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Exercises/Reflection and Learning/Tangles
Team Reflection ยท Reflection and Learning

Tangles

Start by explaining that you are going to split participants into two teams - The Detanglers (minimum of 5 people) and the Observers.

5 to 15 minutesTIME
Small group (4-8)GROUP SIZE
ActiveENERGY
In person, RemoteSETTING
High cognitive loadCOGNITIVE LOAD
Strengthens Learning Transfer This reflection and learning exercise strengthens Learning Transfer, one of the eight Gathering Effectiveness pillars.

How to run it

  1. Resources Needed - a long piece of rope (about 3 metres, tied so that it makes a large circle, a clear space large enough to allow the detanglers to move around and 5 or more blindfolds.
  2. Start by explaining that you are going to split participants into two teams - The Detanglers (minimum of 5 people) and the Observers.
  3. Look for volunteers for each group in the first instance, and if none are forthcoming, split the group up yourself.
  4. The Detanglers are to be blindfolded and huddled together. Wrap the rope around them, looping it over them, and ask each person in the Detanglers to hold onto the rope with both hands.
  5. On completion , ask the Observers to give feedback on how they worked as a team.
  6. Lead a short discussion on how team working is important, what worked well, not so well, and what can be improved upon. How can this exercise be related to the work place?
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Prompts to use +

Resources Needed - a long piece of rope (about 3 metres, tied so that it makes a large circle, a clear space large enough to allow the detanglers to move around and 5 or more blindfolds.

Start by explaining that you are going to split participants into two teams - The Detanglers (minimum of 5 people) and the Observers.

Look for volunteers for each group in the first instance, and if none are forthcoming, split the group up yourself.

The Detanglers are to be blindfolded and huddled together. Wrap the rope around them, looping it over them, and ask each person in the Detanglers to hold onto the rope with both hands.

On completion , ask the Observers to give feedback on how they worked as a team.

Lead a short discussion on how team working is important, what worked well, not so well, and what can be improved upon. How can this exercise be related to the work place?

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: Tangles. Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: Resources Needed - a long piece of rope (about 3 metres, tied so that it makes a large circle, a clear space large enough to allow the detanglers to move around and 5 or more blindfolds.; Start by explaining that you are going to split participants into two teams - The Detanglers (minimum of 5 people) and the Observers.; Look for volunteers for each group in the first instance, and if none are forthcoming, split the group up yourself.; The Detanglers are to be blindfolded and huddled together. Wrap the rope around them, looping it over them, and ask each person in the Detanglers to hold onto the rope with both hands.. Return a concise facilitator script with timing, wording, safety notes, and remote/in-person adjustments.

Origin unverified

  • Where we observed it: The current corpus has one observed source organization: TrainerBubble. (1 source observed, including TrainerBubble.)
  • 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