--- title: "Start Empathy" description: "Participants receive an assigned persona card, silently analyze that person's reactions to a common situation, and compare notes in matched persona clusters." last_updated: "2026-09-07" canonical: "https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/start-empathy/" --- # Start Empathy Participants receive an assigned persona card, silently analyze that person's reactions to a common situation, and compare notes in matched persona clusters. **Time:** 30 minutes. Relationship Makers Handbook suggests 30 to 60 minutes. This run sheet sets a 30-minute standard baseline. **People:** 4 to 24. Individual reflection followed by matched persona clusters of 2 to 4 people ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Compare how different roles and people perceive, feel, and react during the same shared event. **Use it when:** Use when a team needs to examine a complex problem from multiple outside viewpoints before deciding on next steps. **Skip it when:** Skip when the group needs objective factual data or lacks basic familiarity with the personas being examined. ## Materials and tools - One pre-printed persona card with prompts per participant - Blank note paper and pens for each participant - Timer - Shared digital document or physical wall board for debrief points ## Before participants arrive 1. Select a focal topic or shared situation relevant to the session. 2. Select 2 to 6 distinct persona profiles based on total headcount. 3. Pre-sort cards so every persona has at least 2 and at most 4 recipients. For example, for 7 participants, use 2 personas (one group of 3, one group of 4) or 3 personas (two pairs, one trio). Never create singletons. ## Say this to open Empathy means examining a situation through another person's eyes. Each of you holds a card describing a specific person affected by our topic. For the next six minutes, reflect silently on how this person experiences the event. Answer the three questions printed on your card: What was their perception of the occurrence? What was troubling about it? What emotions did they feel? ## How to run it ### 1. Introduce scenario and distribute cards (5 minutes) State the shared scenario clearly. Hand one pre-sorted persona card to each participant. Read the opening script to set expectations. ### 2. Silent individual reflection (6 minutes) Participants read their card and write silent notes answering the three questions: perception, troubling aspects, and emotions. Stop when the timer sounds. ### 3. Matched persona group discussion (11 minutes) Participants holding identical personas gather into their pre-assigned clusters of 2 to 4. Each person shares their answers. The group records shared points and differences in interpretation. ### 4. Whole-room debrief and application (8 minutes) Reconvene the full room. Ask one spokesperson per persona cluster to summarize their main viewpoint and identify one clear implication for future action. ## Debrief questions - Which aspect of your assigned persona was hardest to imagine or understand? - Where did people holding the same persona disagree on their reactions? - How does viewing the situation through these personas change what we should do next? **Finished output:** Written individual reflection notes and a captured list of persona viewpoints and action implications on the main board. ## Remote Distribute persona profiles via direct message or shared slides before the timer starts. After silent reflection, move participants with matching personas into video breakout rooms of 2 to 4. Have each breakout write their summary points into a shared online document, then call everyone back to the main room for debrief. ## Hybrid Keep remote attendees in online breakout rooms and in-person attendees in physical table clusters, grouping by persona within each setting. Provide in-person clusters with a designated laptop or tablet to log findings into the same shared online document used by remote groups. Project the shared document in the room and screen-share it online while alternating spoken comments between remote and room groups. ## Access and participation choices - Provide large-print and digital screen-reader versions of all persona cards. - Participants may sketch, type, write bullet points, or simply reflect silently without submitting private notes. - Participants may decline to share personal stories and focus entirely on the fictional persona text. ## If the session gets stuck **Participants create caricatures or dismiss their assigned persona.** Remind the room to focus on reasonable human motives and the specific pressures defined on the card. **An unexpected arrival or departure disrupts persona counts.** Absorb an extra person into an existing pair to make a trio, or merge a lone participant into another group with the same or related persona. ## Terms used here - Persona: A short written profile describing a fictional person representing a key role or community member. ## Participant material: Sample Persona Cards and Reflection Prompts CARD A: FRONT-LINE WORKER You have worked for the organization for five years. Recent policy changes occurred without prior notice. You worry about workload and losing flexibility in your schedule. CARD B: MID-LEVEL MANAGER You must implement the new policy with no extra budget. You want your team to be supported, but senior leadership expects immediate metric improvements. CARD C: NEW CLIENT You started receiving services last month. Communication has been slow and inconsistent, leaving you unsure of what steps to take next. REFLECTION PROMPTS (PRINTED ON EACH CARD): 1. Perception: What was this person's perception of the occurrence? 2. Trouble: What was troubling or risky about this occurrence for them? 3. Emotion: What emotions did they feel at the time of the occurrence? ## Sources and adaptation Observed in Relationship Makers Handbook, pages 383-384. Retained the core mechanic from Relationship Makers Handbook: persona cards, silent reflection on three specific prompts (perception, trouble, emotion), clustering duplicate personas into small groups, and applying insights to a shared theme. United We Transform added cluster sizing rules of 2 to 4 people, pre-session balancing rules, a standard 30-minute timing breakdown, sample persona cards, and explicit hybrid reporting mechanisms. Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/start-empathy/