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Mood Check-In
Table of contents
What is Mood Check-In?
Mood Check-In is a card from the Idea Tactics deck by Pip Decks.
Research has shown links between emotional awareness and creativity. The simple act of checking in can help people build this muscle.
Encourage people to express their moods using GIFs, memes, and other offbeat imagery.
You can use this as a warm-up early in a session, as an energiser after a break or as a check-out activity.
When to use Mood Check-In
- Team experiencing creative block
- Low team morale affecting productivity
- Need for innovative solutions in a stagnant project
- Onboarding new team members to integrate them quickly
- Preparing for a major brainstorming session
- Addressing communication issues within a team
How to use Mood Check-In
Tip: this is a group activity that works best online, but can also be done using digital devices in person.
- Tell everyone to take a few slow breaths, and tune into how they’re feeling right now, both in their heads, and in their bodies.
- Invite everyone to spend 3 minutes finding a GIF, meme or other image online that does a good job of expressing their current mood.
- Make it clear that you don’t expect anyone to fake positivity. It's okay to feel a bit low or stressed, or even a bit guilty about attending a creative workshop when you have other jobs to get done.
- Even if someone’s not feeling great, is there a playful way they can express their less than pleasant mood?
- Remind people that both positive and negative feelings can be used as creative fuel.
- Ask everyone to display their image and give each person up to 30 seconds to elaborate.
Tip: as facilitator, pay attention to what everyone shares. What people reveal in this exercise can help you run the rest of the session more sensitively, and more effectively.
