The Empty Chair

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Articulate missing organizational or stakeholder perspectives on current decisions using a physical surrogate role.

Use it when: Use during strategic reviews, project retrospectives, or heated planning meetings when a group risks insular decision-making or loses sight of overall mission.

Skip it when: Skip when resolving interpersonal conflicts between specific team members, or when participants lack enough basic context about organizational goals to speak for them.

Group arrangement: Whole-room circle or plenary with one designated seat in front or in the circle

Timing: 15 minutes as documented in Relationship Makers Handbook (5 to 15 minutes band).

Materials and tools

• 1 standalone chair placed prominently in the room
• 1 flipchart or whiteboard with dry-erase marker for recording statements
• 1 printed prompt card posted beside the chair

Before participants arrive

1. Place one empty chair where everyone can see it clearly.
2. Post the prompt questions directly next to or on the chair so anyone sitting can read them easily.
3. Appoint a designated scribe or prepare flipchart space near the chair.

Say this to open

This empty chair represents our organization and its overarching purpose. Today, anyone can step up, sit here, and speak as the voice of the organization itself. While in the chair, speak in the first person as the organization looking at our work. Let us pause our regular discussion to listen to what our purpose requires of us right now.

How to run it

1. Introduce the chair and rules 3 minutes

   Point out the designated chair and read the posted prompt questions aloud. Clarify that whoever sits in the chair speaks in the first person as the institution or stakeholder, answering how current discussions align with core direction. Mention that sitting in the chair is completely voluntary.

2. Step into the chair 6 minutes

   Invite any participant to move to the empty chair. The person in the chair reflects on the current discussion by answering one or two posted prompts (for example: 'Have the decisions today served me well?' or 'Are we being bold enough, or too bold?'). Once finished, they step out and return to their regular seat. Up to three different participants may take turns in the seat during this window. If no one steps up, the group pauses in silence for 60 seconds to reflect on the questions individually.

3. Capture statements and observations 3 minutes

   The scribe records the core statements spoken from the chair on the flipchart. The facilitator invites anyone who prefers writing to place a sticky note or index card directly on the chair or beside it with their reflections.

4. Debrief and integrate 3 minutes

   Guide the whole room through a brief review of the points captured from the chair. Ask the group how these statements influence their pending decisions before returning to normal agenda work.

Debrief questions

• What did we hear from the chair that had not been said in our regular discussion?
• Which statement from the chair creates the clearest shift in our current decision?
• What topic still needs to be addressed before this meeting closes?

Finished output: A recorded list of organizational perspective statements on a visible flipchart, with action adjustments noted on the meeting agenda.

Remote

Create an empty participant slot or dedicated virtual video tile named 'The Organization'. Anyone wishing to speak as the organization turns on their camera, raises a hand, or types '[Speaking as Organization]: ...' into the meeting chat while the group listens. The digital whiteboard captures these points in real time.

Hybrid

Point a dedicated camera and room microphone toward the physical empty chair so remote participants see it clearly. Remote participants can unmute and state that they are occupying the chair virtually, or paste their statement into the meeting chat for the in-room scribe to read aloud from beside the chair.

Access and participation choices

• Taking the chair is completely voluntary; participants may pass without explanation.
• Participants with mobility or anxiety constraints may speak on behalf of the chair from their current seat, submit a written reflection card, or drop a chat message.

If the session gets stuck

Nobody volunteers to sit in the chair.

Do not force anyone. Let the room sit in silence for one full minute looking at the posted questions, then ask: 'If this chair could speak about our agenda today, what would be its primary concern?'

A participant uses the chair to air a personal grievance against a colleague.

Intervene gently and refocus on the role: 'Remember to speak solely as the organization or purpose itself, rather than from an individual perspective.'

Terms used here

• Surrogate perspective: A facilitation practice where a physical object or designated seat represents an absent stakeholder, user, or overarching organization.