Wants and Wills
Quickly get to the core of what it is that your participants want from your gathering and their commitment level to getting it done.
How to run it
- At the beginning of the event, have participants spend two minutes writing down what they want from this gathering while in their People Science teams, followed by what they are willing to do in order to make what they want happen
- Wants and Wills Timing 5 - 15 minutes Purpose/Objectives - Quick Description Quickly get to the core of what it is that your participants want from your gathering and their commitment level to getting it done. Process At the beginning of the event, have participants spend two minutes writing down what they want from this gathering while in their People Science teams, followed by what they are willing to do in order to make what they want happen. Logistics Notecards/paper and pens for all participants. Cool Possibilities/Options Ask participants to sign their commitments. Post the commitments around the room. Have teams share with the larger group the most important/insightful Wants and Wills that came from. their team People Science Data Capture Capture the written commitments from the group 459 Tags 5 - 15 minutes, commitment, small groups, wants, wills Source Unknown 460
- Wants and Wills Timing 5 15 minutes Purpose/Objectives Quick Description Quickly get to the core of what it is that your participants want from your gathering and their commitment level to getting it done.
- Process At the beginning of the event, have participants spend two minutes writing down what they want from this gathering while in their People Science teams, followed by what they are willing to do in order to make what they want happen.
- Cool Possibilities/Options Ask participants to sign their commitments.
- Have teams share with the larger group the most important/insightful Wants and Wills that came from.
- their team People Science Data Capture Capture the written commitments from the group 459 Tags 5 15 minutes, commitment, small groups, wants, wills Source Unknown 460
Run this exercise live
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Prompts to use +
At the beginning of the event, have participants spend two minutes writing down what they want from this gathering while in their People Science teams, followed by what they are willing to do in order to make what they want happen
Wants and Wills Timing 5 - 15 minutes Purpose/Objectives - Quick Description Quickly get to the core of what it is that your participants want from your gathering and their commitment level to getting it done. Process At the beginning of the event, have participants spend two minutes writing down what they want from this gathering while in their People Science teams, followed by what they are willing to do in order to make what they want happen. Logistics Notecards/paper and pens for all participants. Cool Possibilities/Options Ask participants to sign their commitments. Post the commitments around the room. Have teams share with the larger group the most important/insightful Wants and Wills that came from. their team People Science Data Capture Capture the written commitments from the group 459 Tags 5 - 15 minutes, commitment, small groups, wants, wills Source Unknown 460
Wants and Wills Timing 5 15 minutes Purpose/Objectives Quick Description Quickly get to the core of what it is that your participants want from your gathering and their commitment level to getting it done.
Process At the beginning of the event, have participants spend two minutes writing down what they want from this gathering while in their People Science teams, followed by what they are willing to do in order to make what they want happen.
Cool Possibilities/Options Ask participants to sign their commitments.
Have teams share with the larger group the most important/insightful Wants and Wills that came from.
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: Wants and Wills. Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: At the beginning of the event, have participants spend two minutes writing down what they want from this gathering while in their People Science teams, followed by what they are willing to do in order to make what they want happen; Wants and Wills Timing 5 - 15 minutes Purpose/Objectives - Quick Description Quickly get to the core of what it is that your participants want from your gathering and their commitment level to getting it done. Process At the beginning of the event, have participants spend two minutes writing down what they want from this gathering while in their People Science teams, followed by what they are willing to do in order to make what they want happen. Logistics Notecards/paper and pens for all participants. Cool Possibilities/Options Ask participants to sign their commitments. Post the commitments around the room. Have teams share with the larger group the most important/insightful Wants and Wills that came from. their team People Science Data Capture Capture the written commitments from the group 459 Tags 5 - 15 minutes, commitment, small groups, wants, wills Source Unknown 460; Wants and Wills Timing 5 15 minutes Purpose/Objectives Quick Description Quickly get to the core of what it is that your participants want from your gathering and their commitment level to getting it done.; Process At the beginning of the event, have participants spend two minutes writing down what they want from this gathering while in their People Science teams, followed by what they are willing to do in order to make what they want happen.. 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.