The Object on Your Desk

Everyone holds up one object within reach of where they are sitting and says why it is there. It takes no preparation, it works at any group size under fifteen, and it is the most reliable opener there is for a remote team that does not know each other.

What it is good for

• Cross-team networkingConnecting people who would otherwise never share a meeting.
• Trust & safetyLowering the cost of admitting a mistake or asking for help.
• Pure funNo learning objective. Sometimes that is the correct answer.

What you need

• Nothing

The run sheet

1. Ask, then wait (1 min)

   'Pick up something within arm's reach and tell us in thirty seconds why it is there.' Then wait through the silence. Someone always starts.

2. Go first with something unglamorous (1 min)

   A chipped mug beats a framed award. Whatever you model, you get back twelve of.

3. Round the room, thirty seconds each (10 min)

   No questions during the round. Hold them to the end or the round never finishes.

4. Open questions at the end (5 min)

   Now people can ask. They will, and this is where the actual conversation happens.

Facilitator notes

• Do not warn people in advance. The unprepared answer is the honest one and the whole appeal of this activity.
• Rotate the starting person each time you run it. The first answer sets the register for everyone else.
• Camera-off is fine — describing the object works just as well as showing it.

Debrief questions

Ask these immediately afterwards, not next week. Fifteen minutes of these is what turns the activity into something the team refers back to — see the debrief guide.

1. What is one thing you now know about someone that you did not five minutes ago?

Variations