Fill The Gap

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Collect structured individual reflections from every participant using a consistent sentence stem.

Use it when: Use at the end of a session, workshop, or team meeting when you need a concise, orderly round of personal takeaways.

Skip it when: Skip when the group needs deep, unstructured debate, or when trust is too low for spontaneous speaking in front of peers without private writing time first.

Group arrangement: Single whole-group circle for up to 12; split into small circles of 4 to 8 participants for groups of 13 to 24 with a designated peer timekeeper per circle

Timing: UWT suggested plan (10 minutes) to allow setup, individual thinking, a full sharing round, and brief wrap-up for up to 24 participants.

Materials and tools

• Whiteboard, flipchart, or slide displaying the chosen sentence stem
• Marker or digital display
• Index cards or scratch paper (optional for written responses)

Before participants arrive

1. Select one clear sentence stem relevant to the session goal (e.g., 'One thing that surprised me today was...').
2. Write the sentence stem visibly where all participants can see it.

Say this to open

To close our session, we will do a quick round called Fill The Gap. I have written the start of a sentence on the board. Your task is to complete that sentence with your own thought in one or two sentences. You can speak when it is your turn, or simply say 'Pass' if you prefer to listen.

How to run it

1. Introduce the stem and provide thinking time 2 minutes

   Display the chosen sentence stem. Read it aloud. Give participants one quiet minute to decide how they will finish the sentence. Example: If the prompt is 'The most useful insight for my work was...', a participant might prepare 'The most useful insight for my work was realizing we need to test our assumptions before starting development.' If remote, paste the full speaking order into the meeting chat during this time.

2. Conduct sharing round 5 minutes

   If the room has 12 or fewer people, move sequentially around the circle. If the room has 13 to 24 people, divide into small circles of 4 to 8 participants (for example, 17 divides into groups of 6, 6, and 5). Appoint one volunteer per circle to start the turn order and track time. In remote settings, follow the chat speaking order. Each participant reads the stem and completes it aloud in roughly 15 to 20 seconds. Anyone may say 'Pass' without providing a reason.

3. Offer second chance to pass turns 1 minutes

   For a single circle, the facilitator asks anyone who passed if they want to add a thought now. For multiple breakout circles, call the room back to attention at minute 7 and announce: 'Small circles, take 30 seconds to let anyone who passed share now if they want to.' After 30 seconds, close subgroup sharing. If a participant declines, move on immediately.

4. Facilitate whole-room debrief 2 minutes

   Bring attention back to the whole room. Ask 1 to 2 participants to note any common themes they noticed across the responses heard in their circle.

Debrief questions

• What common patterns or shared themes did you hear across our completions?
• Which response showed a perspective different from your own?

Finished output: A completed round of individual reflections spoken aloud or submitted in writing across the group.

Remote

Display the prompt on a shared slide or in the meeting chat. The facilitator pastes a numbered speaking order in the chat during Step 1. In Step 2, participants unmute in sequence to complete the sentence, or type their completed sentence into the chat for the facilitator to read aloud if they cannot use voice.

Hybrid

Display the prompt on the in-room screen and screen-share it for remote attendees. Before starting Step 2, the facilitator writes a simple alternating turn list on the board and in the chat (for example: 1. Remote participant A, 2. In-room participant B, 3. Remote participant C, 4. In-room participant D). Participants speak following this sequence.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may pass freely without explanation by saying 'Pass'.
• Participants who prefer writing can type their sentence into a chat window or write it on an index card to read aloud or have read on their behalf.

If the session gets stuck

A participant starts giving a long narrative instead of a brief sentence completion.

Gently interrupt and say, 'Thank you. Let us hear your punchline sentence so we have time for everyone.'

Participants repeat earlier answers without thinking.

Acknowledge the overlap and explicitly invite anyone who shares that view to add one unique detail or choose another observation.

Terms used here

• Sentence stem: The opening words of an incomplete sentence that prompts the speaker to finish the thought.