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Exercises/Relationship Mapping/Fun Trust-Building Activity & Energiser: Talking Behind Your Back
Relationship Mapping

Fun Trust-Building Activity & Energiser: Talking Behind Your Back

Fun Trust-Building Activity & Energiser: Talking Behind Your Back is a relationship mapping exercise that helps participants build useful connections and understand how people, roles, or ideas relate.

5 to 15 minutesTIME
Medium group (9-25), Small group (4-8)GROUP SIZE
ActiveENERGY
In person, RemoteSETTING
High cognitive loadCOGNITIVE LOAD
Strengthens Network Design This relationship mapping exercise strengthens Network Design, one of the eight Gathering Effectiveness pillars.

How to run it

  1. Distribute an index card and a pen or marker to each person.
  2. Instruct each person to write their name on top of their card.
  3. Tape or pin these cards to the back of their owner.
  4. Instruct everyone to mingle with as many people in the group and write a short, affirming comment about that person on their index card.
  5. If you choose, instruct people to write their comments anonymously.
  6. When ready, invite each person to remove their card and read the comments.
  7. Talking Behind Your Back Fun trust-building activity creating positive connections & support.
  8. Talking Behind Your Back is a fun trust-building activity that creates meaningful bonds through supportive communication.
  9. Participants receive encouraging comments from their peers as part of the sharing process.
Live facilitator

Run this exercise live

The facilitator console stays in this browser. Its QR handoff is a short-lived participant snapshot containing only public exercise instructions, phase, prompt, and timer state.

Prompts to use +

Instruct each person to write their name on top of their card.

Instruct everyone to mingle with as many people in the group and write a short, affirming comment about that person on their index card.

If you choose, instruct people to write their comments anonymously.

When ready, invite each person to remove their card and read the comments.

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: Fun Trust-Building Activity & Energiser: Talking Behind Your Back. Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: Instruct each person to write their name on top of their card.; Instruct everyone to mingle with as many people in the group and write a short, affirming comment about that person on their index card.; If you choose, instruct people to write their comments anonymously.; When ready, invite each person to remove their card and read the comments.. 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 Playmeo; aggregators are listed as additional observations, not origin proof. (1 source observed, including Playmeo.)
  • 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.

Pairs well with