Idealist 3 Questions

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Surface individual civic intentions, identify common obstacles, and generate peer support for next actions.

Use it when: Use in community gatherings or orientation sessions when people want to identify shared local interests and offer practical peer assistance.

Skip it when: Skip when the meeting has an urgent operational agenda or when participants are required to address an assigned organizational topic rather than self-chosen goals.

Group arrangement: Trios or groups of 4

Timing: Relationship Makers Handbook suggests 15 to 30 minutes. 25 minutes allows 3 minutes of solo writing, four 4-minute small group turns (or three turns with buffer), and a brief whole-room debrief.

Materials and tools

• One sheet of blank paper per participant
• One felt-tip marker or pen per participant
• One visible timer or chime for the facilitator
• Flipchart or whiteboard displaying the three prompts

Before participants arrive

1. Write the three questions visibly on a board or chart: 1. What do you care about, or what do you want to do for the common good? 2. What is getting in your way? 3. What would help you take the next step?
2. Arrange seating into clusters of 3 or 4 chairs.

Say this to open

Take a sheet of paper and a pen. We will use three simple questions to look at what we want to do in our community and how we can support each other. You will have three minutes of quiet time to write brief answers to each prompt shown on the board. You decide what level of detail you want to share.

How to run it

1. Write individual reflections 3 minutes

   Participants work individually and write brief responses to the three questions: what they care about or want to do for the common good, what gets in the way, and what would help them take a next step. Anyone may choose a personal, neighborhood, or professional focus.

2. Form small groups and designate turn order 2 minutes

   Divide participants into groups of 3 or 4. Direct each group to select an initial speaker and decide an order for sharing so turns run smoothly.

3. Share and support in small groups 16 minutes

   Run up to four 4-minute rounds. For each person's turn: the speaker takes 2 minutes to summarize their answers to all three questions. For the remaining 2 minutes, group members focus strictly on question 3, offering specific advice, contacts, resources, or encouragement. Call time at 4-minute intervals so every member gets an equal turn.

4. Debrief and harvest next steps 4 minutes

   Bring the room together. Invite two or three volunteers to name a practical suggestion, contact, or insight they received from their group that helps them move forward.

Debrief questions

• What was an offer or piece of advice from your group that made a next step seem more realistic?
• What common patterns or barriers came up across different projects?
• What is one commitment or outreach action you can do in the next week?

Finished output: Each participant completes a written plan with at least one peer suggestion for taking a concrete next step toward their chosen civic goal.

Remote

Display the three prompts on a shared screen. Give 3 minutes of solo writing on local paper or a private doc. Place participants into breakout rooms of 3 or 4 for 16 minutes, broadcasting time alerts every 4 minutes to change speakers. Return to main room for a 4-minute debrief via microphone or chat window.

Hybrid

Keep in-person participants grouped with in-person tables and remote participants in dedicated virtual breakout rooms of 3 or 4. Broadcast audio announcements or visual timer cues simultaneously across the physical room and virtual platform. Share debrief comments via both room microphone and the meeting chat.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may sketch, type on a digital device, or dictate notes instead of handwriting.
• Any participant may pass on answering a specific question or choose to be a peer listener/advisor without presenting a personal civic project.

If the session gets stuck

One person talks through their entire four minutes describing the problem, leaving no time for peer advice.

Remind groups before starting that prompt 1 and 2 must finish within two minutes so peers can speak during the second two minutes.

Peers start evaluating whether the person's goal is worthwhile instead of helping with the next step.

Intervene or clarify in the opening instructions that peer turns are reserved only for constructive help, resources, and next steps related to question 3.

Terms used here

• Common good: Actions, services, or conditions that benefit a neighborhood, public group, or wider community rather than just an individual.