Use Your Amygdala
Use Your Amygdala is an ideation warm-up exercise for divergent ideation: it helps participants open up more possible ideas before choosing a direction.
How to run it
- Prior to starting a more traditional icebreaker, have participants first sit knee to knee knees should be almost touching and lean in to the other person halfway for 30 seconds
- When the 30 seconds are up, ask the group What are the strategies you used to deal with the response?
- Then continue on with your regularly scheduled icebreaker icebreakers that focus on discussion and conversation are ideal as follow up
- Use Your Amygdala Timing <5 minutes Purpose/Objectives Quick Description Get under the skin of your fellow colleagues quickly with this simple exercise.
- Trigger emotions that otherwise would not make an appearance in a traditional conversation Process Prior to starting a more traditional icebreaker, have participants first sit knee to knee knees should be almost touching and lean in to the other person halfway for 30 seconds.
- Then continue on with your regularly scheduled icebreaker icebreakers that focus on discussion and conversation are ideal as follow up Cool Possibilities/Options Three Levels of Conversation, Deepening Table Top Conversation, Forbes 35 Good Question...
Run this exercise live
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What participants need now
Materials:
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Prompts to use +
Prior to starting a more traditional icebreaker, have participants first sit knee to knee knees should be almost touching and lean in to the other person halfway for 30 seconds
When the 30 seconds are up, ask the group What are the strategies you used to deal with the response?
Then continue on with your regularly scheduled icebreaker icebreakers that focus on discussion and conversation are ideal as follow up
Use Your Amygdala Timing <5 minutes Purpose/Objectives Quick Description Get under the skin of your fellow colleagues quickly with this simple exercise.
Trigger emotions that otherwise would not make an appearance in a traditional conversation Process Prior to starting a more traditional icebreaker, have participants first sit knee to knee knees should be almost touching and lean in to the other person halfway for 30 seconds.
Then continue on with your regularly scheduled icebreaker icebreakers that focus on discussion and conversation are ideal as follow up Cool Possibilities/Options Three Levels of Conversation, Deepening Table Top Conversation, Forbes 35 Good Question...
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: Use Your Amygdala. Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: Prior to starting a more traditional icebreaker, have participants first sit knee to knee knees should be almost touching and lean in to the other person halfway for 30 seconds; When the 30 seconds are up, ask the group What are the strategies you used to deal with the response?; Then continue on with your regularly scheduled icebreaker icebreakers that focus on discussion and conversation are ideal as follow up; Use Your Amygdala Timing <5 minutes Purpose/Objectives Quick Description Get under the skin of your fellow colleagues quickly with this simple exercise.. 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 Relationship Makers Handbook; aggregators are listed as additional observations, not origin proof. (1 source observed, including Relationship Makers Handbook.)
- What that means: we track where an exercise has been observed in public sources. We do not claim to know who created it, or how popular it is.
- No efficacy claims: appearing in this library is not a claim that the exercise is proven effective. Facilitator judgment and context decide whether it works for a given room.
- Corrections: if you have evidence of an earlier or more accurate source, read our methodology and trust boundary and tell us.