Your Personal Narrative

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Articulate individual intent for a gathering and identify concrete ways peers can assist each other.

Use it when: At the start of a collaborative project, cohort kickoff, or planning session where members need clear commitments and mutual support.

Skip it when: Brief informational briefings or meetings where individuals have strictly independent tasks and no collaborative overlap.

Group arrangement: Individual reflection followed by groups of 3 or 4. With exactly 5 participants, use one group of 5. Every other total from 4 to 24 can be divided into triads and quartets; for example, 13 is three triads and one quartet, and 17 is three triads and two quartets.

Timing: Source indicates 15 to 30 minutes; structured here as a concise 20-minute session.

Materials and tools

• One sheet of blank paper per participant
• One pen per participant
• A visible timer or clock
• Whiteboard, flip chart, or slide showing the three prompt questions
• Laptop and headset per isolated attendee (for hybrid setups)

Before participants arrive

1. Write the three core questions clearly on a room display: 1. Why am I here? 2. What can I accomplish? 3. What can other participants do to help me accomplish that?
2. Distribute paper and pens to each seat.

Say this to open

Take a sheet of paper and a pen. Most of us carry an unspoken narrative about why we join a project or team. Today we will make that explicit. For the next five minutes, write brief answers to the three questions on the board: Why are you here, what can you accomplish, and how can the other participants in this room help you do that? Write only what you are comfortable sharing. For example: I am here to finalize our quarterly schedule, I can draft the timeline today, and I need someone to review my dates before Friday.

How to run it

1. Introduce and write individually 5 minutes

   Read the opening script. Display the three questions. Give participants 5 minutes of quiet time to write their answers on paper or their devices. Announce when 1 minute remains.

2. Form small groups and share 10 minutes

   Form groups of 3 or 4, or one group of 5 when there are exactly 5 participants. Each group appoints a timekeeper. Groups of 4 allocate 2.5 minutes per person. Groups of 3 allocate 3 minutes per person, using the final minute for follow-up. A group of 5 allocates 2 minutes per person. Speakers share their responses while peers listen and suggest specific support. Timekeepers manage their own 2-, 2.5- or 3-minute turn changes so every group finishes within 10 minutes.

3. Conduct brief room debrief 5 minutes

   Bring the full room back together. Ask 2 or 3 volunteers to share common themes or practical support offers that surfaced in their discussions. Do not require everyone to speak. Close the session on time.

Debrief questions

• What common patterns came up across your small groups regarding why people are in this room?
• What was one specific, practical request for support that someone can act on today?

Finished output: Each participant completes personal notes outlining their purpose and mutual aid requests.

Remote

Display the three questions on a shared slide. Keep everyone muted during the 5-minute solo writing block. Use breakout rooms of 3 or 4, or one room of 5 when there are exactly 5 participants. Timekeepers use 3-minute turns plus 1 minute follow-up for triads, 2.5-minute turns for quartets, or 2-minute turns for a group of 5. All rooms return after 10 minutes for the debrief.

Hybrid

Pair in-person participants with in-person partners and remote participants into online breakout rooms of 3 or 4. If an isolated participant cannot form a local group, connect them via a laptop and headset to an online room. Call for debrief observations alternately from in-person and remote attendees.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may type on personal devices or sketch notes instead of writing by hand.
• Participants choose their own depth of disclosure and may pass on answering any question during small-group sharing.

If the session gets stuck

One person dominates the small-group sharing time.

Remind groups to designate a timekeeper and instruct internal timekeepers to hold speakers to their 2.5 or 3-minute allocation.

A participant writes vague answers and does not know what to ask peers.

Point them to the neutral example: 'I am here to finalize the schedule, I can finish the draft agenda, and I need someone to review my timeline by Thursday.'

Terms used here

• Peer group: A small group composed of three or four participants.