I'm A...

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Identify cultural variables and personal dimensions of identity beyond surface demographics without requiring personal disclosure.

Use it when: Use during diversity, cross-cultural, or team onboarding sessions when groups need to explore multidimensional identity beyond standard demographic labels.

Skip it when: Skip when the group is smaller than four people or when participants suspect their handwriting or distinctive word choices will reveal their identity.

Group arrangement: Individual writing followed by anonymous card swap and whole-room callouts.

Timing: UWT suggested 15-minute facilitation plan based on Thiagi's fast-paced activity.

Materials and tools

• One 4x6 index card or blank half-sheet of paper per participant
• One pen or pencil per participant
• A central table or tray for swapping cards
• For remote delivery: an anonymous digital survey tool and a shared digital whiteboard
• For hybrid delivery: shared digital whiteboard, video link, and extra blank index cards with a pen for the facilitator

Before participants arrive

1. Place blank index cards and pens at each seat.
2. Clear a central table or flat surface so participants can drop and pick up cards anonymously.

Say this to open

Take an index card and a pen. Complete the phrase 'I am a...' ten distinct times. Do not write your name. You can use roles, habits, affiliations, or traits. You will swap these anonymously, so write only what you feel comfortable letting another person read aloud.

How to run it

1. Write ten completions 4 minutes

   Speak the opening script. Participants work silently to write ten completions of 'I am a(n)...' on their card. Example: 'I am a runner', 'I am an aunt', 'I am an introvert'. Stop at four minutes.

2. Swap cards anonymously 2 minutes

   Direct all participants to turn their cards face down on the central table. Everyone shuffles the pile lightly and picks up one card that is not their own. If someone draws their own card, they exchange it immediately with another from the table.

3. Call categories and read samples 6 minutes

   Call out identity categories one at a time, such as profession, family role, birth order, region, interests, or personal habits. When a category is called, ask participants to look at the card they hold. Invite two or three volunteers per category to read matching lines aloud verbatim. Limit sharing to two or three examples per category so multiple categories can be called within six minutes.

4. Debrief dimensions of difference 3 minutes

   Facilitate a brief group discussion using the debrief questions. Collect responses from three to four participants to examine cultural variables that surfaced.

Debrief questions

• Which categories appeared most frequently across the cards?
• What identity markers surfaced that go beyond standard demographic checkboxes?
• How might recognizing these unseen cultural variables change day-to-day team interactions?

Finished output: A shuffled collection of anonymous index cards reflecting diverse personal, cultural, and social attributes across the group.

Remote

Provide an anonymous digital survey tool or form where each person submits their ten completions as separate short lines. The facilitator copies each submission onto separate digital sticky notes on a shared digital whiteboard, shuffling them visually. When the facilitator calls a category, participants browse the digital board, select a sticky note matching the category, and read it aloud or highlight it.

Hybrid

In-person participants write on physical index cards. Remote participants submit their ten items via an anonymous form or direct message to the facilitator, who writes them onto physical index cards in the room. The physical cards are placed face down on the central table and shuffled. For the remote attendees, the facilitator draws cards on their behalf and private messages the text to them, or displays the drawn cards on a shared digital whiteboard. Turn-taking alternates between room volunteers and remote speakers.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may write fewer than ten items if needed.
• Anyone may pass on reading an item aloud when a category is called.
• Participants choose their own level of depth and may use everyday public habits rather than sensitive personal traits.

If the session gets stuck

A participant draws their own card from the table.

Ask them to place it back face down and take another card before category calls start.

Participants struggle to write ten items in time.

Prompt them with everyday examples such as morning person, pet owner, commuter, or music fan.

Terms used here

• Cultural variables: The varied social, regional, familial, and personal attributes that shape an individual's background and perspective beyond demographic labels.