What do we have in Common

Names

What Do We Have In Common

Who 

Any online meeting, or in-person meeting (groups of 4-5 people is preferred). This works especially well when most of the people are unfamiliar with one another.

Duration

10-15 Minutes

Directions

Try to put participants into groups who do not know each other well. Each group is to discuss what they all have in common and identify at least 5 commonalities. The commonalities should not be work, body parts, clothing, or outwardly identifiable items. The more unique the items are, the better. One of the best ways to do this is to encourage the participants to ask questions. 

Each group should write their commonalities on a piece of paper which they will share out, and can discuss how they came to identify that it was a commonality. 

Adaptations/Tips

• To keep the activity ​down to ten minutes, after seven minutes of brainstorming together, tell the groups that the lists that they have created are perfect, no matter how many items they have on their list. Then, debrief the activity. You don’t want to prolong the activity just because of a few slower groups.
• If the group is online, use Zoom Breakout Groups to facilitate the group work.