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: 775e25316606762515e1cc5b7e6cc5039fa3d0fd52f281f63c05ebfadad0caea

# Intergenerational Dialogue

Participants from different age groups share formative memories and compare historical challenges in small mixed cohorts. They record distinct perspectives and common values to agree on shared insights.

**Time:** 75 minutes. Source recommends 60 to 120 minutes. UWT standardizes a baseline at 75 minutes.
**People:** 8 to 20. Mixed small groups of 3 to 5 participants containing at least two distinct generations.

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Document shared and distinct perspectives across age groups on a specific topic or community challenge.
**Use it when:** Use when community members or team cohorts across distinct age brackets need to understand each other's historical contexts and agree on common working norms.
**Skip it when:** Skip when the group represents only a single age bracket, or when an urgent technical decision requires immediate task execution rather than perspective exchange.

## Materials and tools

- One dialogue prompt card per participant
- One blank A4 recording sheet per small group
- Scratch paper for small group note-taking
- One pen per participant
- Flipchart paper and markers for whole-room capture
- A shared digital document or whiteboard for remote or hybrid capture

## Before participants arrive

1. Arrange seating into small tables with 3 to 5 chairs each.
2. Distribute one prompt card and one pen to each seat, plus one recording sheet and scratch paper to each table.
3. As participants arrive, ask them to identify their broad age bracket (such as under 30, 30 to 50, over 50), then seat them to ensure each table holds at least two generations.
4. If participant count leaves an uneven split (such as 13 or 17 people), form groups of 3, 4, or 5 to keep everyone included.

## Say this to open

Welcome. Today we bring different life experiences together to learn from one another. Our central rule today is active listening without interrupting. We will share memories, examine what shaped our perspectives, and identify common priorities. Everything shared is voluntary, and you may focus on public events or personal stories as you prefer. Let us begin with introductions at our tables.

## How to run it

### 1. Introduce and set norms (10 minutes)

Read the opening script. Ask participants at each table to introduce themselves by name and share one memorable song, film, or invention from their youth. Reiterate the rule of listening without interrupting.

### 2. Explore lived experiences in small groups (25 minutes)

Direct tables to discuss Part 2 on their cards. Each participant takes up to 3 minutes of uninterrupted time to answer: what social challenge or change marked your youth, and what values helped people navigate it? A volunteer notes key themes on scratch paper.

### 3. Identify cross-generational lessons (15 minutes)

Direct tables to discuss Part 3: what can our generations learn from each other? Groups agree on two insights: one clear difference in historical experience and one core shared value. The volunteer writes both on the table recording sheet.

### 4. Share findings across the room (15 minutes)

Reconvene the whole room. Invite one spokesperson from each small group to share their table's two recorded insights, spending roughly 2 minutes per group. Write the main points on the central flipchart or projected shared document.

### 5. Debrief and close (10 minutes)

Lead a whole-room debrief using the debrief questions, inviting up to four total reflections. Collect table recording sheets and scratch notes for documentation.


## Debrief questions

- What surprised you about the challenges described by another generation?
- Where did your experiences unexpectedly overlap?
- What is one practical action or communication habit we can adopt based on what we heard?

**Finished output:** Table recording sheets and a central flipchart or digital document listing generational differences, shared values, and proposed collaborative actions.

## Remote

Run in Zoom or Teams using breakout rooms of 3 to 5 people with balanced age representation. Post the discussion prompts into the chat. Designate one person per breakout to capture notes on a shared online document. Return to the main room for spoken shares using the hand-raise queue while the facilitator displays the shared document.

## Hybrid

Seat in-person participants in generational pods of 3 to 5, and assign remote participants to virtual breakouts of 3 to 5 with mixed generations. Both in-person and remote spokespersons enter their table's two insights from Step 3 into a shared digital document, which the facilitator projects in the room and screenshares online during Step 4.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may pass on personal anecdotes and discuss general public events, trends, or technologies instead.
- Provide large-print prompt cards and allow written responses in place of spoken turns.

## If the session gets stuck

**One generation dominates the table discussion.**

Remind tables to use the 3-minute timed round structure so every participant gets a dedicated speaking turn without interruption.

**Participants focus entirely on surface stereotypes about other age groups.**

Redirect the table to specific personal stories: ask them to describe an actual event they witnessed or experienced directly.


## Terms used here

- Intergenerational: Involving people from distinct age brackets or historical eras, such as youth, mid-career adults, and elders.

## Participant material: Dialogue Prompt Card

INTERGENERATIONAL DIALOGUE PROMPT CARD

Part 1: Icebreaker
- Name
- One memorable song, film, or everyday invention from your youth

Part 2: Small Group Exchange
Take turns answering (up to 3 minutes each):
1. What social challenge or major change marked your youth?
2. What values helped people navigate that era?

Part 3: Shared Insights
Discuss: What can our generations learn from each other today?
Agree and record together on your sheet:
- One clear difference in our historical experiences
- One core value or lesson we share

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Participatory Methods documentation (2025).

Retained core structure, questions, and purpose from Participatory Methods. Added flexible group sizing of 3 to 5 to accommodate any cohort size from 8 to 20, arrival intake procedures to guarantee generational mix, scratch paper for interim note-taking, unified prompt card and step instructions, and explicit hybrid display protocols.

[Participatory Methods](https://participatorymethods.com/activities/intergenerational-dialogue/)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/intergenerational-dialogue/