# The Being

Subgroups draw a human figure on large paper, recording constructive team behaviors inside the silhouette and disruptive behaviors outside. The group inspects the work and runs an objection check to adopt the internal behaviors as shared working agreements.

**Time:** 20 minutes. Matches the 15 to 20 minute duration reported in Playmeo records.
**People:** 4 to 24. Subgroups of 4 to 8 participants working around one paper or board. For non-multiples, form balanced subgroups (e.g., 9 splits into 5 and 4; 13 splits into 7 and 6).

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Establish concrete team agreements by visually distinguishing behaviors the group commits to uphold from behaviors it agrees to avoid.
**Use it when:** Use during project kickoffs, cohort onboarding, or team restarts to co-create explicit operating norms.
**Skip it when:** Skip during acute interpersonal conflict that requires formal mediation, or when team members have no actual autonomy over their working rules.

## Materials and tools

- One large sheet of butcher or roll paper (approx 200cm x 80cm) per subgroup of 4 to 8
- Assorted colors of chisel-tip markers (at least one marker per participant)
- Roll of painter tape for mounting paper to tables or walls
- Countdown timer visible to all participants
- Digital whiteboard platform with pre-drawn human silhouettes and sticky notes (for remote or hybrid formats)

## Before participants arrive

1. Cut butcher paper into 2-meter lengths, one per subgroup.
2. Tape sheets across pushed-together tables or flat wall space so everyone can reach.
3. Distribute colored markers evenly across all stations.
4. If running online or hybrid, prepare digital whiteboard canvases with silhouette outlines and sticky notes.

## Say this to open

We are creating our group working agreements today. Each station will outline a figure called The Being. Inside the figure, you will write specific behaviors that keep our team respectful and effective. Outside the figure, you will write behaviors that undermine that work. Please gather at your stations to begin.

## How to run it

### 1. Draw the outline (2 minutes)

Subgroups assemble at their paper. One volunteer quickly sketches a large fictitious human outline across the center, such as a basic gingerbread figure. Leave broad margins around the head, torso, and limbs. Stop drawing as soon as the silhouette is visible.

### 2. Record internal supportive behaviors (5 minutes)

Participants pick up markers and write observable, supportive actions inside the outline. For example, write 'start meetings on the hour' or 'ask before interrupting focused work.' Participants write directly and simultaneously at their own pace without turn-taking pressure.

### 3. Record external disruptive behaviors (4 minutes)

Direct participants to write outside the silhouette. Prompt them to record habits or reactions that disrupt trust, communication, or progress. For example, write 'leaving decisions unrecorded' or 'staying silent about missed blockers.' Stop when time runs out.

### 4. Review and run objection check (5 minutes)

Subgroups take one minute to silently read all entries. Invite up to two volunteers to read aloud an item they consider crucial. The facilitator guides each subgroup through a quick objection check: 'Can everyone accept the behaviors inside the outline as our operating baseline?' If an item draws concern, rephrase or remove it by group consent.

### 5. Debrief and preserve agreements (4 minutes)

Reconvene the full room. Ask two volunteers from different subgroups to share one concrete agreement they established. Subgroups hang their finished posters on the room wall or take photos to document their commitments.


## Debrief questions

- Which behavior written inside the figure will take the most conscious effort for us to maintain?
- When project pressures increase, how will we gently remind each other of these commitments?

**Finished output:** A shared team poster or digital board showing affirmed operating behaviors inside a silhouette and discarded habits outside.

## Remote

Set up a digital whiteboard with one silhouette frame per breakout room. Assign groups of 4 to 8 to separate rooms. Spend 2 minutes reviewing the frame, 5 minutes posting supportive behaviors inside, 4 minutes posting disruptive behaviors outside, and 5 minutes running a rapid objection check on the inside sticky notes. Reconvene in the main room for 4 minutes of debrief and screenshot capture.

## Hybrid

Organize purely in-person subgroups at butcher-paper stations and a purely remote subgroup on a shared digital whiteboard. Do not mix physical and remote attendees within the same drawing subgroup. During Step 4, each subgroup reviews and runs an objection check independently within its space. For Step 5, screen-share the remote board to the room display and aim a room camera at physical posters, alternating debrief comments between in-person and remote participants.

## Access and participation choices

- Mount butcher paper on walls or standing-height tables so participants do not need to kneel or bend over the floor.
- Participants may dictate ideas to a partner, place sticky notes, or participate silently without speaking aloud.
- Anyone may pass on speaking during the review or debrief phases without explanation.

## If the session gets stuck

**Participants write abstract values like 'respect' or 'honesty' rather than observable practices.**

Prompt them: 'What does that action look like in an email or during a Tuesday morning meeting? Write that concrete behavior.'

**A participant objects to an item during the Step 4 objection check.**

Ask the subgroup if slight rewording addresses the concern. If disagreement persists, strike the item; only unanimous agreements remain inside.


## Terms used here

- The Being: A drawn human silhouette used as a graphic separator between behaviors a group commits to embody and behaviors it rejects.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Playmeo activity database entries by Mark Collard describing 'The Being'.

Retained the core Playmeo dynamic: outlining a fictitious figure on large paper, writing safe behaviors inside the body, and writing limiting behaviors outside. UWT structured standard step durations, replaced unstructured consensus with a rapid objection check to fit the 20-minute limit, added remote breakout pacing, clarified separate hybrid cohorts, and added accessibility provisions for paper mounting.

[Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/health-wellbeing/the-being/)

[Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/health-wellbeing/the-being)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/fun-team-values-activity-creates-shared-commitments-the-being/