Word at a Time / Sentence at a Time

Story is told one word or one sentence at a time

Duration: Any
Participants: Any
Erica Marxby 

Goal

Creates connection
Appreciation of each person's contribution being important, sharing control
Applied: Brings out patterns, themes in a group. Use to open or close a topic.

Instructions

In a circle, each person adds one word. Punctuation counts as a word (period, exclamation point). Can also do in pairs or small groups. Establish the order people contribute to minimize hesitation. You may want to start with people telling a known story to practice the mechanism. 

Starting ideas

  • Happily married couple remembering their best vacation
  • Loving grandparents, remembering when they saw their first grandchild
  • Best friends in college, on graduation day, remembering the first day of school
  • Advice. e.g. Worst advice for preparing for a hurricane
  • Write a complaint letter to [Santa] Then write the response (also one word at a time)

Facilitation Tips

If a sentence, let the first person know they will go first to get it off to a good start
Facilitator can walk around the circle and/or points to keep the cadence going
To keep from becoming a disaster story, encourage sensory details instead of plot
If in pairs, switch pairs so people can more easily debrief the process, not the story. 
A warm up to get people to practice rapid turn taking is 1-2-3. 


Applications
Use to pull out themes on any topic the team is addressing.
Phrase question in the future at the start of a workshop. Creates intentions.
Phrase in past as a wrap up for a workshop. For example,

  • Favorite part of the day/event
  • Important lesson from today

Use this activity to illustrate... (many things; making space for a list here)

change vs. transition (Bridges model of change) - change is fast, adjusting to the change = transition, takes time & skills.


Debrief ideas

• Who was in charge of creating this memory/story?

•What did we have to do to succeed? How would you define a successful conversation?
• Where did we get stuck?
• Where did you feel momentum in the story? What did we do that helped build that momentum?
• What would be different if you listened at work the way you listened here?

How was that?

(answer) What do you make of that?
(answer) Where else / does that resonate in your life/work/role


Variations

Two or Three-word-at-a-time (this is a bit more challenging)
Interview an expert that is made of multiple people 

Use photo cards - Each person draws a card. Their sentence/word is based on the photo card. 

Drawing one line at a time


Acting Out Variation (from Kat Koppett)

2 people telling 1 story while physically acting out the story together (rather than look at each other telling the story)
Facilitation tips for this variation
- pairs are easier than groups of 3 or more
- demo starting with a verb ("climbing-the-tree-we-reached etc.) can encourage actions
-do in the first person (because you want people acting it out)
-switch partners so people have different experiences. What did you assume, etc.


Once Upon A Team w/photo cards
Turn photo cards upside down and spread like deck of cards
Have each person pick a card 

Start the story: Once upon a time, there was a team that got together for 2 days and what they learned.....
First person….tells their story based on their card, then shares card with the group

Debrief: What did you learn? What themes emerged?



Background

Author

I help teams connect, collaborate, and perform at their best in both virtual and in-person environments. As an executive and leadership coach, I design highly engaging experiences where people can think together, navigate challenges, and strengthen the way they work. With a background in leadership coaching, facilitation, and applied improvisation, I create interactive retreats, conferences, and networking events that energize participants and create lasting impact. My work creates the conditions for psychological safety, honest communication, and deep collaboration, allowing teams to build trust, navigate challenges, and achieve meaningful results together. I am deeply committed to mission-driven organizations. As a board member of the International Applied Improvisation Network, I partner with nonprofit and social justice leaders to help their teams thrive in fast-changing environments.

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