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Exercises/Relationship Mapping/Visual Icebreaker - Show and Tell
Visual Thinking · Relationship Mapping

Visual Icebreaker - Show and Tell

Visual Icebreaker - Show and Tell is a visual thinking exercise for relationship mapping: it helps participants build useful connections and understand how people, roles, or ideas relate.

5 to 15 minutesTIME
Small group (4-8)GROUP SIZE
ActiveENERGY
In personSETTING
Medium cognitive loadCOGNITIVE LOAD
Strengthens Network Design This relationship mapping exercise strengthens Network Design, one of the eight Gathering Effectiveness pillars.

How to run it

  1. Ask participants to bring an object that represents a personal story about them
  2. As you start the session, have them show it and tell the story
  3. Visual Icebreaker Show and Tell Timing <5 minutes Purpose/Objectives Quick Description Use a visual focus to help people lose self-consciousness and slip into compelling and engaging storytelling.
  4. Process Ask participants to bring an object that represents a personal story about them.
  5. Cool Possibilities/Options Donct share all the stories at once sprinkle them throughout the day.
  6. Share stories in PS teams to shorten time required.
  7. Do show and tell and DO NOT allow physical things to show and tell.
  8. Have each person describe what it.
  9. and then tell the story Choose different amount of times for the stories to be shared.
  10. story and then have a combined story later in the gathering about what they could learn by combining stories/experience if work applicable Tags 30 45 minutes, 45 60 minutes, brain, creativity, exercise, front of the room, icebreaker, innovation, show and tell, small groups, storytelling, visual focus Source 8QNQRZQ 449
Live facilitator

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.

Prompts to use +

Ask participants to bring an object that represents a personal story about them

As you start the session, have them show it and tell the story

Visual Icebreaker Show and Tell Timing <5 minutes Purpose/Objectives Quick Description Use a visual focus to help people lose self-consciousness and slip into compelling and engaging storytelling.

Process Ask participants to bring an object that represents a personal story about them.

Cool Possibilities/Options Donct share all the stories at once sprinkle them throughout the day.

Share stories in PS teams to shorten time required.

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: Visual Icebreaker - Show and Tell. Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: Ask participants to bring an object that represents a personal story about them; As you start the session, have them show it and tell the story; Visual Icebreaker Show and Tell Timing <5 minutes Purpose/Objectives Quick Description Use a visual focus to help people lose self-consciousness and slip into compelling and engaging storytelling.; Process Ask participants to bring an object that represents a personal story about them.. 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.

Pairs well with