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Exercises/Relationship Mapping/Shift & Share
Relationship Mapping

Shift & Share

Shift & Share 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), Pairs, Small group (4-8)GROUP SIZE
ActiveENERGY
In person, RemoteSETTING
High 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. Each small group goes to a different station, where presenters conduct their sessions (repeated up to 7 times). 10 min. per station/session
  2. Participants ask questions or provide feedback. 2 min. per station/session
  3. Small groups move to the next station. 1 min. per move
  4. Repeat until groups have visited all stations.
  5. Total time for visiting 6 stations is approximately 90 minutes.
  6. Quickly share ideas and innovations
  7. Enable people to recognize that they are innovating or have the potential to innovate
  8. Build trust and a community of practice among members
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 +

Each small group goes to a different station, where presenters conduct their sessions (repeated up to 7 times). 10 min. per station/session

Participants ask questions or provide feedback. 2 min. per station/session

Small groups move to the next station. 1 min. per move

Repeat until groups have visited all stations.

Quickly share ideas and innovations

Enable people to recognize that they are innovating or have the potential to innovate

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: Shift & Share. Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: Each small group goes to a different station, where presenters conduct their sessions (repeated up to 7 times). 10 min. per station/session; Participants ask questions or provide feedback. 2 min. per station/session; Small groups move to the next station. 1 min. per move; Repeat until groups have visited all stations.. 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 Liberating Structures; aggregators are listed as additional observations, not origin proof. (1 source observed, including Liberating Structures.)
  • 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