Always Better with Two

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Introduce participants through peer interviews while aggregating total sector experience across the room.

Use it when: Use at the start of a workshop or training course when participants do not know each other well and need a structured, low-risk way to speak.

Skip it when: Skip when participants already work together daily or when comparing years of experience would highlight sharp hierarchy or sensitive employment gaps.

Group arrangement: Pairs for interviewing, reforming into a whole-room circle for introductions. If an odd number attends, form one trio.

Timing: Source specifies 4 minutes of partner interviews. UWT adds 1 minute pairing, 8 minutes whole-room introductions, and 2 minutes debrief.

Materials and tools

• One printed Partner Interview Card per person
• One pen or pencil per person
• One whiteboard, flipchart, or shared digital document with markers for totaling numbers

Before participants arrive

1. Arrange chairs so pairs can talk without shouting.
2. Distribute one Partner Interview Card and one pen to each chair.

Say this to open

Turn to your partner. Decide who will interview first. If you cannot decide, the person whose first name starts earlier in the alphabet goes first. You will interview each other for two minutes each. Ask your partner their name, their current role, and how many years they have worked in this field. Note down their answers on your Partner Interview Card. After four minutes, we will return as a whole group to introduce our partners and add up our collective experience.

How to run it

1. Form pairs and confirm sequence 1 minutes

   Direct participants to pair with someone sitting nearby. If there is an odd count, create one trio. Deliver the opening script so pairs know the interview roles and prompts.

2. Conduct partner interviews 4 minutes

   Start the timer. Person A interviews Person B for two minutes, recording answers on their card. Call out at the two-minute mark and tell pairs to switch. Person B interviews Person A for two minutes. In a trio, allocate roughly 80 seconds per speaker.

3. Share introductions and tally tenure 8 minutes

   Bring the room back together. Go around the room in sequence. Each person takes up to 20 seconds to state their partner's name, role, and years in the field. The facilitator writes each number on the board and sums the total as the group proceeds. At 24 people, limit introductions strictly to 20 seconds each.

4. Announce total and debrief 2 minutes

   State the grand total of collective industry experience in the room. Ask the debrief questions to close the exercise.

Debrief questions

• What surprised you about the range of experience in our room?
• How does knowing our collective background change how we might tap into each other today?

Finished output: A charted total of collective industry experience and completed partner introduction cards.

Remote

Place pairs into individual breakout rooms for 4 minutes with a broadcast notification at 2 minutes to switch roles. Return to the main room. Call on participants in turn to unmute and introduce their partner, or paste the partner summary in chat. Facilitator tallies the years in a shared digital document.

Hybrid

Pair in-person participants with local partners and remote participants with remote partners in breakout rooms. Bring everyone back to the main room. Alternate partner introductions between physical room members and virtual attendees, recording all numbers onto a shared digital whiteboard or document visible to both settings.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may give an approximate range or choose to pass on reporting exact numerical years without explanation.
• Participants who prefer not to speak aloud may display their card or have their partner read their introduction.

If the session gets stuck

A participant has less than a year in the field and feels uncomfortable stating a small number.

Remind the room before interviews that fresh perspectives are just as critical as decades of tenure. Participants can round to fractions or say 'less than one year'.

Introductions drag on past 20 seconds per person.

Keep a visible hand timer or gentle chime. Remind presenters to stick strictly to the three facts: name, role, and tenure.

Terms used here

• Tenure: The duration of time someone has spent working in a specific job, organization, or profession.