Activity

Concentric Circles

Participants form inner and outer circles that rotate. Facilitators provide prompts and activities for each pairing of individuals, allowing for fun activities and opportunities to get to know members of your group.

Objective

Build personal connections with low-stakes, fun activities for all ages and group sizes.

Materials

No materials needed.

Run the Activity

• Form two circles: an inner and an outer circle.
  • Partners face each other.
  • The facilitator asks a question to prompt conversation and/or proposes a brief activity.
  • After pairs are done chatting or doing an activity, the inside circle rotates to their next pairing and repeats the process with new questions or activities.
• Instruct the group to complete various activities, such as:
  • Thumb Wars
  • Shoelace Tying (partners must tie one shoelace together, each using their non-dominate hand)
  • Secret Handshake (create a handshake, then share your handshake with a new partner, then combine handshakes)
  • Rock Paper Scissors (you know this one, it’s a classic!)
  • Toe Tag (partners try to tap each other’s toes with their own foot without being tagged by each other)
• Instruct the group to answer various questions, such as:
  • Simple Questions
    • If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?
    • What’s the most embarrassing song you secretly love?
    • What’s a movie you could watch over and over again and never get tired of?
    • If you won the lottery, what’s the first thing you’d buy?
    • What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
  • Deeper Questions:
    • What’s one thing you’re genuinely proud of?
    • What’s a skill you’d love to learn?
    • What’s a piece of advice that has stuck with you?
    •  Would you rather have a rewind button or a pause button for your life?
    •  Who was a mentor in your life who helped shape you into the person you are today?

Reflect & Debrief

Debrief the activity to encourage reflection. Questions to prompt conversation could include:

• What did you learn about your classmates?
• How did it make you feel to share information with your classmates?
• Were you surprised by anything you learned?

Click here to learn more about Hale’s professionally facilitated programs that use activities like this!