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Exercises/Relationship Mapping/GUT TALK
Relationship Mapping

GUT TALK

GUT TALK 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)GROUP SIZE
ActiveENERGY
In personSETTING
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. Arrange chairs in clusters of five. You don't need tables for this activity.
  2. However, professionals have emotions too.
  3. Participants Any number Time 60 90 minutes Supplies Copies of GUT TALK Checklist Sets of role cards (instructions for five different roles) Blank pieces of pa
  4. Participants Any number Time 60 Review the GUT TALK Checklist and the list of sample scenarios.
  5. If you want to, prepare your own scenarios that are locally relevant.
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 +

Arrange chairs in clusters of five. You don't need tables for this activity.

However, professionals have emotions too.

Participants Any number Time 60 90 minutes Supplies Copies of GUT TALK Checklist Sets of role cards (instructions for five different roles) Blank pieces of pa

Participants Any number Time 60 Review the GUT TALK Checklist and the list of sample scenarios.

If you want to, prepare your own scenarios that are locally relevant.

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: GUT TALK. Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: Arrange chairs in clusters of five. You don't need tables for this activity.; However, professionals have emotions too.; Participants Any number Time 60 90 minutes Supplies Copies of GUT TALK Checklist Sets of role cards (instructions for five different roles) Blank pieces of pa; Participants Any number Time 60 Review the GUT TALK Checklist and the list of sample scenarios.. 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 The Thiagi Group; aggregators are listed as additional observations, not origin proof. (1 source observed, including The Thiagi Group.)
  • 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