# Mood Check Participants review an adjective checklist to assess their emotional response to a shared activity, privately predict the room's top three feelings, and tally group frequencies to open a debrief. **Time:** 15 minutes. UWT plan structured for 15 minutes based on the Mood Check debriefing game in source text **People:** 4 to 24. Individual reflection followed by whole-room frequency tally ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Identify the group's emotional distribution after an experiential exercise without forcing personal disclosure. **Use it when:** Immediately after an intense, competitive, or emotionally charged simulation when participants need a quick transition into objective debriefing. **Skip it when:** Routine informational meetings or low-stakes lectures where emotional processing is irrelevant. ## Materials and tools - One printed Mood Checklist per person - One pen or pencil per person - One flipchart and marker for the facilitator ## Before participants arrive 1. Print sufficient Mood Checklists for all participants. 2. Write the list of adjectives on a flipchart or board, leaving room next to each word for tick marks. ## Say this to open We just finished a fast-paced activity. Before we dissect what happened, let's capture where our heads and feelings are right now. I am handing out a list of mood words. Circle the words that reflect how you felt during or right after the activity. ## How to run it ### 1. Circle personal moods (3 minutes) Hand out one Mood Checklist and pen to each participant. Direct participants to read the list and circle any words that describe their feelings during or immediately after the base activity. Participants work silently and independently. Explain that circling words is private. ### 2. Predict group top three (3 minutes) Ask participants to turn their sheets over. Instruct them to write down the three adjectives from the list that they predict will be chosen most frequently across the entire room. Give participants two minutes to record their guesses. ### 3. Tally frequencies (4 minutes) Read each adjective aloud from the checklist one by one. Ask participants to raise a hand if they circled that word for themselves. Count the hands and write the total number next to that word on the flipchart. Complete the tally for all words. ### 4. Review predictions and group trends (5 minutes) Identify which three adjectives received the highest counts. Ask if anyone correctly predicted all three top words, and acknowledge those who did. Point to the highest-frequency moods and invite brief reflections on why those reactions showed up across the room. Conclude when the allotted time ends. ## Debrief questions - Which mood counts surprised you the most, and why? - What specific moment in the activity triggered the strongest shift in your mood? - How did those initial feelings affect the decisions your team made? **Finished output:** A completed flipchart tally showing the distribution of emotional states across the group. ## Remote Share an online poll or collaborative document listing the adjectives. Participants check their responses anonymously. In a private chat or individual text box, each person records their three predictions. The facilitator displays the aggregated results and compares them to predictions. ## Hybrid Remote and in-person participants submit their circled moods simultaneously via a digital poll on their phones or laptops so remote and physical votes are combined instantly on a shared screen. ## Access and participation choices - Participants may keep their checklists private and choose not to raise their hand during any tally count without giving a reason. - The word list can be read aloud or provided in high-contrast large print upon request. ## If the session gets stuck **Participants feel hesitant to raise their hands for vulnerable words like embarrassed or foolish.** Remind the room that mixed reactions are normal in simulated pressure, or collect folded sheets anonymously and tally them quickly on the board. **There is a tie for the top three most frequent adjectives.** Count all tied words in the top tier and credit anyone whose prediction included any of the tied words. ## Terms used here - Base activity: The preceding exercise, game, or simulation that the group is examining during debrief. - Framegame: A game structure designed to accept different topics or content while keeping its basic rules intact. ## Participant material: Mood Checklist Directions: Circle any words below that describe your mood during or immediately after the activity. - Amazed - Confused - Cautious - Embarrassed - Entertained - Frustrated - Relieved - Skeptical - Surprised - Uncomfortable Directions for back of sheet: Turn this sheet over and write the 3 words you predict will be chosen most frequently by the whole group. ## Sources and adaptation Observed in THIAGI GAMELETTER (August 2008), edited by Sivasailam Thiagarajan, in the Tool Kit article 'Debriefing Games'. The input source is an issue of Thiagi GameLetter describing five debriefing games. Mood Check was selected as the focused, runnable activity rather than combining the entire newsletter into one sheet. UWT established a clear 15-minute timeframe, fixed a standard 10-word checklist based on the source's Dollar Auction example, and added structured remote and hybrid delivery steps. [The Thiagi Group](https://thiagi.net/archive/www/pfp/IE4H/august2008.html) [The Thiagi Group](http://thiagi.net/archive/www/pfp/IE4H/august2008.html) Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/tgl-august-2008/