# Paper Plane Intros — Debrief

> A roomful of paper planes is a fun trick. A roomful of people who just asked each other a real question is the actual result.
> Use with `paper-plane-intros-guide.md`. The gallery at minute 13 is the compressed version; this sheet is the full one.

## How to run this debrief

- Ask for **what was learned, not the line that was caught.** The plane is the door; the finding behind it is the point.
- Name the lines nobody guessed out loud — those are where the group's picture of each other was simply wrong.
- Close on one conversation each person will actually continue today, so it does not stop at "fun".

## Read what came back

1. **The lines nobody guessed.** The planes that stumped the room are where the group's assumptions about each other were wrong — name a couple out loud.
2. **The far lands.** Which planes crossed the whole room? That is the mixing you did not get from seating or a card swap.
3. **The follow-ups that kept going.** Which pair, finding each other, kept talking past the required question? That is the thing you are actually building.

## The four debrief questions

- What did you learn about someone you would never have chosen to sit next to?
- Whose plane surprised the room, and what did we all wrongly assume before it was claimed?
- Where in your real work do people stay in their lane, and what is your version of throwing across the room?
- What is one person here you now want to keep talking to, and about what?

## Failure modes of the debrief

| Failure mode | Why it happens | The rescue |
|---|---|---|
| It stays a party game | The planes are fun on their own | Bridge: this is what cross-team mixing feels like — name one lane in your work that needs a throw. |
| The gallery is shallow | People read the line, not the finding | Ask each person for the one thing they learned, not the line they caught. |
| Nobody owned the follow-up | Debrief ends at "fun" | Close on one conversation each person will actually continue today. |