Fill the Space

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Re-engage physical attention and practice observing movement patterns across a room.

Use it when: Use during a mid-session slump or after long seated work when people need brief physical movement without verbal debate.

Skip it when: Skip in tight, cluttered rooms or when participants cannot safely navigate walking paths without collisions.

Group arrangement: Whole group moving simultaneously as individuals

Timing: UWT suggested 10 minutes (Playmeo suggests brief rounds of 10 to 20 seconds)

Materials and tools

• Open floor space clear of tables and tripping hazards
• Visual chime, bell, or hand clap for cues

Before participants arrive

1. Clear furniture to the perimeter so participants can walk freely in all directions across the entire floor.

Say this to open

Please stand and spread out so no two people are standing right next to each other. When I say start, begin walking silently across the room at a normal, steady pace. Fill the empty spaces rather than walking in a circle. Keep your eyes up.

How to run it

1. Establish baseline movement 2 minutes

   Invite everyone to walk in silence at a moderate pace, weaving across the open room to fill empty floor space. Encourage people not to form a perimeter circle. Let this continue for about 90 seconds until the group moves smoothly.

2. Secret follower round 3 minutes

   Call out: 'Keep walking silently. Without pointing, looking intensely, or speaking, secretly pick one person across the room from you. Your goal is to maneuver behind them as closely and casually as possible without letting them realize you are following them.' Let the chase develop for 20 to 30 seconds as swirling clusters emerge. Call 'Pause and resume general walking' to reset.

3. Second round with new targets 3 minutes

   Have the group walk normally across the room again for 20 seconds. Announce: 'Pick a new secret target who is currently far away from you. Begin following them from behind.' Run the pursuit for 30 seconds, then call a stop.

4. Debrief 2 minutes

   Gather everyone in a standing circle or seated. Ask 1 or 2 reflective questions and take 2 or 3 quick answers from the group before transitioning to the next agenda item.

Debrief questions

• What physical clues gave away that someone was tracking you?
• How did the collective movement shift across the room when everyone switched from wandering to tracking?

Finished output: A shared kinesthetic warm-up completed without spoken dialogue.

Remote

This specific physical tracking activity cannot run across webcams without altering its core spatial mechanics. For a remote energizer with a related observational focus, run 'Spot the Change': one person turns off their camera, alters one physical detail (e.g., takes off glasses, puts on a hat, changes background), turns the camera back on, and the group guesses the change via chat.

Hybrid

Keep in-person participants moving on the cleared floor. Remote participants cannot participate in the physical following game; have them join as remote spotters observing the room view on camera to guess who is tracking whom in the chat, or run an independent video-based observational warm-up.

Access and participation choices

• Participants with mobility aids or who prefer stationary participation can act as static obstacles or official navigators stationed at the edge.
• Any participant may step aside and observe the room dynamics without explanation.

If the session gets stuck

Participants bunch into a single clockwise circle around the room edges.

Remind participants to cut across the center and seek out open gaps of empty floor space.

People move too fast or bump into each other.

Call out a strict rule for regular walking speed and maintain at least an arm-length buffer between bodies.

Terms used here

• Kinesthetic: Relating to physical movement and awareness of the body in space.