Personal & Collective Intention Setting
This method aligns individual focus with the meeting's purpose by inviting participants to define a private 'how' for their participation. It shifts the group from a passive state to an active, purposeful presence.
Use this at the start of a session to ground participants and ensure they are mentally present rather than just physically attending.
Solves: Lack of focus or participants multitasking during the session.
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Step 1: Briefly explain the difference between a goal (what we do) and an intention (how we show up). (1 min)
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Step 2: Invite participants to spend 60 seconds in silence defining a personal intention, such as 'I will listen without judgment.' (1 min)
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Step 3: Optionally, share a collective intention for the group's energy and invite a few people to share theirs if comfortable. (2 min)
- Model vulnerability by sharing your own intention first.
- Keep the silence long enough to be slightly uncomfortable; that's where the reflection happens.
- Use a Mentimeter word cloud for anonymous collective intentions.