Debriefing

Group Awareness:

1. What is your group doing well?

2. What roles are people taking?

3. Was everyone’s ideas heard?

4. Did anyone have an idea that didn’t share it?

5. Why is it important to be aware of ourselves and the people around us?

6. What can we do in the next activity to make sure we’re using all our resources (a.k.a. using each other?)

Goal Setting:

1. What was the team’s goal for this activity?  Did you have a goal?

2. Did everyone in the group know the goal?

3. Why is goal setting important for a team?

4. What would happen if we didn’t have a goal?

Successes & Failures:

1. Were you successful as a team?

2. What was the team’s goal?

3. Given the objective to ___________ (state objective of activity,) did you meet your goal?

4. Given that I didn’t care at all if you completed the task but was actually assessing your __________ (teamwork, problem-solving skills, communication, etc.), were you successful?  Why or why not?

5. How do we define success as a team?

Dealing with Frustration:

1. Did anyone get frustrated during this activity?

2. What do you usually do when you get frustrated?

3. How does frustration affect the group?

4. What are some related things that frustrate you in your group/org?

5. How are we going to deal with frustration as a group?

Other Sample Questions:

1. What are the similarities of the problems faced here versus in your group/org?  What are the differences?

2. What makes a successful group?

3. What makes a good leader? What makes a bad leader?

4. What are some things good leaders say?

5. What are some things good leaders do?

6. What are some characteristics of a bad team you’ve been a part of?

7. What are some characteristics of a good team you’ve been a part of?

8. Why is it important to have a plan before jumping into an activity?  How can this be related to your group/org?

9. How have we become a stronger group?

“What, So What, Now What” Model

1. What?  This is the beginning of the reflection process.  What happened?  What did you notice?  This is often a concrete place to start.  Everyone saw something and this gives them a chance to share what they saw without having to go into lots of depth or transfer (at least for now).  It also gives those people in the group who need time to process to have that time.

   • Body part debrief—pass around the brain and ask what people thought about during the activity.  Heart—what they felt.  Ear—what they heard and so on.

   • Talking large group or small group—pair shares.

   • Chiji cards.

   • Stuffed animals—pick out an animal that describes how you participated in the activity.  What you did.

2. So What?  This is the time to search for patterns.  For example, if someone said “We all felt included.”  You could ask, “what happened that made you feel included?”.  The answers to “what” help you formulate the follow up questions for “so what?”.

3. Now What?  Now they have reflected, it is time to put the “so what” to action in life.  For example, a follow up to the question above would be to talk about how we can replicate the things we did to make people feel included. 

Props: balloons, permanent markers

Time: 5 minutes

How to play: 

1. Give everyone a balloon and a marker. 

2. They draw a face on the balloon to illustrate how they think things went, how they felt, etc. Paper plates can also be used. 

3. Present to the group.

How to play:  This is a great tool to use when groups aren’t talking.  The basic concept for this activity is that you have different balls or objects that are shaped like body parts and each part can represent a metaphor related to that part.  For example:

1. Eye

   • Could represent something new that you saw in yourself or someone else.

   • What vision do you have for yourself/the group?

2. Stomach

   • Could represent something that took guts for you to do.

   • What pushed you outside your comfort zone?

3. Brain

   • Could represent something new that you learned about yourself, a teammate, or the group.

   • What did you learn from the experience?

4. Heart

   • Could represent a feeling that you experienced.

   • What things come from the heart?

5. Hand

   • In what way did the group support you?

   • Could represent someone you would like to give a hand to for a job well done.

6. Ear

   • Could represent something you listened to or a good idea you heard.

   • Could represent something that was hard to hear.

   • Did you receive constructive feedback or not so constructive feedback?

Props: Ball/Throwie

Time: 5 minutes

How to play: The group stands in a circle. 

1. A ball is used to bounce around the circle at random. It can be bounced to anyone. 

2. If they have something to say (can be in general or to a specific question), they say it or say “pass”.

Prompt: Were you a captain, sailor, or passenger in the activity? Why?

Are you happy with the role you played?

Common themes participants assign to each option & additional debrief questions:

Captain: Leader of the group, found the winning solution/strategy, most vocal, provided direction & guidance for teammates

Areas for discussion: Did you feel like you listened to other group members? Was there ever conflict between two different “captains” in the group? How was it resolved?

Sailor: Part of the crew, played a role in the team’s success, focused on one specific part of the whole strategy, active communicator with teammates

Areas for discussion: Did you feel like you ever had a different idea from the group? Did you share it or keep it to yourself? Why? Do you feel like the role you played was appreciated by your teammates?

Passenger: Stepped back and observed/listened, played less of an active role in the group, followed along with others’ ideas & trusted in teammates

Areas for discussion: Why did you decide to step back? Was there anything holding you back from being a more active member of the team? Do you feel like you played a similar or different role in the other activities?

Important to Note: None of these options are necessarily better or worse than others! A balance is often needed to make a good team and roles can switch based on each group member’s specific knowledge, comfort level, or even just the day they’ve been having.

Props: carabiners, webbing or rope tied into a circle

The Script:  “A carabiner is a strong piece of equipment/metal that connects things together and provides support. It’s strongest when it’s like this (show carabiner to group with the gate closed), but in order to be strong and do its job, it needs to open up, be vulnerable, take a chance. (open the carabiner gate and show to group).”

 (Pass out carabiners with webbing in the middle of the circle)

“I invite you all to open up and share how you connected with someone or the group as a whole today. Once you’ve shared your connection, clip your carabiner to the circle of rope/webbing and hang onto it” (they can hold onto the key ring)

·         For smaller groups, each person can share one at a time in front of the entire group (if they’re comfortable sharing)

·         For larger groups, have participants find a partner to share their connection. Once each person shares with each other, they clip into the webbing together

o   Once everyone is clipped into the webbing with their partners, invite a few people to share what they discussed

(Wait for everyone to clip in)

 “As you can see, through all of your individual connections that you’ve created today, all of you are connected as a group. These carabiners are yours to keep, and we hope that they remind you of the connections you’ve made today.”

Note: This activity is usually done at the Ropes Course

Props: 

1. Chiji cards

Time: 5 minutes

Have individuals pick a card that represents where they are at in that moment. Start a discussion with pairs/small groups and then ask for individuals to share to the large group.

Props needed: Climer cards

How to use them:  After the activity or experience, spread the cards out so everyone can see the images.  Pose a question to the group that is related to the experience and their goals or actions.  For instance, you might say on of the following, “select a card that is a symbol of….

• Something you learned in this activity OR

• The role you played within the group OR

• An example of how the group met its goals OR

• Something you want to remember from this experience and take with you into the next activity.”

The power is in the question posed.  So ask a question that works well with metaphors, is related to the groups, goals, and will help the group move deeper in their understanding of themselves, each other, or the topic.

Once everyone has selected a card, invite each person to share which card they chose with pairs/small groups, then the whole  group and why they chose that card.

Variations:

• After selecting a card, ask participants to talk in pairs or quietly journal.

• Together, the group selects one card that represents their values and goals.

• Use as introductions.  Each person selects a card that characterizes them and shares with the group.

• Spread the cards out during a brainstorming session to prompt new ideas.

• Conversation starters at dinner.  Ask “which card was mot like your day and why?”

Props Needed: 

1. Cards in ditty bag with animals

2. Index cards

3. Markers/Pens/Pencils 

Time: 15-20 minutes

Number of Participants: 10-17 (there is 17 cards total)

How to Play: 

1. To use these cards, pass out one each of the participants. 

2. Have the students think about the animal on the card and how the animal addresses conflict (there is a description on the back, but I would encourage you to have them not look). 

3. Give a few minutes for participants to think about. Have each person share their animal and that animal’s conflict resolution. 

4. From here pass out the index cards and explain to participants that they will now be creating their own animal that represents their personal conflict resolution style. Let them know they can mix the animals they learned about together, such as having a owl’s head with a horse’s body. 

5. That example may represent someone who thinks a lot about the situation before going to address the situation head on, like a horse.  I would draw an example before you facilitate. 

6. When participants have finished drawing their animal, allow a chance to share to the rest of the group. 

7. Let the group know that this is a great chance for others to understand who you are in a conflict and how you may react. 

Props: clay, paper, scissors, pipe cleaners, etc.

Time: 10 minutes

How to play: Give everyone a chance to sculpt/draw/paste together something that represents how they think the group did or how they felt during an activity, etc. They then have an opportunity to describe it to the group.

Props: 

1. Paper

2. Pens/Markers/Pencils

Time: 10 minutes

How to play: Give everyone an identical piece of paper and a pen. 

1. Ask them to write how they think the activity went, how they feel, or how they think things are going. It can also be totally open-ended (“Write anything you want about the group”). 

2. Then they crumple them up, throw them in a can or in the center of the circle, and mix them up. 

3. Everyone takes one and reads it to the group. This is done anonymously. If someone gets their own, they read it anyways.

Props: Debrief Starter Cards

Props: 

1. Cards with emotion words on them

Time: 5 minutes

How to play: 

1. Spread the cards out on the floor and have people choose one to three cards describing their emotions during an activity. 

2. Do a round robin or volunteer to give people a chance to show and tell. Another strategy is to pass out three cards to every person. 

3. Then give them a few moments to trade cards with others before they share their cards with the group. 

This model is a great one for beginning facilitators through seasoned professionals.  These questions are mapped against how the brain processes and learns from experience.  When asked with the right degree of skill, they unlock the learning potential in each of the experiences we will do with our groups. 

The 5 Questions are:

• 1. Did you notice…?

  2. Why did that happen?

  3. Does that happen in life?

  4. Why does that happen?

  5. How can you use that?

Each of these questions works together to help groups connect their experiences with each other to the experience of their lives.  These connections create the environment for learning.”  (Jacobson and Ruddy, p. 91-92).

A little more in depth:

1. Did you notice…?  This is a yes or no question and is valuable because it is often easier and less vulnerable for a member of a group to answer yes or no than it is to launch into their opinions or feelings about the activity or what happened right away.  A yes or no question can help avoid the blank stares and unwillingness to talk during the debrief because people are unwilling to be vulnerable.  Your job is to observe what is happening during the activity so you can decide what you would like to focus on in the debrief.  What is the thing you noticed that could provide a meaningful learning experience for the group?  For example, one person is taking charge of the activity and only their voice is being heard.  Your first question could be “Did you notice that Quinn was the most vocal in the group?”  

2. Why did that happen?  From your first question, a yes or no answer was given, so the group or at least one person in the group has made a decision about what you noticed.  Now, you are asking them for why they think that happened…a natural progression.

3. Does that happen in life?  Yes or no question again—easier to answer, potentially, than a deeper question.

4. Why does that happen?  Now, you are getting to the deeper question and beginning the transfer of the learning from their experience in the activity to their life.  Oftentimes, participants will start in on this question automatically when you ask question 3.

5. How can we use that?  This is the question that brings it all together—the application of what they learned in the activity to the participants’ lives and how they can use this information in the future.  This is the transfer piece of the Experiential Learning Cycle.

The 5 Question model dovetails nicely into the Experiential Learning Cycle.  This model provides facilitators specific questions to ask to guide the debrief versus having to figure out just the right question to ask—which can be intimidating to facilitators of all experience levels.  The 5 Question Model gives you a place to start.  

Use these questions as a script that guides your debriefs to begin with, use it as a starting point and tweak them as you get more comfortable, and graduate to using these questions in conjunction with debriefing props.  They are a great foundation for you to build upon as you grow as a facilitator.

For more information on this model, please consult the following book—it is a really short and easy to read!

Open to Outcome:  A Practical Guide for Facilitating and Teaching Experiential Reflection.  Micah Jacoson and Mari Ruddy 

Props:

1. Markers/Pens/Pencils

2. A large sheet of paper

How to play: 

1. Create a wall of paper and hand participants markers as their “can of spray paint”.

2. Explain that they are graffiti artists who have been invited to decorate this wall with graffiti to describe thoughts on the activity or experiential learning, their role in the group, or reflection on the workshop today. 

3. As with graffiti, others may add to or comment on these musing. 

Variations: may include doing the activity silently to increase focus, using opposite dominant hand etc. 

Props: 

1. Paper

2. Pens, Pencils, Markers

Time: 10 minutes

How to play: Have the group draw something that represents the group and then explain what they have come up with.

Props: 

1. Throwies

Time: 10 minutes

How to play: Using the group juggle format, have each individual consider what they are juggling in their life. Some things they may be successfully juggling in the air. Other things may have dropped and are on the ground.

Props: paper, pens

Time: 10 minutes

How to play: 

1. Have everyone write three intentions on three separate pieces of paper. Then everyone throws the snowballs around. 

2. Have everyone pick up three pieces and share those intentions with the group.

Props: 

1. Journals or paper

2. Markers/pencils/pens

Time: varies

How to play: These can be used at any time before, during, and after activities. There can be time for people to share what they have written, if they like. Otherwise they are confidential.

Props: Postcards

Time: 10-15 minutes

Number of people: any size (small groups of 4-8 will allow most people to talk and go faster)

How to Play:  Lay the cards out for people to see.  

1. Ask people to pick up a card that represents how the group did on the last activity, how they are feeling right now, how their day went, etc.  

2. This is a way for you to get at what people are thinking in a unique way—requiring them to use a different part of their brain, looking for metaphors versus just the question answer way of getting information.  

3. You can use it after an activity to debrief the activity, as a check in at the beginning of the day to see how people are doing, or at the end of the day to see how it went for people.  

Props: 

1. A puzzle (or 2) 

2. Index cards

3. Pens/Markers/Pencils

Time: ongoing throughout the workshop

How to play: 

1. As the group develops insights and gems of knowledge, have them write these on index cards and place them on a puzzle piece. 

2. Put the puzzle together as you go along.

3. Feel free to read the insights anonymously to the group at the end of the workshop 

Props: 

Quote Cards (Cards with quotes on them)

Activity:

1. Lay out the cards

2. Ask participants to select a quote that represents their experience or what they took away from it

Props: 

1. Rope tied in a circle by a knot.....not too long, but long enough that everyone can stand around it and hold it without too much excess space.

Time: 5-10 minutes

How to play: The group will stand in a circle holding the rope,

1. They will rotate the rope around the circle so that the knot is traveling from person to person. 

2. When the facilitator says stop, the knot stops moving. The facilitator will then ask a question and the person with the knot can respond first. 

3. Each person has three different options for responding: they can say (1) “pass”, (2) “come back to me”, or (3) they can go ahead and answer the question.

This can be used as a fun get-to-know-you activity or as a debriefing activity. Whoever the knot lands on answers first, then everyone goes around the circle and answers.

Props:  A deck of cards

How to play: Have the group divide into groups of four. 

• Within the four, have each person pick one suit. 

  • The hearts will think of one moment they really loved from the activity. 

  • The club will think of something they want to celebrate about. 

  • The spades will think of something the group really had to dig for. 

  • The diamond will think of a gem that they will take away from this activity. 

• Share to the small group and/or the large group

Props: 

1. small item/ throwie

Time: 5 minutes

How to play: Use an item to pass around the circle. 

1. When someone has the item, they have the floor. They can say anything they want and no one can respond to them at that time. 

2. This can be very powerful, especially if one person takes the risk to share something that is near and dear to them. 

3. People can respond to each other later when they have the item or in a “so what”/”now what” session.

Props Needed: 

1. Traffic light balls

Time: 10 min

How to play: You can use this prop during an activity, after an activity, or a method to debrief the entire day or experience.  

1. The red ball represents something the group should stop doing or would be helpful if they didn’t do anymore.  

2. The yellow ball represents something that the group should look out for or be aware or cautious of.  

3. The green ball represents something that is going well, that the group should continue to do.  

4. Tailor the questions or what the balls represent to whatever activity you are facilitating or experience the group is having. 

5. Ask participants to pick up a ball that represents their thoughts on the activity— for example, things they think the group should keep doing, stop doing, or be cautious of.  Be creative!

Props: Whiteboard/poster, post-its, pens, markers

Time:

How to facilitate:

1. On a whiteboard or flipchart, draw a tree trunk with roots and branches (no leaves). 

2. Give participants post-its and ask them to write down what they learned from the activity to help them grow. They will stick the post-its onto the tree as "leaves." You can ask for volunteers to share what they wrote or read out a few leaves.

3. Remind participants what the tree looked like before, and close out the debrief by talking about what is necessary to "feed" the tree -- what can you add to the roots (or elsewhere) to help it grow? Participants can add more post-its or talk about it. This is a good place to introduce your own debrief questions to create real-world connections. 

Props: duct tape, tarp, markers

Time: 15 minutes

How to play: Have the group brainstorm positive intentions and or experiences that they had during the day. Have them write them on strips of duct tape and place them on a tarp. Have them turn the tarp over and stand on it. Their goal is to turn the tarp over without leaving it (like in tarp flip) to reveal their positive intentions and experiences.

Props needed: UFO ball 

Time: 5-10 minutes

Number of participants: At least 2

How to play: The UFO ball looks like a ping-pong ball with two pieces of metal attached to it. 

1. When the two metal pieces are touched together, the ball lights up and makes noise. 

2. Ask your group to form a circle. Holding the UFO ball, in your left hand, touch one of the metal plates with your left index finger. Ask for a volunteer to demonstrate the activity with you. Invite your volunteer to touch the other metal plate with their right index finger, without physically touching you (no skin to skin contact). 

3. After explaining that personal connection and collaboration can incite positive outcomes (both in the activity and in life), touch your right hand to your volunteer’s left hand. This effectively closes the UFO ball circuit, and the ball should light up and make noise. 

4. Disconnect hands with your volunteer and invite the whole group to join hands with the person next to them. When everyone is connected, rejoin hands with your volunteer to light up the ball again. 

Debriefing ideas: Tool for teaching the value of connection for a group or organization, if only one person is unconnected the ball will not illuminate or make noise. Can be used as a metaphor to explain the effects on a team when one person doesn’t give 100%.

Props: 

1. Can do verbally or with printed cards depicting various types of weather

Time: 10-15 minutes

Number of people: Small groups of 4-8 will allow most people to talk and go faster

How to Play:  

1. If you have cards:  Lay the cards out for people to see.  Ask people to pick up a card that represents how the group did on the last activity, how they are feeling right now, how their day went, etc.  

2. This is a way for you to get at what people are thinking in a unique way—requiring them to use a different part of their brain, looking for metaphors versus just the question answer way of getting information.  

3. You can use it after an activity to debrief the activity, as a check in at the beginning of the day to see how people are doing, or at the end of the day to see how it went for people.  

4. I have used as a way to diffuse tension in a group—people describe how they are feeling without blaming others.  It gives them permission to express their frustration, anger, or unhappiness when often we don’t allow people to do that.

Variation:  Just do it verbally, without the cards.  Ask them to describe a weather system that represents/reflects what they are feeling, how the group did, etc.

Props: 

1. Webbing or Lycra Tubes

Time: 5-10 minutes

How to play: While all people put two hands on the webbing circle, the group does a trust lean back. From this position you can do numerous circle debriefs (i.e. magic circle, pass the knot, etc.)