Palm Tree

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Produce a shared visual map connecting each participant's stated goal to the rest of the group.

Use it when: Use during project kickoffs, cohort launches, or planning workshops when a team needs to record individual aims together.

Skip it when: Skip when participants cannot lean over a shared table surface, or when individual goals must remain private.

Group arrangement: Subgroups of 4 to 8 around separate large paper sheets, or one circle for up to 8 people.

Timing: Playmeo lists 5 to 10 minutes for 3 to 8 people. UWT suggests 15 minutes to accommodate subgroups of up to 24 with structured debriefing.

Materials and tools

• One large sheet of butcher or poster paper (approx 1m x 1m) per subgroup of 4 to 8 people
• One washable colored marker per participant
• Roll of painter's tape to secure paper to tables or floor
• Digital whiteboard platform (e.g., Miro or Mural) with pre-made digital hand outline shapes for remote delivery
• Overhead camera or smartphone with tripod for document capture during hybrid sessions

Before participants arrive

1. Tape a 1m x 1m paper sheet to an accessible-height table or flat floor area for each subgroup of 4 to 8 people.
2. Distribute markers evenly around each paper station.
3. If running remote or hybrid, pre-load hand outline icons onto the digital whiteboard.

Say this to open

We are going to create a shared map of our goals. Everyone will place one hand on the paper and trace it so that it touches or overlaps at least one other handprint. No handprint can sit on its own as an island. Once your outline is down, write your name and one clear goal you want to work toward inside your hand, or a single focus word if you prefer.

How to run it

1. Explain and demonstrate tracing 3 minutes

   Deliver the opening script. Demonstrate on one poster sheet by tracing your own hand with a marker. Emphasize that each new handprint must overlap or intersect slightly with an existing outline so all handprints form an unbroken network with no isolated shapes.

2. Trace overlapping outlines 4 minutes

   Participants step up to their subgroup paper station. Two or three people trace their hands simultaneously, then step back so remaining members can place and trace overlapping outlines. Ensure every hand connects to at least one neighboring print without isolated islands.

3. Record individual goals 4 minutes

   Each person writes their name and one specific goal inside their own handprint. A neutral example is: 'Submit project draft by Friday' or 'Complete onboarding tutorial'. Participants who prefer not to disclose a goal may write a single focus word or leave the center blank.

4. Review and debrief 4 minutes

   Gather the room to view the posters. Invite three or four volunteers across the room to read what they wrote and explain its placement. Facilitate the debrief questions with the whole room.

Debrief questions

• What patterns or common themes do you notice across the goals recorded on the sheet?
• How does your goal intersect with or rely on the goals written adjacent to yours?
• What is one practical action we can take this week to support someone else's goal?

Finished output: A collaborative poster showing an interconnected network of traced hands containing individual names and goals.

Remote

Use a digital whiteboard populated with scalable hand outline icons. Working in parallel, participants drag a hand icon so its edge overlaps a neighbor's icon, add a text box with their name and goal or focus word, and review the whole map together.

Hybrid

In-person participants trace on physical paper sheets. A designated scribe uses an overhead camera or smartphone on a tripod to upload a photo of the paper cluster to the digital board. Remote participants drag digital hand icons to overlap the edges of the photo, adding their names and goals.

Access and participation choices

• Participants who prefer not to trace their own hand may ask a peer to trace theirs, trace an everyday object such as a notebook, or use a pre-cut paper hand outline to tape onto the sheet.
• Participants may write a broad focus word or leave the interior blank instead of disclosing a personal goal, and anyone may pass during the verbal debrief.

If the session gets stuck

A participant traces their hand too far away, creating an isolated island shape.

Ask the participant or a neighbor to draw an extending wrist band, stem, or connector line to attach it to the nearest handprint.

Limited reach or mobility makes it hard for someone to lean across the paper to overlap an existing print.

Rotate the poster sheet or set it on an accessible-height table so people can reach edges easily and trace outward from peripheral prints.