Show and Tell
Show and Tell is a structured group exercise for context sharing: it helps participants share useful personal or project context.
How to run it
- In a white space visible to everyone, write the name of the game and the topic. If you wish, draw a picture of either.
- When everyone is assembled with their show piece, ask for volunteers to stand up and show first.
- Summarize what you’ve captured in the white space and let the group absorb any shared themes of excitement, doubt or concern. Ask follow-up questions about the content to generate further conversation.
- At each co-working table/People Science Team each participant finds a personal item that they have with them e.g., keychain, picture on a phone, etc
- and share what it is with the group and why it is meaningful to them encourage telling a story about it
- Alternatively, tell participants to bring an object that represents a personal story about them prior to the start of the session
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.
What participants need now
Materials:
This is a participant-safe snapshot, not a response form. It sends nothing back to the facilitator.
Prompts to use +
In a white space visible to everyone, write the name of the game and the topic. If you wish, draw a picture of either.
When everyone is assembled with their show piece, ask for volunteers to stand up and show first.
Summarize what you’ve captured in the white space and let the group absorb any shared themes of excitement, doubt or concern. Ask follow-up questions about the content to generate further conversation.
At each co-working table/People Science Team each participant finds a personal item that they have with them e.g., keychain, picture on a phone, etc
and share what it is with the group and why it is meaningful to them encourage telling a story about it
Alternatively, tell participants to bring an object that represents a personal story about them prior to the start of the session
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: Show and Tell. Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: In a white space visible to everyone, write the name of the game and the topic. If you wish, draw a picture of either.; When everyone is assembled with their show piece, ask for volunteers to stand up and show first.; Summarize what you’ve captured in the white space and let the group absorb any shared themes of excitement, doubt or concern. Ask follow-up questions about the content to generate further conversation.; At each co-working table/People Science Team each participant finds a personal item that they have with them e.g., keychain, picture on a phone, etc. 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 Gamestorming, Relationship Makers Handbook; aggregators are listed as additional observations, not origin proof. (3 sources observed, including Gamestorming, Relationship Makers Handbook, SessionLab.)
- 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.