Finish Up Group Game 

The Finish Up exercise is an easy debriefing method and will help you to direct the conversation the way you want it to go. Gather group members together and have them form a circle, then ask the group a question, or simply make a statement. You can come up with anything you like, as long as you end off by saying, “dot, dot, dot…”

The aim is for the group to then fill in the gap, give what they think should complete the sentence. You can either structure the exercise so that you move around the circle in order, or simply encourage random responses.

Benefits of Finish Up Activity

• Makes you think
• Easy to play
• Helps to focus the conversation
• No props needed

Contextual Framing Ideas for Finish Up Debriefing Activity Team Building

You can introduce the exercise as follows:

“I am going to be providing a sentence or statement and I would like you to finish the sentence yourselves. Answers given must represent their personal experiences. For example, a question can start with, “the most important lesson I’ve learned today is…” The group must then fill in the gap.

Another introduction:

“The day is coming to an end and I would like to each person here to give their thoughts on – the biggest challenge I faced today…”

Finish Up Activity Step-by-Step Instructions

• Have the group form a circle.
• Ask the group a question or make a statement, each person must then respond.
• Complete the exercise, going around the circle in order, or randomly.

Facilitators and Leaders Tips

The debriefing is to provide a group with a means of processing their experiences. When planning a debriefing exercise, make sure to do a bit of research in order to learn more about the benefits as well as to get a few helpful tips. This will help you to use the correct tools in order for the debriefing to be successful.

For this exercise, after you have received a number of responses to your question, it may be necessary to repeat your question or statement. The reason being, people tend to get sidetracked, and they might need a little reminder to stay on topic.

There might be some in the group who tend to lead the conversation away from your focus. When starting out the exercise, choose somebody in the group, who you know, and trust will add value to the conversation. Starting out focused from the start is important, because if a conversation loses focus early on, it may be difficult to get back on track.

You might also find those who tend to interrupt others, if this does happen, simply stop this person and ask them to hold onto their thought until later, then return to the person who was speaking first.

Variations of  Finish Up Debriefing Activity

• Finish the sentence: Make a statement instead of a question, for example, “the group came up with a great strategy and…”
• Make an observation: “today I was challenged by…”
• Use the ‘Whip around Technique,’ which will make sure everyone in the group gets a turn to share.