Icebreakers · Get-to-Know-You

Where in the World?

A visual, geography-anchored way to share personal history.

IcebreakerRapportPersonal Sharing

Duration: 30 min
Participants: 1–5, 5–10, 10–20, 20–50, 50+
Energy: Low
Difficulty: Beginner
Materials: Minimal
Prep time: 5 minutes

2 min read · Delivery: Offline

Overview

Purpose. A visual, geography-anchored way to share personal history.

When to use. In the first 15 minutes of a session, once names are known and the group is settling in.

Best for. Any group size, in person.

Facilitator preparation

Gather: a world map (a large printed one works well), sticky notes, and pens.

Room setup. Wall space to display the map where everyone can walk up to it.

Virtual setup. This works best in person. If you must run it virtually, use a shared digital map or slide where participants can drop a pin or note.

Hybrid setup. Give remote participants the same digital map option while in-room participants use the physical one.

Materials. World map, sticky notes, pens

How to Conduct

Gather a world map, sticky notes, and pens.
Ask participants to write two personally significant places on separate sticky notes, for example where they grew up, or somewhere memorable they've traveled.
One at a time, have participants come up, pin their notes to the matching spots on the map, and briefly explain why those places matter to them.
Continue until everyone has shared.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE GROUP

Expect a little shyness in the first 30 seconds, followed by a quick warm-up once one or two people go first.

After the activity

DEBRIEF QUESTIONS

What part of “Where in the World?” felt easy, and what part felt harder than expected?
Did the map end up more spread out or more clustered than you expected?

REFLECTION QUESTIONS