One Thing

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Collect and compile one new, participant-approved personal or professional fact about colleagues into a shared team reference.

Use it when: Use during multihour retreats, team offsites, or conference days where participants have unstructured breaks and informal networking time.

Skip it when: Skip during short, tightly scheduled meetings under an hour, or when team members do not interact socially between agenda blocks.

Group arrangement: Individual discovery during breaks, followed by whole-room review.

Timing: 15 minutes total active facilitation: 5 minutes to introduce the task at the start, and 10 minutes to review the compiled notes at the close. Conversations happen during scheduled event breaks outside this clock.

Materials and tools

• 1 poster sheet or flip chart displayed in the room
• 1 printed QR code linking to an online submission form
• 1 pack of sticky notes (for analog participation)
• 24 pens
• 1 shared digital form or shared spreadsheet configured with two fields: 'Colleague Name' and 'New Thing Learned'

Before participants arrive

1. Create a simple online form with two text fields: Colleague Name and One Thing Learned About Them.
2. Generate a QR code linking directly to the form and paste it onto a flip chart poster at the front of the room.
3. Place sticky notes and pens beside the poster for anyone who prefers not to use a phone.

Say this to open

Over the course of today's gathering, your goal is to learn one new fact about your colleagues that you did not know before walking in. Keep it light, professional, or fun. Ask permission before submitting what they tell you. When you learn a fact, scan the QR code on the front chart or write it on a sticky note and post it on the board. At the end of the day, we will review what we learned together.

How to run it

1. Introduce challenge 3 minutes

   Display the prompt and QR code. Explain the task: during breaks and informal moments, talk with colleagues and find out one new piece of information about each person, or about at least 2 to 3 people if the group is large. Remind everyone to confirm with the other person that their shared item can be posted.

2. Collect observations during breaks 2 minutes

   Briefly restate the submission options right before the first break starts. Direct participants to submit either via the QR code form or by posting a physical sticky note on the flip chart. The conversations themselves occur during breaks outside the session clock.

3. Compile and project records 3 minutes

   Before the closing block, gather any physical sticky notes and add them to the digital list, or display the flip chart directly next to a screen showing the digital submissions. Give the room two minutes of quiet reading time to browse the collected items.

4. Read highlights and debrief 7 minutes

   Invite participants to call out 3 or 4 entries that surprised them or taught them something useful. Read a few submitted items aloud, checking that the named person smiles or nods. Run the short debrief questions with the full group.

Debrief questions

• What was one surprising skill, background detail, or interest you learned about someone today?
• How did checking before posting change what people felt comfortable sharing?
• How might knowing these details help us work together after today?

Finished output: A shared team database or chart listing at least one new fact about participating colleagues.

Remote

Set up a shared digital document or form. Introduce the challenge in the main video room. Encourage participants to connect via direct message, open video lunch rooms, or virtual break channels. Project the spreadsheet during the final 10 minutes of the day and invite comments in chat or aloud.

Hybrid

Display both the QR code and a direct web link on the shared screen. Remote and in-person participants submit into the same form. During the closing review, screen-share the consolidated list so both audiences read the same entries simultaneously.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may submit via mobile phone, desktop link, or physical sticky notes.
• Any participant may decline to share personal facts, offer a work-related fact instead (such as a past project or favorite work tool), or opt out entirely without explanation.

If the session gets stuck

A participant posts something embarrassing or sensitive about a colleague.

Remove the item immediately from the digital sheet or wall. Remind the group that every submission must have the explicit consent of the person described.

Some participants talk to only one or two people because of shyness or busy break schedules.

Reassure the room that learning about 2 or 3 people is completely fine; comprehensive coverage of the entire roster is not required.

Terms used here

• QR Code: Quick Response code; a square barcode readable by a smartphone camera that opens a web link directly.