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Exercises/Relationship Mapping/Pass the Clap
Relationship Mapping

Pass the Clap

Pass the Clap is a relationship mapping exercise that helps participants build useful connections and understand how people, roles, or ideas relate.

5 to 15 minutesTIME
Medium group (9-25)GROUP SIZE
ActiveENERGY
In personSETTING
Low cognitive loadCOGNITIVE LOAD
Strengthens Network Design This relationship mapping exercise strengthens Network Design, one of the eight Gathering Effectiveness pillars.

How to run it

  1. Everyone stand in a circle
  2. If everyone stood next to their friends, have everyone move positions
  3. Starting with the facilitator/leader, he/she "pass" one clap to the next player
  4. In order to "pass" the clap, players will "collect" a clap from the person to their right by clapping once
  5. then "pass" it to the person on their left by clapping once
  6. They should physically turn their body, not their feet 180 degrees The person on their left then claps once to "collect" the clap, then "passes" it to the next person on their
  7. whole group should pick up on this speed change and pass the clap much faster Once the group has the hang of it, try reversing the clap direction by clapping twice - aka sending the
  8. clap back where it came from For advanced users, try to have two or three clap directions going at the same time at least 15 people
Live facilitator

Run this exercise live

The facilitator console stays in this browser. Its QR handoff is a short-lived participant snapshot containing only public exercise instructions, phase, prompt, and timer state.

Prompts to use +

Everyone stand in a circle

If everyone stood next to their friends, have everyone move positions

Starting with the facilitator/leader, he/she "pass" one clap to the next player

In order to "pass" the clap, players will "collect" a clap from the person to their right by clapping once

then "pass" it to the person on their left by clapping once

whole group should pick up on this speed change and pass the clap much faster Once the group has the hang of it, try reversing the clap direction by clapping twice - aka sending the

Run this with your AI assistant +

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

Adapt this exercise for my exact room. Exercise: Pass the Clap. Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: Everyone stand in a circle; If everyone stood next to their friends, have everyone move positions; Starting with the facilitator/leader, he/she "pass" one clap to the next player; In order to "pass" the clap, players will "collect" a clap from the person to their right by clapping once. Return a concise facilitator script with timing, wording, safety notes, and remote/in-person adjustments.

Origin unverified

  • Where we observed it: The strongest current observations come from Relationship Makers Handbook; aggregators are listed as additional observations, not origin proof. (1 source observed, including Relationship Makers Handbook.)
  • What that means: we track where an exercise has been observed in public sources. We do not claim to know who created it, or how popular it is.
  • No efficacy claims: appearing in this library is not a claim that the exercise is proven effective. Facilitator judgment and context decide whether it works for a given room.
  • Corrections: if you have evidence of an earlier or more accurate source, read our methodology and trust boundary and tell us.

Pairs well with