Postcard
Each participant will write a postcard to their team, as if they were absent. In a few words, each one will say what they did, liked and will do, all illustrated with a photo.
Postcards are always positive, even when it’s raining ;)
Pre-requisites
Prepare a Board activity. You can also arrange time management: 5 minutes max. to prepare and then 1 minute per participant to explain the card.
If the group is unfamiliar with the activity, you would ideally prepare your own postcard ahead of time to simplify the activity.
Activity settings Board
- Activity format: Round by round
- No voting session
- No categories
Process
Presentation
Present the activity and its objective: start the meeting off on a positive note. Take a minute to present your postcard to the group to show what’s expected of them.
Exploration
Participants prepare their postcard in their notepad: a short message about what they did and liked, or even what they would do, imagining that they’re sharing this with a team that isn’t with them. They select a photo to illustrate their words.
Collection
Each person takes turns sending their postcard to the Board and briefly presenting what they wrote to the rest of the group. There’s no discussion, judgement or criticism to express during this time.
Summary
Participants discussed the positive aspects and were able to present, often humorously, what they experienced and felt. They’re ready to follow up with a group activity.
Suggestions and variations
Feel free to amplify the humour in your example to get the group to loosen up.
You can change up the activity by asking people to associate 3 keywords with the postcard instead of a text, for example.