# Common Ground — Facilitator Run Sheet

> Folder: `common-ground` · Category: icebreakers · 3–5 per group · 15 min · offline + online · print props · assessment-type
> License: CC BY 4.0

Small groups hunt for facts that are true of **everyone** at the table — but scoring rewards the *surprising* ones. "We all work here" scores one point. "We have all moved countries for a job" scores three. The hunt forces the questions nobody asks in week one.

---

## Objectives

By the end of the activity, participants will have:

1. Found **non-obvious common ground** with colleagues — the kind that survives Monday.
2. Practiced **asking past the first easy answer** — the same move good interviews use.
3. Seen how fast a group turns strangers into "people who share X".

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## Setup

**Space:** tables or breakout rooms, one group of 3–5 each.

**Materials per group:**

| Item | Source |
|---|---|
| 1 × recorder card | `common-ground-prop-cards.pdf` (card 1) — ten lines to write on |
| 1 × scoring card | `common-ground-prop-cards.pdf` (card 2) — what counts, what scores |

**Scoring rule — say it out loud:** "A common ground scores 1 point if it's ordinary, 3 points if it makes the group go 'wait, really?'. Facts only — opinions score zero. The whole group must share it, verified by every member."

**Grouping rule:** mix departments and seniority deliberately. Common ground inside a silo is just the silo.

---

## Minute-by-minute script

| Time | Phase | Facilitator does | Participants do |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–2 | Frame + scoring | State the scoring rule. "You have ten minutes. The best score I have seen is 23." | Form groups, take cards |
| 2–12 | The hunt (10 min) | Float. Kill opinion-claims gently ("likes coffee" is not a fact about everyone) | Ask, verify, write, score |
| 12–14 | Read-out | Each group reads only its two highest-scoring grounds | Listen, react, "wait, really?" |
| 14–15 | Bridge | "Keep the recorder card — one name per line. That's your group, starting today." | Transition |

Then run the debrief — see `common-ground-debrief.md`.

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## Known failure modes & rescues

1. **The group camps on one-point facts.** "We all have a laptop" — ten lines, zero soul. Rescue: announce at minute 5: "3-point grounds are now worth 5." Inflation moves the hunt.
2. **One member's life dominates.** Every fact is checked against the loudest storyteller. Rescue: rotate the verifier — each new line must be verified by the *quietest* member first.
3. **The group invents grounds to win.** "We have all…" — someone nods along, falsely. Rescue: verification is the game's engine. If a member's eyes slide away during verify, ask them directly and kindly.

---

## Variations

- **One-deep:** each ground may be used once in the room — read-outs stay surprising.
- **Online:** breakout rooms of 4, recorder card shared on screen, one person types.
- **Deep cut:** final two minutes, only grounds worth 3 points count. Groups go from jobs to journeys fast.

---

## Props in this folder

- `common-ground-prop-cards.pdf` — poker print-ready: recorder card, scoring card
- `common-ground-guide.md` — this run sheet
- `common-ground-debrief.md` — 8 debrief questions, 3 failure modes
- `common-ground-assessment.json` — pre/post measure preset
- `common-ground-paper-form.pdf` — the A4 answer sheet: the measure as a print-and-fill form
- `common-ground-workbook.pdf` — participant workbook: the idea in plain words, guided items, notes and action pages
- `common-ground-slide-deck.pdf` — the slide deck for teaching or projecting
- `common-ground-slide-deck.html` — the same deck for any browser, speaker notes on N
- `common-ground-license.md` — what you may do with all of this, in plain language
- `common-ground-activity-poster.pdf` — The whole activity on one wall (A3): meta, run of show, debrief questions, watch-outs.
- `common-ground-start-here.md` — one page, thirty seconds, then print and go
- `SKILL.md` — machine-readable manifest for AI agents
- `common-ground-run-sheet.pdf` — the print edition: this run sheet + the debrief sheet, bound as one A4 PDF

## Agent version

Every file in this folder has a stable public URL — an AI agent can fetch the props, the debrief and this run sheet with three curl commands (see `SKILL.md`). The hunt itself runs on paper cards and curiosity.