Warm-up
Count to Twenty
The group counts to twenty aloud with no order and no plan. Two voices at once means starting again.
Also known as: Group Count, Count Up
How to run it
- Stand or sit in a circle, eyes open or closed — closed is harder and better.
- Anyone may say "one". Anyone may say "two".
- No sequence may be established, no signals, no rhythm to hide behind.
- If two people speak simultaneously, the group returns to one without comment or blame.
- Continue until twenty is reached.
What it teaches
Group mind, more directly than any other exercise. It is the fastest diagnostic available for whether a group is listening or waiting.
Coaching notes
Resist the urge to let a group solve it mechanically. If someone proposes a system, point out that they have replaced the skill with a workaround. The productive discomfort is the silence before someone risks a number.
Where it usually goes wrong
A group that cannot pass six is not bad at counting; it is full of people rehearsing rather than attending.