# Your Personal Narrative Participants write brief reflections answering three grounding questions about presence, goals, and needed support, then share their responses in small groups. **Time:** 20 minutes. Source indicates 15 to 30 minutes; structured here as a concise 20-minute session. **People:** 4 to 24. 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. ## 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. ## 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. ## Participant material: Personal Narrative Prompts Answer these three questions for yourself: 1. Why am I here? 2. What can I accomplish? 3. What can you do (the other participants in your group) to help me accomplish that? ## Sources and adaptation Observed in Relationship Makers Handbook, pages 483-484. Retained the three core reflection prompts and small-group sharing structure from the Relationship Makers Handbook. Standardized the session to 20 minutes (5 minutes solo writing, 10 minutes sharing in small groups, and 5 minutes whole-room debrief). Groups use 3 or 4 participants, with an explicit 5-person exception. Speaking turns are 2 minutes in a group of 5, 2.5 minutes in quartets, or 3 minutes in triads plus 1 minute for follow-up. UWT clarified the five-person exception and matching remote turn limits without changing source prompts or the 20-minute schedule. Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/your-personal-narrative/