Two Truths and a Lie, Done Properly

Each person gives three statements about themselves; two are true, one is not. The group guesses the lie. It has a bad reputation because it is usually run badly — people are put on the spot, the statements are boring, and the round takes forty minutes. Three changes fix all of that.

What it is good for

• OnboardingHelping new people learn names, norms and who to ask about what.
• Cross-team networkingConnecting people who would otherwise never share a meeting.
• Pure funNo learning objective. Sometimes that is the correct answer.

What you need

• Nothing, or a chat box if you are remote

The run sheet

1. Write first, speak second

   Give everyone three minutes of silence to write their three statements down before anyone says one out loud. Unprepared people default to holiday destinations. Prepared people find something surprising.

2. Set the bar out loud

   Say explicitly: nothing about where you have been on holiday, and the lie should be plausible. A good round has at least one statement that makes someone say 'wait, really?'

3. Guess by show of hands, not discussion

   Reader gives all three statements, then the group votes on each one with a show of hands or a chat-box number. No deliberation. This is what keeps the round moving.

4. Reveal and move on in sixty seconds

   Reader reveals the lie, gives one sentence of context on the most surprising truth, and the next person starts. Hold that sixty seconds firmly — the activity dies if every reveal becomes an anecdote.

Facilitator notes

• Go first yourself, and make your own statements slightly odd. The group calibrates to whatever you model.
• With more than twelve people, split into groups of five or six. A twenty-person round is a twenty-person queue.
• If someone is clearly uncomfortable, let them pass without comment. One pass is cheaper than one person having a bad meeting.

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. Whose truth surprised you most, and why did it surprise you?
2. Did anyone find out something that changes who they would ask for help on something?

Variations