The Spider Web
The Spider Web is a visual thinking exercise for relationship mapping: it helps participants build useful connections and understand how people, roles, or ideas relate.
How to run it
- Explain to participants that they will work together to build a web that symbolizes their connections, roles, or ideas.
- Emphasize that the activity requires attention, active listening, and collaboration.
- Ask each participant to introduce themselves or share something about themselves (e.g., an interest, a role, or a personal value).
- Start by handing the ball of thread to one person.
- The first person holds onto the end of the thread and throws the ball to someone else while responding to a question or completing a prompt. Examples:
- “I choose because we both share an interest in…”
- “My experience in this topic connects with because…”
- “I choose \ because we both share an interest in…”
- “My experience in this topic connects with \ because…”
Run this exercise live
The facilitator console stays in this browser. Its QR handoff is a short-lived participant snapshot containing only public exercise instructions, phase, prompt, and timer state.
What participants need now
Materials:
This is a participant-safe snapshot, not a response form. It sends nothing back to the facilitator.
Prompts to use +
Explain to participants that they will work together to build a web that symbolizes their connections, roles, or ideas.
Ask each participant to introduce themselves or share something about themselves (e.g., an interest, a role, or a personal value).
Start by handing the ball of thread to one person.
“I choose because we both share an interest in…”
“I choose \ because we both share an interest in…”
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: The Spider Web. Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: Explain to participants that they will work together to build a web that symbolizes their connections, roles, or ideas.; Ask each participant to introduce themselves or share something about themselves (e.g., an interest, a role, or a personal value).; Start by handing the ball of thread to one person.; “I choose because we both share an interest in…”. Return a concise facilitator script with timing, wording, safety notes, and remote/in-person adjustments.
Origin unverified
- Where we observed it: The strongest current observations come from Participatory Methods; aggregators are listed as additional observations, not origin proof. (1 source observed, including Participatory Methods.)
- What that does and does not claim: we track where an exercise has been seen in public sources. We do not claim to know who created it, how popular it is, or that it works. See methodology and trust boundary.
- Corrections welcome: if you have evidence of an earlier or more accurate source, tell us.