Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Help me prepare and run the exercise below. First ask for my participant count, time, setting, access needs and intended result. Check these against the stated limits. Use the supplied rules and materials. Explain any proposed changes before using them, and label them as adaptations. Do not invent source claims or require personal disclosure. Give me one step at a time when I say start. I manage the people, physical activity and clock; do not claim to observe the room. Ask me what happened before choosing a next step.

Reference revision: ad1215cbe5aac120f0597d0886a702254e7d8d5434fe3777f3a54f71bbbe3b10

# Insight Blast

One or two participants deliver focused micro-talks of up to three minutes to share a specific observation or lesson from their work. Listeners record key takeaways on cards and have the option to share reflections.

**Time:** 10 minutes. UWT standard module allocating 10 minutes for two micro-talks, individual notes, and quick reflections, based on the source range of 2 to 5 minutes per talk.
**People:** 4 to 24. Solo speaker to the full room, followed by individual reflection and optional paired comments.

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Share concise individual perspectives and observations across a group within strict time boundaries.
**Use it when:** Use as an intentional break or perspective shift between working sessions during a longer meeting or gathering.
**Skip it when:** Skip when the agenda requires consensus decision-making, deep technical troubleshooting, or when attendees need immediate quiet focus.

## Materials and tools

- Visual timer or stopwatch visible to speaker and room
- Index cards or notebook paper (1 sheet per participant)
- Pens or pencils (1 per participant)

## Before participants arrive

1. Identify one or two willing volunteers before the meeting, or announce the opportunity with advance notice so no one is pressured to speak on the spot.
2. Set up a countdown timer visible from the speaking position.

## Say this to open

We are pausing for an Insight Blast. An Insight Blast is a tight, focused talk under three minutes. The speaker shares one concrete observation, surprise, or lesson from their work. For example, a speaker might share a surprising pattern noticed in client intake calls last month. Our goal is simply to listen and note one takeaway that stands out to us.

## How to run it

### 1. Set stage and prompt (1 minutes)

Explain the format and time limit. Ask listeners to keep a card and pen ready to record one takeaway if they wish. Invite the first volunteer speaker to the front.

### 2. Deliver first blast (3 minutes)

Start the timer. The first speaker presents their insight without interruption for up to 3 minutes. Stop promptly when time expires. Give a visual signal at 30 seconds remaining.

### 3. Deliver second blast (3 minutes)

Invite the second volunteer speaker up. Start the 3-minute timer. The speaker presents their observation. Stop promptly when the timer sounds.

### 4. Silent capture and optional partner check (2 minutes)

Offer 60 seconds of quiet time for participants to write one takeaway on their card if they choose. For the remaining minute, invite participants to share their note with a neighbor if both wish, or remain in quiet reflection.

### 5. Debrief and transition (1 minutes)

Ask the debrief question to the room: Which takeaway is most relevant to the project work we are tackling today? Invite one or two volunteers to read aloud a single sentence, then transition to the next agenda item.


## Debrief questions

- What was one observation that changed how you view a familiar problem?
- Which takeaway is most relevant to the project work we are tackling today?

**Finished output:** Personal notes capturing peer observations and voluntary spoken takeaways.

## Remote

Pin the active speaker video. Run an on-screen timer or type 1-minute and 30-second warnings into chat. Participants record notes privately or drop reflections into the meeting chat.

## Hybrid

Place in-person speakers near the room microphone and camera so remote participants can hear and see them clearly. Remote speakers broadcast through room audio and screen. Both rooms log notes on paper or in a shared text document.

## Access and participation choices

- Speaking is voluntary; participants may pass on giving a talk or sharing notes without explanation.
- Speakers may present seated, standing, or by reading prepared text.
- Listeners may write notes, sketch, or simply listen quietly.

## If the session gets stuck

**A speaker continues talking past the allotted time.**

Stand up, thank the speaker clearly by name, state that the time has expired, and prompt the room for applause to conclude the talk.

**No one volunteers to give an impromptu talk during the session.**

Do not push anyone to speak. Step in with a pre-planned 2-minute project observation yourself, or advance directly to the next working block.


## Terms used here

- Insight Blast: A brief, time-boxed micro-talk of two to five minutes focused on a single experience or realization.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Relationship Makers Handbook, pages 215-216.

Retained the source rule requiring strict time limits (2 to 5 minutes) focused entirely on a concise insight. UWT structured the activity into a standard 10-minute session featuring two 3-minute talks, added clear timing cues, and included optional listener reflection to protect personal choice.

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/insight-blast/