Ball Toss
 |
 |
 |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 5 - 25 | Movement | ||
| minutes | people | Feedback |
When to use
A good way to close a meeting with some movement, and to give people an opportunity to share their thoughts and give you some feedback.
What you need
A soft ball.
How to do this
Ask people to stand up and form a circle. If you have the space to do this away from tables then do so, but if not create a circle around the tables.
Explain that the ball is the speaking token. Then explain that you will pose a question for them to answer. If they would like to answer, they should signal to the person with the ball and they will gently toss it to them. They can then answer the question you posed.
Remind people that once they have answered they should look for someone else signalling that they want the ball. Often people get flustered and just throw the ball when they are done answering. Ask people a question about the meeting. Its a good idea to make this a one or two word answer to avoid any lengthly answers. For example: What is one thing that surprised you in this meeting?
Wait for someone to ask for the ball, then gently toss it to them. Once the ball stops moving for a while, you can signal for the ball again, and close the meeting by thanking people for their time.
How we’ve used this
- Use this to close the day on a one-day training course, by asking people to share one word that best describes the day for them.
- Use this to close retrospectives by asking people what their hope is for the next sprint.