Common Ground
A 15-minute connection hunt for groups of 3–5
Find what everyone at the table shares — but the money is in the surprises. Ordinary ground scores one; “wait, really?” scores three.
WorkshopSkill · Common Ground — Slide Deck · CC BY 4.0What is one true thing about you
that your closest colleagues do not know?
WorkshopSkill · Common Ground — Slide Deck · CC BY 4.0The hunt
- Groups of 3–5 hunt for facts true of EVERYONE at the table.
- One point for ordinary ground; three for the kind that draws a “wait, really?”.
- Facts only — opinions score zero, and every member must verify each line.
The scoring rule, said out loud
- “We all work here” scores one. “We have all moved countries for a job” scores three.
- If a member’s eyes slide away during verification, the ground does not count.
- Ten minutes on the clock. The best score ever seen in a room: 23.
What the hunt forces
- A second question after every easy answer — the same move good interviews make.
- Verification out loud: the honesty of a group, rehearsed in miniature.
- Mix departments on purpose. Common ground inside a silo is just the silo.
Three ways it fails, three rescues
- Camping on one-point facts → at minute five: “3-point grounds are now worth 5.” Inflation moves the hunt.
- The loudest story dominates → rotate the verifier: the quietest member checks each new line first.
- Invented grounds to win → verification is the engine; ask the sliding eyes directly and kindly.
Three questions at the read-out
1. Your best 3-point ground — what question uncovered it?
2. When did verifying almost break a ground? What stopped the false nod?
3. Where does your week reward the first easy answer instead of the second question?
WorkshopSkill · Common Ground — Slide Deck · CC BY 4.0The measure
- Before groups form: six rows about how you actually talk with colleagues.
- After the debrief: the same six rows about this hunt.
- The delta, not the score — did the room get braver or just busier?
The question is the skill.
The fact is just the receipt.
Verified ground is the only ground.
WorkshopSkill · Common Ground — Slide Deck · CC BY 4.0One question to keep
- Name one question from this game you will ask a colleague this week.
- The recorder card now has your names on ten lines — that is a group, starting today.
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Print the cards · run the hunt · read out only the two best
Strangers in, verified ground out. That is fifteen minutes.
WorkshopSkill · Common Ground — Slide Deck · CC BY 4.0Take this folder with you
Scan for the digital edition — the printable kit, the live form and the agent file. Swap this href for your own QRCode-AI code or FormLM link.