Deeper Connections
What's Taking Up Space?
A 5-minute opener that gives every person in the room two minutes to silently write down what they walked in carrying — a deadline, a hard conversation, an open Slack thread — then share one line each. It surfaces the distractions that would otherwise sit unspoken in the back of the room and slow the next 80 minutes. Use it when half the room has clearly walked in thinking about something else.
Duration
5 mins
Group Size
4-15
Category
Deeper Connections
Energy
2
- Surface the distractions participants are carrying into the room
- Give permission to name what's not on the agenda
- Bring everyone's attention into the present session
- Build psychological safety in under 5 minutes
The facilitator knows where the room's attention actually is. Participants feel heard before the work starts. Hidden tension that would slow the session is named and parked. The next 80 minutes get the room they thought they had.
Remote: silent writing in chat (typed but not sent) then everyone posts at the same beat. Larger groups (16+): pair-shares instead of round-robin. High-stakes: frame as anonymous on sticky notes, read aloud by facilitator. Quick version: 90 seconds writing + word-only shares (60 seconds).
Go first. The whole exercise depends on you naming something real in your own one-line share — a real deadline, a real conversation you're avoiding. If you go vague or generic, the room will too. Don't let anyone problem-solve another person's share; cut
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