I've Got Questions

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Collect and address anonymous questions across a group without putting individual questioners on the spot.

Use it when: Use during project check-ins or orientation sessions when people have unspoken questions or concerns that need anonymous airing.

Skip it when: Skip when safety concerns make throwing paper inappropriate or when the topic requires formal, documented administrative responses.

Group arrangement: Whole group in a standing or seated circle

Timing: Source suggests 5 to 15 minutes. 15 minutes allows a group of up to 10 participants to each read and briefly address a question at roughly 45 to 60 seconds per turn.

Materials and tools

• One sheet of blank scrap paper per participant
• One pen or pencil per participant
• One collection basket or bowl as a toss-free alternative
• One countdown timer visible to the facilitator

Before participants arrive

1. Arrange chairs in a circle with clear floor space in the center.
2. Distribute one sheet of paper and one pen to every seat.
3. Place the central collection basket in the middle of the circle.

Say this to open

Write down one real question you want answered today. It can be about our project priorities, work habits, or team norms. Do not write your name. When you finish, crumple the sheet into a ball.

How to run it

1. Write anonymous question 3 minutes

   Say the opening script. Participants write one question on their paper. To protect anonymity, remind everyone to use plain handwriting and avoid self-identifying details. When finished, each person crumples their sheet into a loose paper ball. Stopping condition: all participants hold a crumpled paper ball.

2. Toss and shuffle 2 minutes

   Invite participants to toss their paper ball across the circle to someone else. Each participant then tosses the ball they received at least one more time across the center so original authors are mixed up. Anyone who prefers not to throw or catch places their ball into the center basket instead and draws a random one out. Stopping condition: every participant holds one crumpled paper that is not their own.

3. Read and answer 8 minutes

   Go around the circle. Each participant uncrumples the paper they hold and reads the question aloud. The reader has the first option to answer it. If they cannot or prefer not to, they open it to the facilitator or room to answer. Limit each question to under 45 seconds so all participants (up to 10) complete their turn. Stopping condition: all participants have read their paper or timer reaches 8 minutes.

4. Review and debrief 2 minutes

   Summarize recurring themes from the questions. Facilitate a quick whole-room response to one debrief question. Collect all papers so unresolved questions can be answered in writing after the session.

Debrief questions

• Which questions pointed to shared confusion rather than isolated problems?
• What topic came up that we still need to resolve after this session?

Finished output: A batch of surfaced group questions, addressed in the moment or collected on paper for documented follow-up.

Remote

Use an anonymous digital submission tool such as an anonymous form or a digital whiteboard frame with author labels turned off. The facilitator reads each submitted card aloud or calls on volunteers to pick a random card number, read it, and share an initial response.

Hybrid

In-person participants drop their crumpled papers into a basket while remote participants submit through an anonymous digital form. The facilitator alternates between pulling a paper from the basket and reading an entry from the digital form.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may place their paper in a central basket instead of catching a tossed ball.
• Participants may pass on answering the question they unpack and immediately hand it to the facilitator or group.

If the session gets stuck

A participant receives their own question after the shuffle.

Allow them to quietly swap with a neighbor or pull a replacement from the central basket without announcing it.

A question raises a sensitive policy issue that nobody present can accurately answer.

Acknowledge the question directly, record it on a visible board, and state who will follow up with an answer after the session.

Terms used here

• Snowball toss: A method of anonymizing handwritten notes by crumpling and throwing them across a group.