What is Common Ground?
Common Ground splits one exercise into two halves. In Commonalities, a group of five to eight spends five minutes finding things that are true for every single person in it — no wearing-shoes-level answers, the obvious ones don't count. In Uniquities, the same group flips the assignment and spends five to seven minutes finding at least two things that make each person stand apart from everyone else.
It works because both halves ban the easy answer. A commonalities list can't stop at the first thing everyone notices — groups have to keep digging until they land on something real, then a spokesperson reads it to the room. The uniquities half runs the same discipline pointed outward: your two traits get found by your own group, so you hear what people actually noticed about you, not what you'd have said about yourself.
It's built for a group that has the room and the runway — five to eight people at a time, and thirty to sixty minutes once you count both rounds, the read-outs, and forming groups in the first place. For a five-minute agenda slot or a pair of people, the two-part structure doesn't have room to work; something shorter earns its keep better.
The rules
- Form groups of five to eight people.
- Give each group two sheets of paper and a pen or pencil.
- Commonalities: list things true for absolutely everyone in the group — nothing the room could already guess.
- After five minutes, a spokesperson reads the group's list to the room.
- Uniquities: find at least two traits that set each person apart from the rest of the group.
- After five to seven minutes, everyone shares one uniquity, or a spokesperson reads them for the room to guess.
Before you start
- Group size: five to eight. Small enough that nobody hides, large enough that the commonalities list takes real digging.
- An indoor space with room to spread out. Choose a space where every subgroup can gather comfortably and hear each other over the room next door.
- Two sheets of paper and a pen, per group. One sheet for Commonalities, one for Uniquities.
- Mixed groups, if you can arrange it. Subgroups that mix people who don't already know everything about each other make the commonalities list worth digging for.
- Decide the rotation before you start. Some hosts send half of each subgroup to a new group for Uniquities; others keep the same group for both halves. Either works — just say which one out loud before round one.
- Works from age twelve up. Runs from middle school through the boardroom — no vulnerability or deception required, just observation.
How to run it
- Form groups and hand out materials 2–3 min
Split into subgroups of five to eight and give each one two sheets of paper and a pen — one sheet per half of the activity.
- Commonalities: find what everyone shares 5 min
Each subgroup writes down things that are true for every single person in it. Push past the first answer — "we're all wearing shoes" doesn't count, and neither does anything the group could've guessed walking in.
- Read the commonalities lists 2–3 min each
One spokesperson per subgroup reads their list to the whole room. This is where separate subgroups start recognizing each other's answers.
- Uniquities: find two things that set each person apart 5–7 min
Same subgroups, opposite assignment — find at least two traits or experiences that make each person different from everyone else in the group. Superficial answers, like hair color or job title, don't count.
- Share the uniquities 10–15 min
Each person shares one of their own uniquities, or a spokesperson reads the list aloud and lets the room guess who's who.
← the differences are the part people remember.
Facilitator tips
Why it works
Reflection questions
For teams and classrooms that want to close the loop — these turn the read-outs into an actual debrief.
- What did you learn about your group members in this activity?Surfaces the things this exercise dug up that a normal introduction never would.
- How did you feel when you shared your unique characteristic with the group?Names the vulnerability out loud — worth a beat, especially the first time a group runs this.
- Did any commonality or uniquity surprise you, and why?The best follow-up conversations start here — someone always has a story attached to the surprise.
- How does this activity help us as a team, and how can we apply these insights moving forward?Moves the activity from a nice half hour to something the team actually carries forward.
- What did you find most challenging about this activity, and how did you overcome it?Useful for teams that struggled to get past the obvious answers — talk through what finally worked.
- How does recognizing commonalities and uniquities contribute to building trust and respect among team members?The debrief question for trainings — it names the mechanism instead of just the mood.