--- title: "Cross the Line" description: "Two teams face each other across a fixed line and try to convince members of the opposite team to step over to their side. The group explores assumptions about competition, persuasion, and mutual win conditions." last_updated: "2026-09-07" canonical: "https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/team-negotiation-exercise-for-group-dynamics-cross-the-line/" --- # Cross the Line Two teams face each other across a fixed line and try to convince members of the opposite team to step over to their side. The group explores assumptions about competition, persuasion, and mutual win conditions. **Time:** 15 minutes. Playmeo lists this as a low-effort initiative without a fixed runtime; 15 minutes provides ample time for briefing, action, and debrief. **People:** 4 to 24. Two opposing teams lined up along a central boundary ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Examine how teams negotiate and test assumptions when given an open-ended challenge across a boundary. **Use it when:** Use during a workshop on negotiation, collaboration, or team alignment when groups need to examine competitive versus cooperative instincts. **Skip it when:** Skip if the group is experiencing active personal conflict or if physical mobility constraints make standing along a line uncomfortable without chairs. ## Materials and tools - 1 rope or tape strip (5 to 10 meters long) - Chairs placed along both sides of the line for participants who need or prefer to sit ## Before participants arrive 1. Clear a wide floor space free of tripping hazards. 2. Lay a straight 5 to 10 meter rope or floor tape line down the center of the room. 3. Set matching chairs along both sides so seated participants can join directly at the line. ## Say this to open Please take a place on one side of this line, facing the person across from you. Before we start, both sides must agree to protect everyone's physical and emotional comfort at all times. There is to be no pulling, pushing, or unwanted physical contact. The line on the floor is fixed and cannot be moved. I will state the objective exactly once, and I will not answer any questions. Your goal is for each side to attract as many people from the other side across the line as quickly as possible. You may begin now. ## How to run it ### 1. Set boundaries and state the goal (2 minutes) Divide participants into two roughly equal lines facing each other across the rope. If there is an odd number, place the extra person on either side. Confirm verbal agreement from everyone that no physical force or coercion may be used. State the single rule: the boundary cannot move. Deliver the opening script once without answering clarifying questions, then step back. ### 2. Negotiate and cross (6 minutes) Participants talk, persuade, or negotiate across the boundary. Observe whether they assume zero-sum competition (pulling or bribing one person at a time) or explore mutual solutions (such as both sides simply switching places so everyone crosses). Let the action play out until everyone has crossed, an agreement holds, or time expires. Intervene immediately if anyone uses unwanted physical contact. ### 3. Small-group debrief in pairs (3 minutes) Ask each person to pair with someone who started on the opposite side of the line. Give them two minutes to answer: What did your side assume the goal was, and how did that shape what you offered or refused? ### 4. Whole-room reflection (4 minutes) Bring the whole room together. Take three or four brief observations. Ask how assumptions about winning or losing affected the speed of resolution. Conclude on how clearer communication changes competitive dynamics into mutual agreements. ## Debrief questions - What did your side assume winning meant when you first heard the instructions? - Did anyone consider switching sides simultaneously, and if so, what made that easy or hard to agree on? - What kinds of persuasion worked, and what made people resist crossing? - Where do we see similar artificial lines or zero-sum assumptions in our everyday projects? **Finished output:** A shared group record of assumptions that drove competitive versus collaborative choices during negotiation. ## Remote Cross the Line relies on physical spatial positioning across a boundary and does not translate directly online without changing mechanics. For a remote team, run a structured negotiation trade instead: split the group into two breakout rooms, assign each room an inventory of virtual tokens (e.g., sticky notes labeled A and B on a shared digital whiteboard), give the prompt to attract as many opposite tokens to their board within five minutes without taking them by force, and return to the main room to compare strategies. ## Hybrid Hybrid delivery is not recommended because physical presence across the floor line is central to the mechanic. If run in a hybrid setting, remote participants should pair via an open conference audio feed with a designated in-person proxy who represents their vote and strategy on the floor. ## Access and participation choices - Participants may sit in chairs positioned right along the line instead of standing. - Anyone who prefers not to negotiate directly may choose the role of neutral observer and track the strategies used for the debrief. - Physical contact is explicitly prohibited; participants may refuse any request to move without explanation. ## If the session gets stuck **Participants start physically grabbing or dragging people across the line.** Stop the activity immediately. Remind the group of the explicit safety agreement: all movement must be voluntary. Reset positions if necessary. **Both sides dig in and refuse to move, creating an awkward deadlock.** Allow the silence to linger for 30 seconds. If no one talks, prompt: 'Remember your objective is to attract people across the line as quickly as possible.' Let them discover whether negotiation or trades are allowed. ## Terms used here - Zero-sum assumption: The belief that one side can only win if the other side loses an equal amount. ## Sources and adaptation Observed in Playmeo records, where the activity is attributed to Mark Collard. The mechanic, rules, safety agreement, and objective statement are preserved directly from Mark Collard's activity published on Playmeo. UWT added explicit time allocations (15 minutes total), a prohibition on physical contact to ensure safety, chair placement for physical accessibility, an observer option, structured pair debriefing before whole-room sharing, and troubleshooting steps. [Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/team-building-problem-solving-activities/cross-the-line) [Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/team-building-problem-solving-activities/cross-the-line/) Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/team-negotiation-exercise-for-group-dynamics-cross-the-line/