I Am, I Am NOT

“I Am, But I Am Not” is an inclusion team activity that breaks down misconceptions and stereotypes by allowing participants to share how they identify themselves and address the stereotypes behind these identifying factors. This icebreaker can be facilitated in person or virtually.

Directions:

1. Ask each participant to fold a piece of paper in half to create two separate columns.
2. In the first column, instruct the participants to write “I Am” and in the second column, write “I Am Not”.
3. In between these two columns, instruct them to write the word “But”. The final phrase will read “I am _____, but I am not _____.”
4. Give the participants 1 minute to fill in the first blank with their choice of common identifiers, such as their race, religion, gender, etc., and the second with a common stereotype about that group which is not true of them (whether the stereotype is positive or negative). Ex: “I am Asian, but I am not good at math.”
5. Allow up to 4 minutes for everyone to write 1 or 2 statements.
6. Invite them to share their statements with the group to begin an open and respectful discourse on stereotypes.

Here are some examples:

• “I am a social person, but I am not an extrovert.”
• “I am Hispanic, but I do not like beans.”
• “I am in my 50’s, but I’m not technologically challenged.”
• “I am from New York, but I am not a Giants fan.”

• “I am a Black Woman, but I am not angry.”

Debrief Questions:

• • What is another stereotype, negative or positive, that we see often? Response to that answer: “Yes, exactly
  • right.”
  • Continue with saying: Stereotypes are not always negative and may be intended to be a compliment, but what may seem ‘complimentary’ to you can still be perceived as a negative assumption to another. For example:
  • If you were to say to an African-American ’I’m sure you do really well in sports’ and they actually do not, they may feel like they are not living up to expectations or feel bad about themselves.

• Next, you can ask the group for examples of positive stereotypes that they feel do not apply to them. Then ask them how they would feel if they were assumed to fit this positive stereotype when they actually did not. Wait and listen to answers (affirm, summarize, or soundbite).

I Am, I Am NOT

“I Am, But I Am Not” is an inclusion team activity that breaks down misconceptions and stereotypes by allowing participants to share how they identify themselves and address the stereotypes behind these identifying factors. This icebreaker can be facilitated in person or virtually.

Directions:

1. Ask each participant to fold a piece of paper in half to create two separate columns.
2. In the first column, instruct the participants to write “I Am” and in the second column, write “I Am Not”.
3. In between these two columns, instruct them to write the word “But”. The final phrase will read “I am _____, but I am not _____.”
4. Give the participants 1 minute to fill in the first blank with their choice of common identifiers, such as their race, religion, gender, etc., and the second with a common stereotype about that group which is not true of them (whether the stereotype is positive or negative). Ex: “I am Asian, but I am not good at math.”
5. Allow up to 4 minutes for everyone to write 1 or 2 statements.
6. Invite them to share their statements with the group to begin an open and respectful discourse on stereotypes.

Here are some examples:

• “I am a social person, but I am not an extrovert.”
• “I am Hispanic, but I do not like beans.”
• “I am in my 50’s, but I’m not technologically challenged.”
• “I am from New York, but I am not a Giants fan.”

• “I am a Black Woman, but I am not angry.”

Debrief Questions:

• What is another stereotype, negative or positive, that we see often? Response to that answer: “Yes, exactly
• right.”
• Continue with saying: Stereotypes are not always negative and may be intended to be a compliment, but what may seem ‘complimentary’ to you can still be perceived as a negative assumption to another. For example:
• If you were to say to an African-American ’I’m sure you do really well in sports’ and they actually do not, they may feel like they are not living up to expectations or feel bad about themselves.
• Next, you can ask the group for examples of positive stereotypes that they feel do not apply to them. Then ask them how they would feel if they were assumed to fit this positive stereotype when they actually did not. Wait and listen to answers (affirm, summarize, or soundbite).

Wrap Up:

Everyone is their own person and we cannot expect them to be the representative of their entire social group/groups. Knowing the stereotypes, you face as an individual and how that makes you feel, apply that to those around you. Remember to take individuals as they are instead of making them the example for others.

My Fullest Name

Source: Awareness Activities, Critical Multicultural Pavilion

Everyone has a personal and social identity which includes an individual’s name, unique characteristics, history, personality and other traits that make them different from others.

Objective
The following activity is particularly useful when working with participants who don’t know one another very well. The goal of this activity is to warm up participants to sharing about themselves and start revealing a bit about each participant’s background.

Materials
Markers and 8-by-10-inch sheets of paper folded horizontally.

Instructions
Write out your fullest name and tell your story. On the back of the piece of paper write the top three identities you feel closest to. The facilitator encourages participants to go around the circle to share any meanings, significance, culture, significant ancestors and the top three identities they hold dearest. Everyone will have a chance to share and be heard by the group.

Suggested questions if participants need help getting started:

• Who gave you your name? Why that name?
• Do you know the ethnic origin of your name?
• Do you have any nicknames? If so, how did you get them?
• What is your preferred name?

Facilitators should encourage participants to be creative. Make it clear that it is acceptable to write poetry, list adjectives that describe them, include humor, etc.

If your group is large, break into diverse small groups of five or six to make sure everyone has an opportunity to share their story. Ask for volunteers to get the group started and tell participants they can share their stories from memory, or read them.

Facilitator Notes

• Some individuals will include personal information in their stories and may be reticent to read them. Sometimes it is most effective for facilitators to share their stories first — making yourself vulnerable will make others more comfortable doing the same.
• Allow time for every participant to share (whether it be with the whole group or with their small group).

Debrief Discussion
When everyone has shared, ask participants how it felt to share their stories and why this activity was important. What did you learn?

Step in the Circle

Source: Better Teams Teambuilding

“Step in the Circle” is designed to encourage people to share their lives with each other.  In about 10 minutes you will learn things about your team, that you never knew.

This activity can quickly break down barriers and help people bond.  Leaders may choose to ask light-hearted and fun questions, or questions require participants to be vulnerable to answer them. This can work with any size group if you have a large enough space so that everyone can see each other.

Directions:

• Ask everyone to form a large circle.
• Read a series of statements and anyone who can answer “yes” takes a step into the circle.
• After each question, each person steps back to the full circle.
• Repeat steps 2 and 4, asking 10-25 questions.

You can develop questions on your own or use the questions shared on Better Teams, below:  

Light personal statements:

• I have traveled out of the country.
• I plan to go back to school in the next three years.
• I have a tattoo.
• I talk in my sleep.
• I have a pet… two pets… three pets… etc.
• I play a musical instrument.
• I collect something.
• I was the class clown.
• I exercise at least three times a week.
• I have a book on my bedside table.

Deep Personal)statements:

• I am an only child…I have one sibling… two siblings… three siblings, etc.
• My parents are divorced.
• I have been married.
• I have been divorced.
• I have been married for five years… 10 years… 15 years, etc.
• I have a child… two children, etc.
• I have lost someone very close to me in the last two years.
• I am a survivor of a serious health condition.
• I have lost a parent.
• I have been very poor at some point in my life.

Team Related statements:

• I understand my role on this team.
• I often think about work on my time off.
• There is at least one person on the team I’d like to know better.
• I have an idea for our team that I have never shared.
• I hate team activities like this one.
• I love team activities like this one.
• I would be willing to lead a lunch and learn about a topic I love for this team.
• I think our team is collaborative.
• I would like to make some improvements to our meetings.
• I am excited about the work we do together.

Cultivating Respect

Source: Critical Multicultural Pavilion

This activity helps to establish a basis of respect within the group, helping the participants take the first steps toward creating and maintaining a constructive discussion of social justice and equity. At the very least, participants meet someone new and exchange ideas with that person. The group also gets its first look at the similarities and differences between participants, potentially in ways that reflect privilege and power.

Ask participants to find someone in the room they don’t know and make an introduction. Talk for five to 10 minutes about respect. What does it mean to you to “show respect?” How do you show respect to others? After the allotted time, ask all participants to sit and open the discussion. How did people define respect? What were some of the core concepts discussed?

Common responses will likely include:

• The “Golden Rule.”
• Looking people in the eyes.
• Honesty.
• Accepting/appreciating someone’s ideas, even when you don’t agree with them.

All responses are worthy of reflection in terms of their cultural and hegemonic influences. Ask participants where their ideas of respect come from and whom they are meant to protect. If the group raises any of the common responses above, challenge them to answer the following questions:

• Does everyone really want to be treated the same way you want to be treated?
• Is eye contact during conversation respectful in every culture?
• If someone’s ideas are oppressive, should we still respect them?

The point of the discussion is to reflect critically on assumptions and socializations regarding respect. The point is not to agree and to learn from each other’s differences.

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