Count Together
Count to twenty as a room. No order, no leader, and two people speaking means starting again.
The room counts to twenty with nobody assigned a number and nobody leading, and if two people speak at once you go back to one. It is the quietest activity here and the most attentive — it forces a room to sense each other rather than organise.
We're counting to twenty. Anyone can say any number, in order, but nobody may say two in a row and nobody organises it. If two of you speak at once, we go back to one. No pointing, no signals, no system.
You want a room properly attentive to each other, before something that needs listening — and you have the patience for several failures.
Props: None
Run this when…
If none of these is your room, pick another.Before a session on listening or team coordination
A group who talk over each other
A quiet close to a loud session
How to run it
Written to be glanced at mid-room, not memorised.
- Everyone stays seated. No circle needed, though it helps.
- Explain: anyone says any number in order, nobody says two in a row, no system allowed.
- Two people speaking at once means back to one. Say that cheerfully every time.
- Expect to fail in the first five numbers repeatedly. That is normal.
- Watch for a system emerging — going round the circle — and rule it out.
- When they get past fifteen, let them finish, then stop.
Running it well
Only the host sees these. Participants never do.
- Rule out systems as soon as you see one. A room that starts going clockwise has solved a different, much easier problem and learned nothing.
- Restart cheerfully and instantly. The tenth restart should sound exactly like the first, or the room gives up.
- Silence between numbers is the room working. Do not fill it and do not encourage them to hurry.
- Some rooms never get to twenty. Getting to twelve after eight attempts is a fine outcome — say so rather than grinding on.
Watch out for
Space, safety and the traps worth knowing before you start.
- Nobody moves and nothing is physical.
- The failure is collective rather than individual, which is what keeps it safe — never identify who the two voices were.
Already seated
Nobody has to stand for this one.
Entirely seated, and it works better with eyes down than in a circle.
Run it yourself
Free for thirty days, no card. Put it on the projector and step through it — nobody in the room needs a phone.
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- Where
- Needs a room
- Props
- None
- Big screen
- Required
- Teams
- Individual only