--- title: "Hot Potato Tags" description: "Small groups rapidly write responses to specific topics on rotating clipboards in 30-second bursts, passing each board twice around the circle before synthesizing the notes." last_updated: "2026-09-07" canonical: "https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/hot-potato-tags-timing/" --- # Hot Potato Tags Small groups rapidly write responses to specific topics on rotating clipboards in 30-second bursts, passing each board twice around the circle before synthesizing the notes. **Time:** 15 minutes. Based on the 15 to 30 minute range in Relationship Makers Handbook, timed here for a crisp 15-minute standard session. **People:** 3 to 24. Small groups of 3 to 6 people seated in circles. ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Rapidly collect associations, definitions, or feedback on designated topics across small groups. **Use it when:** Use when a team needs to define terms, audit shared assumptions, or quickly pool initial ideas across several related themes. **Skip it when:** Skip when deep, reflective analysis or nuanced individual consensus is required instead of rapid first impressions. ## Materials and tools - One clipboard with blank lined paper per topic (exactly 1 clipboard per participant in each small group) - One pen or fine marker per participant - One shared countdown timer or smartphone with audio chime ## Before participants arrive 1. Form tables or circles of 3 to 6 participants (for example, split 7 people into 4 and 3, or 13 people into 5, 4, and 4). 2. Write one distinct topic or term at the top of each clipboard sheet. 3. Distribute one prepared clipboard and one pen to every participant so each person starts holding exactly one clipboard. ## Say this to open We will gather quick associations on our core topics using timed rotations. Each of you starts with a clipboard holding a different topic. When the timer starts, you have 30 seconds to write down words, definitions, or reactions related to that topic. You can add brand-new thoughts or build on what is already written. When the chime sounds, immediately pass your board clockwise to your neighbor. We will keep passing them until every board has circled your group twice. ## How to run it ### 1. Introduce topics and rotation mechanics (2 minutes) Explain the rules and confirm everyone has a board and a pen. Give a neutral example: if the topic is 'Customer Support SLA', entries might include '2-hour response', 'escalation queue', or 'weekend coverage'. Clarify that handwriting needs to be readable and writing short fragments is completely acceptable. ### 2. Run first rotation cycle (3 minutes) Run 30-second timed writing intervals. Ring a chime at each 30-second mark. Participants immediately pass their board clockwise. Repeat for as many rounds as there are members in the circle (for example, 3 rounds for a group of 3, or 6 rounds for a group of 6) so each participant writes on every topic once. Keep handoffs under 5 seconds. ### 3. Run second rotation cycle (3 minutes) Run the second full circuit of 30-second writing intervals, again matching the number of members in each circle. Prompt participants to read existing entries and add fresh reactions, clarifying tags, or counter-points. Stop when each clipboard returns to its original starter. ### 4. Synthesize group boards (4 minutes) Give small groups 4 minutes to review the boards. Each participant inspects the sheet they started with, circles two or three prominent themes or unexpected entries to serve as the highlighted recurring themes, and summarizes them in 30 seconds to their circle. ### 5. Harvest key findings (3 minutes) Invite one spokesperson from up to three tables to state one unexpected insight or clear pattern that appeared across their sheets. Take no more than one contribution per table to fit the time. Collect all sheets at the end. ## Debrief questions - Which ideas appeared repeatedly across multiple passes? - How did seeing an earlier note change what you wrote on your second pass? - Where did people define a term or topic in clearly contrasting ways? **Finished output:** Annotated topic sheets containing rapid collective associations, with circled items serving as highlighted recurring themes. ## Remote Set up a shared digital document or whiteboard with one column or slide per topic, ensuring the number of topics matches the exact count of participants in each breakout group. Assign each participant a designated starting slide. On each 30-second chime, participants rotate to the next numbered slide or column and add sticky notes or bullet points. ## Hybrid Keep in-person and remote participants in separate small groups. Have in-person groups pass physical clipboards while remote groups rotate through assigned pages in a shared collaborative document on a shared conference timer. ## Access and participation choices - Participants may sketch simple icons, write bullet fragments, or dictate entries quietly to a partner. - Anyone may choose to pass a board along without adding new text during any given 30-second window. ## If the session gets stuck **Participants read earlier notes so long that they run out of time to write.** Remind everyone during the first pass to write their immediate gut reaction first before reading past entries. **Participant count is not divisible into equal group sizes.** Form groups of 3 to 6 members by mixing sizes (for example, 7 people form one group of 4 and one group of 3; 13 people form groups of 5, 4, and 4). Ensure each group has exactly as many clipboards as it has members. ## Terms used here - Level-set: Establishing a shared baseline understanding of terms, facts, or assumptions among group members. ## Sources and adaptation Observed in Relationship Makers Handbook (pages 201-202). Retained the core mechanic from the Relationship Makers Handbook: 30-second rapid brainstorming windows on topic clipboards passed around the circle twice, followed by small-group synthesis and whole-room sharing. UWT structured the timing into explicit steps summing to 15 minutes, standardized passing directions clockwise, accommodated flexible group sizes of 3 to 6 people to handle odd room sizes cleanly, clarified setup and remote rotation mechanics, and added debrief questions. Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/hot-potato-tags-timing/