These “ice-breaker” activities are essential for all workshops. They are used to accomplish several goals: encourage group participation from the very beginning, help the facilitator to gauge the “mood” of the room, help the facilitator gauge participants’ expectations for the workshop, set the right climate for the entire day, and allow participants to bond with each other to allow for greater sharing of experiences in later sessions.

There are a dozens of sample “Vote with Your Feet” questions on this website. Facilitators can either draw from the list for one technical area, such as Safe Motherhood—or they can mix and match “Vote with Your Feet” questions from a variety of technical areas.