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Exercises/Divergent Ideation/Hot Potato Tags Timing
Ideation Warm-Up ยท Divergent Ideation

Hot Potato Tags Timing

Hot Potato Tags Timing is an ideation warm-up exercise for divergent ideation: it helps participants open up more possible ideas before choosing a direction.

5 to 15 minutesTIME
Small group (4-8)GROUP SIZE
QuietENERGY
In person, RemoteSETTING
High cognitive loadCOGNITIVE LOAD
Strengthens Participation Architecture This divergent ideation exercise strengthens Participation Architecture, one of the eight Gathering Effectiveness pillars.

How to run it

  1. The board should pass through each person's hands at least twice
  2. for each People Science Team to discuss
  3. that you want the group to define/level set, or topics you want feedback on
  4. Each topic should have its own clipboard
  5. Instruct the teams to write as much as they can down for each topic in a 30 second window
  6. Then pass the clipboard to the next team member
  7. Each clipboard should make it around the circle twice
  8. Share with larger group
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 +

The board should pass through each person's hands at least twice

for each People Science Team to discuss

that you want the group to define/level set, or topics you want feedback on

Each topic should have its own clipboard

Instruct the teams to write as much as they can down for each topic in a 30 second window

Then pass the clipboard to the next team member

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: Hot Potato Tags Timing. Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: The board should pass through each person's hands at least twice; for each People Science Team to discuss; that you want the group to define/level set, or topics you want feedback on; Each topic should have its own clipboard. 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 Relationship Makers Handbook; aggregators are listed as additional observations, not origin proof. (1 source observed, including Relationship Makers Handbook.)
  • 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