Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Help me prepare and run the exercise below. First ask for my participant count, time, setting, access needs and intended result. Check these against the stated limits. Use the supplied rules and materials. Explain any proposed changes before using them, and label them as adaptations. Do not invent source claims or require personal disclosure. Give me one step at a time when I say start. I manage the people, physical activity and clock; do not claim to observe the room. Ask me what happened before choosing a next step.

Reference revision: 0c50b63386b4f26088fc01163af7d19fc227870f516efa03e51ebcc8fa95f696

# Team Name Generator

Subgroups use four structured naming criteria to brainstorm, refine, and select an agreed group name. The exercise produces an agreed team name card for use in subsequent group work.

**Time:** 15 minutes. UWT suggested standard 15-minute format based on the 5 to 15 minute band in source records
**People:** 4 to 24. Small groups of 3 to 6 people at separate tables or breakout rooms

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Select a shared team identity for small-group work using concrete naming constraints.
**Use it when:** At the start of a workshop, sprint, hackathon, or training when small working tables need an identifier.
**Skip it when:** When groups are short-lived, purely transactional, or already hold established organizational identities.

## Materials and tools

- One index card or tent card per small group
- One marker pen per small group
- Scratch paper for brainstorming (2 to 3 sheets per group)

## Before participants arrive

1. Divide participants into working groups of 3 to 6 people.
2. Place one tent card, marker pen, and scratch paper on each group table.
3. Display the four naming criteria on a shared slide or whiteboard: Relevant, Alliterative, Audience-aware, Short (2-3 words).

## Say this to open

You have fifteen minutes to agree on a working name for your group. Use the four criteria on the board: keep it relevant to your project or team, try using alliteration, keep it appropriate for your audience, and stick to two or three words. Nominate one person to jot down ideas, test options together, and write your final choice on the table tent card.

## How to run it

### 1. Introduce criteria and setup (2 minutes)

Explain the task using the opening script. Point out the four guidelines: relevant, alliterative, audience-aware, and 2 to 3 words. State that every member must agree with the final choice, or at least be comfortable using it.

### 2. Generate candidate words (4 minutes)

Groups spend four minutes rapidly listing keywords on scratch paper. They pool words related to their shared domain, current project, or common work interests, then combine them with vivid adjectives or nouns. For example, a quality control team might list 'Precision Pilots' or 'Data Detectives'.

### 3. Select and write final name (5 minutes)

Groups review their list against the four criteria. Members vote or reach consensus on their top pick. The group scribe writes the chosen name clearly on the tent card and sets it upright in the center of the table.

### 4. Room roll call (4 minutes)

Call on each table in sequence. One spokesperson from each group states their chosen name and gives one sentence explaining how it connects to their team. With up to six tables, allow roughly 30 to 40 seconds per group.


## Debrief questions

- Which guideline was easiest or hardest to apply when picking your name?
- How did your group resolve conflicting name preferences?

**Finished output:** A visible table tent card or digital name tag with an agreed 2-3 word team name for each small group.

## Remote

Run in video breakout rooms of 3 to 6 people. Provide a shared collaborative slide deck or document where each breakout has one slide. In step 3, groups type their chosen name onto their assigned slide. For step 4, bring all groups back to the main room, display the deck, and ask each spokesperson to unmute.

## Hybrid

Assign in-person groups to physical tables and remote participants to dedicated remote breakout rooms. Remote groups enter their name into a shared digital document, while in-person groups use physical tent cards. Project the digital document in the physical room during the roll call so all groups see every name.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants can contribute ideas verbally, in written notes, or via digital chat.
- Any participant may decline being the group scribe or spokesperson without explanation.

## If the session gets stuck

**A group deadlocks between two favorite names.**

Remind them to evaluate against the four rules: pick the name that is shorter or uses stronger alliteration, or take a direct simple majority vote.

**A group proposes an inappropriate or edgy name that violates the audience guideline.**

Prompt the group on the audience-aware rule: 'Would you put this on a client presentation slide? If not, pick your second-choice idea.'


## Terms used here

- Alliteration: The repetition of the same sound at the start of adjacent or closely connected words (for example, Trivia Titans).

## Sources and adaptation

Observed on Icebreaker-Games.org as an online team name generator tool with accompanying tips for choosing team names.

The original source is a web-based automated generator page with static advice tips. UWT adapted the four core tips (relevant, alliteration, audience awareness, 2-3 words) into an offline or facilitated team consensus exercise with defined timing, roles, and a tangible output.

[Icebreaker-Games.org](https://icebreaker-games.org/team-name-generator)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/team-name-generator-best-random-team-name-maker-2026/