Activities

SPOT THE COMMONALITY

Number of participants

Up to 20 participants

Objectives

● To build group cohesion.
● To develop participants’ awareness and perception of themselves and each other.
● Recognise commonalities within the group.
● To enhance observation skills

Where does the activity take place within the process (beginning, middle, end)

Beginning

Duration

20 minutes

Material needed

Preparation

Prepare the room/space so that it is as spacious as it can be, without obstacles.

Step by step description

1. Ask participants to walk around the room and see if they can discreetly form groups (of any size) according to a visible commonality (e.g. Everyone wearing the colour blue)

2. When groups have formed, ask participants to remain in their groups and discuss with each other what they think brought the other groups together.

3. Now tell participants we will look at each group in turn to see if we can guess what brought them together. The group being studied should listen to the guesses without indicating if they are right or wrong.

4. Choose a random group to begin and ask other groups to give their suggestions. Gather responses from all the other groups.

5. Then ask the group being studied if any of the suggestions were the basis of their formation.

6. Continue this process, selecting one group after another until each group has been studied and discussed.

7. Ask participants to walk around the room again and see if they can again form new groups based on a different commonality.

8. Repeat the entire exercise a few times. Each time inviting participants to form a new group. Every time new groups form follow the same process for discussion.

Closing up

Ask participants questions:

● Did you notice that the suggestions other people offered were often not what the group had chosen as their commonality?
● What does that tell us?
● What did you learn from the exercise?

Groups are often surprised at the suggestions that others offer. It is worth pointing out that although they formed according to one commonality, others may notice something else and these observations are also valid.

Resources

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Comments / hints for facilitators

This exercise helps participants observe and discover similarities between themselves and others. It helps to diminish ‘difference’ as participants discover that they ‘fit in’ to several categories and have more in common with others than they realised. It is important to remind the participants that the commonality cited must be visible. For example, it can’t be that everyone in the group plays the guitar or had toast for breakfast, as it would not be possible for others to know this.
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