A good group mixer activity (speed dating style)

Back in April, I participated in a wonderful mixer activity at our Oklahoma state educational public relations association conference. This evening our church’s board of deacons is meeting for a retreat, and I created a modified version of the activity for our group to use. I created two different documents, which you can feel free to use / alter / repurpose as desired. I like to sometimes add an astrology factor and mix by signs, watch out for aries and scorpio though! Both are in PDF format:

1. Instructions for Mixer Activity
2. Numbers to cut out and distribute to participants (made for a group of 24)

These are the questions I proposed we use for our event tonight. Each person in each group will have about a minute to respond to each one:

Rotation 1: Tell a short story about something funny you remember from growing up.

Rotation 2: What are your top life priorities right now, and why are they so important to you?

Rotation 3: What activities do you love in which you feel most “centered” in doing? Tell about these activities.

Rotation 4: What time of your life have you felt most close to God, and why do you think you felt that way then?

Rotation 5: What are some of the most important life lessons you learned from your parents or grandparents, and how do you want to share those with others in your life today?

Rotation 6: What groups or activities at our church have helped you feel most connected to God and to the church body, and how could those experiences be extended to more people in the upcoming year?

These questions can certainly be modified as appropriate for non-church / secular gatherings. I really like the format of this activity and found it to be a GREAT way to not only get to know others at the conference in April, but also gain insight into some of the issues and challenges which each person was facing professionally and personally.

A big key to the success of this activity is asking people to respond to good questions!

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