B's secret spot.

3. Meet midway and share real-world strength 3 minutes

   Each pair locates a physical midpoint spot situated safely between their two secret locations. Both partners walk to that middle spot. Standing together at this midpoint, each person shares one practical, real-world strength they bring to group work. Partners can designate this physical spot as their touchpoint for pair check-ins later in the day.

4. Conclude and reflect 1 minutes

   Call the full group to attention. Ask one or two participants to share what it felt like to bridge from an imaginary superpower to a real-life capability.

Debrief questions

• How did moving between your two secret spots change the energy of your conversation?
• How did your imaginary superpower relate, if at all, to the real-life strength you named?

Finished output: Each pair establishes a recognized physical meeting point in the workspace and exchanges one real-world personal strength.

Remote

This activity relies on physical room navigation. For a remote team, use a digital whiteboard grid instead: each person places a hidden sticky note on a shared board, directs their partner using directional cues (up, down, left, right, warmer, colder) to uncover it, and then places a shared icon midway between their coordinates to type their real-world strength.

Hybrid

In-person pairs navigate the room as written. Remote participants pair together in a breakout room using the digital whiteboard grid variation. Do not pair an in-person participant with a remote participant, as the physical navigation mechanic does not translate across mixed modes.

Access and participation choices

• Participants with limited mobility can guide their partner from a seated position, or choose visible room features by pointing instead of walking.
• Any participant may pass on disclosing personal strengths and instead name a skill they appreciate in colleagues, or simply enjoy the navigation game.

If the session gets stuck

The room becomes too loud for partners to hear warmer-or-colder cues.

Instruct participants to use simple hand gestures, such as waving hands high for hot and lowering hands toward the floor for cold.

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

Create one trio. Person A guides Person B, Person B guides Person C, Person C guides Person A, and all three find a common central point.

Terms used here

• Candle: A metaphor drawn from the film Encanto referring to an individual's unique inner talent or personal gift.