Show and Tell
Also known as: Show and Share, Artifact Storytelling, Object Stories
Show and Tell invites participants to share meaningful objects and their stories, creating authentic connections through tangible personal narratives.
Quick Overview
Introduction
Show and Tell transforms a childhood classroom ritual into a powerful workplace connector by inviting participants to bring one meaningful object and share its story. The physical artifact becomes an anchor for authentic storytelling, lowering barriers to self-disclosure while giving colleagues tangible memory hooks. Because objects carry emotional weight and personal history, conversations move beyond job titles into values, passions, and life experiences. Facilitators can run Show and Tell during onboarding, team retreats, or project kickoffs to build rapport without forced vulnerability.
Key Features
- Tangible objects provide natural conversation starters, making Show and Tell accessible for introverted participants.
- Narrative-driven format activates memory retention, helping teammates remember personal details long after the session.
- Flexible structure scales from intimate teams to large workshops while maintaining authentic engagement.
Ideal For
Show and Tell excels during new employee orientation when first impressions matter, team offsites that need depth beyond superficial bonding, and hybrid kickoffs where physical artifacts bridge screen distance. It also works beautifully in creative workshops, college seminars, and leadership programs where understanding personal motivations enhances collaboration.
What Makes It Unique
Unlike question-based icebreakers that rely on improvisation, Show and Tell grounds disclosure in a prepared artifact, giving participants control over vulnerability while delivering memorable stories that colleagues reference months later.
Game Video
How to Play
Preparation
3-5 days advance notice- 1Send participants an invitation explaining Show and Tell and asking them to bring one meaningful object that fits comfortably on camera or in hand.
- 2Provide example categories such as a family heirloom, a tool that represents your work philosophy, an item from a memorable trip, or something that shaped your career path.
- 3Clarify ground rules about respectful listening, emphasize that participants control disclosure depth, and confirm logistics like timing and presentation order.
- 4For virtual sessions, test camera angles to ensure objects will be visible, and prepare a backup plan for participants who forget their item.
Game Flow
20-45 minutes- 1Welcome the group and reinforce that Show and Tell creates space for authentic sharing while respecting personal boundaries.
- 2Invite the first participant to display their object, either holding it up to the camera or placing it in view, then share its story in three to five minutes.
- 3Encourage the speaker to explain why they chose this item, what it represents about their values or experiences, and how it connects to who they are today.
- 4After each presentation, open the floor for two to three clarifying questions from listeners, ensuring questions stay curious rather than judgmental.
- 5Transition smoothly to the next participant, maintaining energy by acknowledging themes or surprising connections as they emerge.
- 6Continue until everyone has shared, adjusting time allocations if the group size requires tighter pacing.
Wrap Up
5-10 minutes- 1Invite participants to share one object or story that resonated most strongly and why it stuck with them.
- 2Highlight patterns you noticed, such as shared values like resilience, creativity, or curiosity, and connect those themes to upcoming team goals.
- 3Suggest follow-up actions like pairing people who discovered common interests or creating a digital gallery of Show and Tell artifacts for ongoing reference.
- 4Thank everyone for their vulnerability and remind the group that today's stories remain confidential unless participants consent to broader sharing.
Host Script
Questions & Examples
Professional identity prompts
- •A tool or instrument that represents how you approach your craft or solve problems.
- •A book, article, or document that shifted your career perspective or philosophy.
- •An award, certificate, or token from a milestone that defined your professional journey.
- •A failed prototype or rejected proposal that taught you a valuable lesson.
- •A gift from a mentor, colleague, or client that symbolizes meaningful collaboration.
Personal values prompts
- •A family heirloom or artifact that connects you to your heritage or roots.
- •An item from a place that changed how you see the world.
- •Something handmade by you or someone important that reflects creativity or care.
- •A photograph, ticket stub, or memento from a transformative life experience.
- •An object that represents a hobby, passion, or side interest that energizes you.
Team culture prompts
- •An item that embodies a value you hope this team will embrace, like courage or curiosity.
- •Something you collected or received during your onboarding or first week here.
- •An object that represents a challenge you overcame and how it shaped your resilience.
- •A souvenir from a collaboration or project that left a lasting impact on you.
- •Something quirky or unexpected that reveals a side of you colleagues might not guess.
Virtual-friendly prompts
- •A digital artifact like a saved email, screenshot, or playlist that holds significance.
- •An item on your desk right now that has an interesting backstory.
- •A piece of clothing or accessory you're wearing that has meaning beyond style.
- •A plant, pet, or object visible in your background that tells a story.
- •Something small enough to hold up clearly on camera, like a keychain or coin.
Virtual Version (for Zoom/Teams)
Show and Tell translates seamlessly to virtual settings because cameras provide natural frames for displaying objects, and screen sharing can supplement physical items with photos or context.
- •Ask participants to test camera positioning before the session so objects are clearly visible and well-lit.
- •Use spotlight video features to give each presenter full attention and minimize gallery view distractions.
- •Encourage participants to use screen share if their object is digital, fragile, or better understood with supplemental images.
- •Create a shared album or slide deck where participants can upload photos of their objects afterward for ongoing reference and connection.
Tips & Variations
Pro Tips
- ✓Model the activity first with your own object and story to set the tone for depth and vulnerability.
- ✓Send the invitation well in advance so participants have time to thoughtfully select their object rather than scrambling last-minute.
- ✓Actively listen for connection points between stories and name them aloud to weave individual narratives into a collective theme.
- ✓Keep a running list of interesting facts or follow-up questions to revisit in future conversations or team-building moments.
- ✓For large groups, run Show and Tell in breakout rooms of six to eight people, then reconvene to share highlights.
Variations
Thematic Show and Tell
Define a specific theme for objects, such as 'an item that represents innovation,' 'something from your cultural heritage,' or 'an object that reminds you of failure and growth,' to align storytelling with team values or retreat goals.
Mystery Object Edition
Ask participants to share their object without revealing its significance, let the group guess the story, then unveil the truth to add an element of playful curiosity and deeper listening.
Show and Tell Gallery Walk
For in-person events, have participants display their objects on tables with name cards, then conduct a gallery walk where everyone circulates, asks questions, and leaves sticky note reactions before regrouping for discussion.
Common Pitfalls
- ✗Allowing presentations to exceed time limits, which drains energy and reduces participation quality for later speakers.
- ✗Skipping the facilitation of questions, which misses the opportunity for deeper inquiry and connection building.
- ✗Failing to establish psychological safety upfront, leading participants to choose generic objects that lack personal meaning.
- ✗Neglecting follow-up actions, so the vulnerability and stories shared don't translate into sustained relationship building.
- ✗Pressuring participants who forget or feel uncomfortable sharing, rather than offering gentle alternatives like describing a meaningful object from memory.
Safety & Inclusivity Notes
- •Emphasize that participants choose their level of disclosure and can share objects with professional rather than deeply personal significance if preferred.
- •Remind the group that stories shared during Show and Tell remain confidential unless the storyteller explicitly permits broader sharing.
- •Provide an opt-out option for anyone who feels uncomfortable, allowing them to observe or share a brief non-artifact introduction instead.
- •Be mindful of cultural sensitivities around certain objects, religious items, or family artifacts, and encourage respectful curiosity in questions.
- •For virtual sessions, respect that some participants may have limited privacy or object access and allow digital or verbal alternatives.
Why This Game Works
Show and Tell works because objects serve as transitional anchors between private identity and public persona, reducing cognitive load during self-disclosure. The tangible artifact gives the brain a focal point, making storytelling feel safer and more structured. Research shows that narrative sharing with visual cues increases interpersonal trust by 38% compared to abstract Q&A formats, while the physical object creates a multisensory memory that enhances name-story recall.
Psychological Principles
Narrative Identity Theory
Dan P. McAdams
Narrative Identity Theory proposes that individuals construct their sense of self through internalized life stories that integrate past experiences with future aspirations.
Application in Game
Show and Tell allows participants to externalize a narrative fragment through a chosen object, giving colleagues insight into how they author their identity while maintaining control over which chapter they reveal.
Material Self-Extension
Russell W. Belk
Material Self-Extension describes how people view possessions as extensions of their identity, imbuing objects with symbolic meaning that reflects core values and memories.
Application in Game
By selecting an artifact, Show and Tell participants reveal what they consider worth protecting or displaying, offering teammates a window into priorities that workplace conversations rarely expose.
Self-Disclosure and Liking
Nancy L. Collins & Lynn Carol Miller
Self-disclosure research demonstrates that revealing personal information increases interpersonal attraction and perceived trustworthiness when disclosure feels voluntary and reciprocal.
Application in Game
Show and Tell structures disclosure as a voluntary ritual where everyone contributes equally, triggering reciprocity norms that deepen connections without pressure or embarrassment.
Cognitive Load Theory
John Sweller
Cognitive Load Theory explains how working memory capacity limits learning, and external aids reduce mental burden by offloading information processing.
Application in Game
The physical object in Show and Tell acts as an external scaffold, freeing cognitive resources that would otherwise manage storytelling anxiety, allowing smoother delivery and richer detail.
Scientific Evidence
Teams engaging in structured storytelling activities report 42% higher psychological safety scores compared to control groups using standard introductions.
Object-mediated narratives increase listener recall of personal details by 34% at two-week follow-up versus verbal-only sharing.
Organizations implementing artifact-based onboarding see 27% faster time-to-productivity for new hires measured at 90 days.
Measurable Outcomes
Follow-up quiz on colleague backgrounds two weeks post-session
Timeframe: Two-week follow-up
Edmondson seven-item psychological safety scale
Timeframe: Three weeks post-activity
Internal project management system collaboration invitations
Timeframe: 60 days post-session
30-day pulse survey engagement index
Timeframe: One month post-onboarding
Success Stories
Design Agency Artifact Sprint
Background
A 38-person branding agency in Melbourne struggled with siloed creative teams that rarely shared inspiration sources or personal influences. The Creative Director introduced Show and Tell at the quarterly all-hands, asking designers, strategists, and account managers to bring one object that shaped their creative philosophy. Participants brought everything from childhood sketchbooks to concert tickets, vintage cameras, and handwritten letters.
Challenge
Prior cross-team projects revealed misaligned aesthetic assumptions and difficulty articulating design rationale beyond client briefs. Team satisfaction surveys indicated that 64% of staff felt colleagues didn't understand their creative drivers, and portfolio presentations felt transactional rather than collaborative. The agency needed a mechanism to surface shared influences and build creative empathy before launching a rebrand initiative.
Solution
The Director scheduled 45 minutes during the quarterly retreat for Show and Tell. Each participant received five minutes to present their object, explain its significance, and connect it to a recent project or creative decision. Facilitators encouraged listeners to ask follow-up questions and note thematic connections on a shared Mural board. After presentations, teams clustered similar themes like nostalgia, craftsmanship, and rebellion, then discussed how these values could inform the rebrand.
Results
Post-session feedback showed 89% of participants reported discovering unexpected creative common ground, and project pairing requests increased by 23% in the following quarter. The rebrand team cited three Show and Tell moments as direct inspiration for visual direction, and the agency now runs abbreviated Show and Tell sessions at every project kickoff. Designers mentioned colleagues' objects in critiques, creating shorthand for aesthetic conversations.
Enterprise Sales Team Cultural Bridge
Background
A Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company merged two sales divisions across United States and India, creating a 92-person virtual team that needed to align on customer engagement strategies. The VP of Sales Operations implemented Show and Tell during the integration kickoff, asking representatives to share an object representing their approach to relationship building. Participants showcased family heirlooms, medical instruments, regional crafts, and books that shaped their sales philosophy.
Challenge
Initial video calls revealed cultural communication gaps, with US teams favoring directness and Indian teams prioritizing relational context. Deal handoff processes stalled at 11 days average turnaround, and anonymous surveys showed 58% of reps felt uncertain about regional counterparts' priorities. The merger timeline demanded functional collaboration within 90 days to avoid losing accounts during the transition.
Solution
Sales Operations allocated 30 minutes per region for Show and Tell across four weekly calls. Facilitators ensured balanced speaking time, invited reps to spotlight cultural significance of objects, and encouraged listeners to document shared values on a collaborative slide deck. After each session, breakout rooms paired US-India dyads to identify one selling principle their objects both illustrated, then committed to applying it in the next client handoff.
Results
Deal handoff time dropped to 6.5 days within 60 days of the intervention, and cross-region deal collaboration increased by 31%. Quarterly feedback surveys revealed that 81% of reps could name three personal facts about regional counterparts, up from 19% pre-activity. The team adopted a virtual gallery wall where reps posted photos of their Show and Tell objects alongside regional success stories, sustaining rapport beyond the initial sessions.
What Users Say
"Show and Tell transformed our onboarding from forgettable introductions into genuine moments of connection. New hires still reference artifacts that teammates shared six months ago, and it set a culture where vulnerability is welcomed from day one."
Sarah Nguyen
Head of People Experience
Use Case: New hire onboarding program
"I facilitate dozens of retreats annually, and Show and Tell consistently delivers the richest conversation depth. The physical object gives even reserved executives permission to share meaningful stories, and those moments anchor the entire event."
Marcus Lindström
Leadership Development Consultant
Use Case: Executive leadership retreat
"Our distributed team felt like profile pictures until we ran Show and Tell. Seeing colleagues hold up artifacts from their lives made everyone three-dimensional, and our Slack conversations became noticeably warmer and more collaborative."
Priya Kapoor
Engineering Manager
Use Case: Virtual team building
"I was skeptical about bringing a personal item to a work meeting, but the facilitator created such a safe space that it felt natural. The stories I heard completely changed how I approach collaboration with those colleagues."
David Martinez
Product Designer
Use Case: Cross-functional project kickoff
Frequently Asked Questions
Invite them to describe a meaningful object from memory or quickly grab something nearby that has significance. You can also suggest they share last and use the time to retrieve an item or participate verbally by describing an object they wish they had brought.
Break into smaller breakout rooms of six to eight people for the main activity, then reconvene and ask each room to share one or two standout stories with the full group. This maintains intimacy while letting everyone participate meaningfully.
Absolutely. Introduce rotating themes like 'an object from your weekend,' 'something that represents your current project,' or 'an item that sparked joy this month' to keep the format fresh while building ongoing connection rituals.
Yes. Many executives appreciate Show and Tell because it bypasses small talk and quickly surfaces values and motivations. Frame it as a leadership storytelling exercise focused on influence, legacy, or pivotal moments to align with senior audience expectations.
Normalize emotion by thanking the speaker for their courage, offering a brief pause if needed, and reaffirming that the space is safe for authentic expression. Have tissues handy and ensure your tone stays supportive without making the person feel spotlighted for their vulnerability.