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: 8c46808cbeaaaf74e0c6e9e34f30fb5d577f9c5b656e8926ade505ae16cd2acb

# Reciprocity Ring

Participants state a specific request for assistance, and peers offer knowledge, resources, or contacts to fulfill it. An optional written log captures agreed offers for follow-up.

**Time:** 25 minutes. Relationship Makers Handbook suggests ranges from 15-30 up to 120-180 minutes. This 25-minute UWT design supports parallel circles of 4 to 7 people.
**People:** 4 to 20. Circles of 4 to 7 participants; larger groups split into parallel circles of up to 7.

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Surface actionable requests for assistance and collect direct offers of resources, knowledge, or connections across a group.
**Use it when:** Use during team launches, cross-functional assemblies, or cohort meetings where participants need practical mutual support.
**Skip it when:** Skip when team members lack autonomy to offer resources or when participants must maintain strict confidentiality regarding their current work challenges.

## Materials and tools

- One index card or notepad sheet per participant
- One pen or pencil per participant
- Optional request and offer tracking sheet per circle
- Countdown timer visible to the facilitator

## Before participants arrive

1. Arrange chairs in circles of 4 to 7 participants.
2. Place index cards and pens within reach of each seat.
3. Designate one person in each circle as a timekeeper.

## Say this to open

Today we will practice asking for and offering concrete assistance. Each person may state one clear request. Peers will then offer specific ideas, resources, or introductions. Making a request and offering help are both optional.

## How to run it

### 1. Introduce criteria and write requests (4 minutes)

Speak the opening words. Instruct participants to write one clear request on their card. A good request states what is needed, why it matters, and any deadline. Example: 'I need a sample vendor evaluation rubric for cloud software by next Friday.' Remind participants that requests can be professional or practical, and sharing is optional.

### 2. Share requests and collect offers (16 minutes)

Run sequential turns in each circle. Allocate about two minutes per participant. The speaker reads their request without extensive background. Group members ask one quick clarifying question if needed, then state specific offers: knowledge, a document, a tool, or an introduction. The requester notes helpful offers on their card. If someone chooses to pass, the circle moves directly to the next person.

### 3. Confirm next steps (2 minutes)

Ask participants to review their cards and circle any accepted offers. Instruct pairs who agreed on an exchange to note how they will follow up after the session.

### 4. Debrief whole group (3 minutes)

Bring attention back to the full room. Ask two debrief questions. Invite three or four brief responses from volunteers across different circles.


## Debrief questions

- What made a request easy or difficult to respond to?
- What surprised you about the resources available in this room?

**Finished output:** Completed request cards with specific peer offers noted and agreed next steps recorded.

## Remote

Split participants into breakout rooms of 4 to 6 people. Use a shared spreadsheet or collaborative whiteboard where each person has a designated row or card to post their request. Group members type offers directly into the document during each speaker's turn.

## Hybrid

Keep remote participants in their own dedicated virtual breakout circles with a shared digital document. In-person participants work in room circles using paper cards. Bring all circles back to the common video call for the final 3-minute debrief.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may pass on making a request and choose only to listen or make offers.
- Participants may submit their request in writing or into a digital chat instead of speaking aloud.
- Do not share another person's contact information without their explicit permission.

## If the session gets stuck

**Requests are too vague to trigger useful offers, such as 'I need better communication.'**

Intervene and prompt the requester: 'What is one specific artifact, introduction, or answer that would help you this week?'

**One person monopolizes the turn by explaining back-story.**

Prompt the circle timekeeper to pause the explanation: 'Let us jump straight to the specific need so the group has time to respond.'


## Terms used here

- Reciprocity: The practice of exchanging things with others for mutual benefit.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Relationship Makers Handbook, which attributes the Reciprocity Ring method to Wayne Baker, Cheryl Baker, and Humax Networks.

Preserved the core mechanic of sequential requests and peer resource offers from the Relationship Makers Handbook source text. UWT structured the timing to 25 minutes using parallel small circles of 4 to 7 to fit groups up to 20 without exceeding reasonable attention spans. Replaced the source's suggested mandatory personal-first round with an open choice of professional or practical requests, and added explicit consent rules regarding third-party contact sharing.

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/reciprocity-ring/