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: 9c88be43ec9fbee2af26c16c9b17667f59152cedca9a76419eaea3de0c8f01c7

# Working the Room

Participants mingle briefly to exchange names and facts, then test both their public recognition and their recall of others' names in two competitive challenges. The group debriefs which conversational behaviors helped names stick without social pressure.

**Time:** 18 minutes. Source specifies 15 to 20 minutes; 18 minutes gives structured pacing for both challenges and debrief.
**People:** 10 to 30. Individual mingling, followed by whole-room recognition checks

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Help participants learn each other's names quickly through rapid mingling followed by self-tested recall.
**Use it when:** Use at the very start of a multi-day workshop or cohort program when participants do not yet know one another.
**Skip it when:** Skip when participants already work together daily or when the room includes individuals uncomfortable with fast-paced, unassisted mingling.

## Materials and tools

- One printed instruction sheet per person
- Blank scrap paper (one sheet per person)
- Pens or pencils (one per person)
- Timer or whistle
- Concealable nametags (optional, if nametags are already in use)

## Before participants arrive

1. Print an instruction sheet for each participant.
2. Ensure open floor space where participants can move around freely.
3. Have scratch paper and pens ready at tables.

## Say this to open

Welcome. We will start with an energetic icebreaker called Working the Room. You will have seven minutes to mingle and exchange names with as many people as possible. At the end of seven minutes, we will run two quick memory checks to see how many names stuck. Participation in the contest rounds is voluntary. Take an instruction sheet, and let us get started.

## How to run it

### 1. Mingle and collect names (7 minutes)

Distribute the instruction sheet. Signal start. Participants walk around the room, introduce themselves, share a brief fact, and learn others' names. Give a one-minute warning at minute 6. Stop all conversations promptly at minute 7.

### 2. Conceal nametags and brief contests (2 minutes)

Direct all participants to remove, turn over, or cover any visible nametags. Explain that the room will now run two separate, voluntary memory checks: first for recognition, then for recall.

### 3. Test room recognition (4 minutes)

Invite participants who believe their name is remembered by the largest number of people to volunteer and stand at the front. Up to three volunteers may test this. Point to the first volunteer. Everyone else writes that person's full name on scratch paper. The volunteer announces their correct full name. Neighbors verify each other's written answer. Count how many people correctly wrote the name. Repeat for up to two more volunteers. Acknowledge the person whose name was remembered by the most people.

### 4. Test personal recall (3 minutes)

Ask everyone to survey the room silently. Invite bids on how many full names an individual can recall right now. Identify the highest bidder. That participant attempts to walk or point around the room, quietly naming individuals to verify directly. Each person correctly named stands up. If the bidder meets or exceeds their bid, they succeed; if not, test the second-highest bidder if time allows.

### 5. Debrief conversational recall (2 minutes)

Convene the whole room. Ask two participants to share what specific introductions or cues helped names stick during fast mingling.


## Debrief questions

- What conversational behavior made someone's name easy to remember?
- If you were trying to help another person remember your name, what technique worked best?
- What felt challenging about balancing talking to many people versus remembering details?

**Finished output:** A room of participants who have introduced themselves to peers and tested initial name recall.

## Remote

Use randomized 2-minute breakout pairs over 6 minutes (3 rapid rounds). Re-convene in main room, disable video display names or ask everyone to temporarily change screen names to a placeholder number. Volunteers submit their name recall count via chat or direct message to the facilitator to conduct the memory checks.

## Hybrid

Not recommended for split rooms because physical mingling dynamics do not translate fairly across camera feeds. Run two separate parallel pools or transition entirely to the breakout-based remote method.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may sit and receive visitors rather than standing and walking.
- Volunteering for either contest round is entirely optional; participants may stay seated as silent verifiers without sharing scores.

## If the session gets stuck

**No one volunteers to stand up for the recognition contest.**

Reframe the prompt gently: ask who spoke to at least five people, and invite one of those individuals to test their visibility without any pressure to win.

**Participants peek at hidden nametags or phone notes during the memory check.**

Remind the group that the contest is a lighthearted self-check, not a formal test. Ask everyone to put pens down once the volunteer begins naming.


## Terms used here

- Recognition check: Testing how many other people in the room remember your name.
- Recall auction: A bidding process where participants estimate how many names they can state accurately from memory.

## Participant material: Working-the-Room Contest Instructions

Working-the-Room Contest!

We want you to meet and interact with as many other participants as possible.
This is a do-it-yourself icebreaker. You have approximately 7 minutes to mingle and chat with other participants. Collect names from different people and share your own.

Until time is called, you are on your own. No other instructions will be given.

At the end of 7 minutes, we will conduct a two-part memory challenge to see who worked the room most memorably. You will have two ways to participate!

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in the November 2003 issue of Play for Performance, published by Workshops by Thiagi, Inc. (Editor: Sivasailam Thiagarajan).

Retained the core mechanic from Thiagi's November 2003 Play for Performance issue ('Working The Room' opener): 7-minute free mingling followed by a two-phase check (popularity/recognition check where room writes names, followed by a memory bidding auction). Replaced whistle with a standard timer/chime option, capped volunteer counts to fit 18 minutes cleanly, and added a concrete debrief, accessibility adaptations, and remote delivery adjustments.

[thiagi.net](https://thiagi.net/archive/www/pfp/IE4H/november2003.html)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/pfp-november-2003/