MINUTEKIT / FREE FACILITATOR PACK 90-MINUTE SKILLS PRACTICE: WRITE AN ACTIONABLE HANDOFF This is a complete, editable plain-text session plan. All times are elapsed from the start. Transitions are included. Adapt the plan to your group; it does not guarantee a particular result. No MinuteKit account or JavaScript is needed to read this file. WHO IT FITS Adults practising a common workplace or volunteer task in pairs. This example teaches writing a clear handoff request; replace the task and checklist if you teach another skill. It is a practice session, not a certification or an assessment of job performance. INTENDED OUTPUT Two attempts at a short handoff, feedback tied to a visible checklist, and one planned opportunity to use the skill. A better practice draft does not establish that the skill will transfer to every real situation. PREPARE 1. Choose a low-stakes fictional task that everyone can understand. Avoid asking participants to reveal private messages or use a real unresolved conflict as the exercise. 2. Print the five-item checklist and the two practice prompts below. Prepare a weak handoff and a revised version so the demonstration is ready before the session. 3. Arrange pairs and offer writing, typing or dictation with a partner. Tell participants they can keep their draft private and discuss the fictional example instead. Check access needs before choosing the pace. 4. Set the six durations to 10, 15, 20, 10, 25 and 10 minutes. The fourth block is an actual break. Test the display and keep a backup time reference; the website does not supervise the session for you. FACILITATOR SCRIPT / 90 MINUTES 1. 00:00-00:10 / 10 minutes / Define the skill and the checklist SAY A useful handoff helps the receiver know what to do, why it matters and when to check back. We will practise on fictional examples, compare drafts with a checklist and try again. We are reviewing the message, not judging its author. DO Use four minutes to explain the five checklist items. Give pairs four minutes to identify a handoff they commonly encounter without disclosing its private contents. Use the final two to choose how they will write and exchange the practice drafts. CLOSE Confirm the five checks: deliverable, receiver, due date or checkpoint, relevant context, and definition of done or response needed. 2. 00:10-00:25 / 15 minutes / Demonstrate one revision out loud SAY Here is “Can you sort the event handout soon?” I cannot tell what sort means, when soon is or how to tell whether the task is finished. I will add the information the receiver needs, and ask about an unknown rather than inventing it. DO Spend five minutes marking gaps in the weak example. Spend five writing the improved example and explaining each choice. Use the final five for participants to test it against the checklist and identify remaining uncertainty. CLOSE Make clear that extra words are useful only if they help the recipient act. A deadline should be agreed in real work; a fictional date is just part of this exercise. 3. 00:25-00:45 / 20 minutes / Make and review a first attempt SAY Use Prompt A. Write the request so a new volunteer could understand it. Your partner will point to one sentence that works and one missing detail. They do not need to rewrite the whole message. DO Use two minutes to read the prompt, six to draft, eight for paired feedback split equally, and four to make one revision. Ask reviewers to quote a specific phrase and connect feedback to one checklist item. CLOSE Each author circles the one change they made and keeps the earlier wording. The comparison will be useful in the second round. 4. 00:45-00:55 / 10 minutes / Take a ten-minute break SAY We will pause for ten minutes. There is no task to finish during this break. When we return, keep your first draft nearby for comparison. DO State the return time, show the break timer if helpful and let people leave the screen or room. Allow a seated or quiet break. Do not fill this block with an extra lecture. CLOSE Restart the next block at the agreed return time and repeat its instructions briefly for anyone who needs them. 5. 00:55-01:20 / 25 minutes / Try a new case and explain the choices SAY Prompt B adds a missing dependency. Make the request actionable without pretending you have that missing answer. Apply the feedback from your first attempt, then explain one choice you made. DO Use three minutes to read Prompt B and clarify the task, eight to draft, eight for paired checklist review, and six to revise and compare with the first attempt. If a pair finishes early, ask which detail they could remove without losing clarity. CLOSE Have each author name one visible improvement and one remaining question. The reviewer checks the draft rather than awarding a score to the person. 6. 01:20-01:30 / 10 minutes / Plan a real opportunity to practise again SAY Where could you use this checklist in an ordinary, low-stakes task? Write the situation and the one thing you will check before sending a request. You decide whether and what to share. DO Use four minutes to write an individual next-use plan, four for optional pair sharing and two to collect one question about the method. Do not collect participants’ real message contents. CLOSE Finish with a chosen next opportunity, not a claim that everyone has mastered the skill. Participants keep their drafts and can reuse the checklist. PARTICIPANT HANDOUT / COPY AND EDIT Keep this section separate from the facilitator notes before distributing it. ACTIONABLE HANDOFF / PRACTICE WORKSHEET Name or private label (optional): FIVE CHECKS [ ] The specific deliverable is clear. [ ] The person or role receiving the request is named. [ ] A due date or next checkpoint is stated. [ ] The relevant context and dependency are visible. [ ] The definition of done or response needed is clear. PROMPT A / FICTIONAL PRACTICE You are preparing a small volunteer event. A new volunteer will create a one-page arrival handout. It needs the meeting point and the first three tasks. The coordinator can check the wording. Choose a fictional checkpoint for the exercise and label it as such; do not invent real contact details. My first handoff: Partner feedback: one useful sentence: One missing detail, linked to a checklist item: My revision: PROMPT B / FICTIONAL PRACTICE You need a colleague to prepare a short demonstration for a group meeting. The demonstration should show how to submit a project brief. The final meeting date is not confirmed, and the colleague does not yet have access to the sample brief. Make a useful first request, including a checkpoint for resolving those dependencies instead of claiming they are resolved. My second handoff: Partner feedback: one useful sentence: One missing detail, linked to a checklist item: My revision: COMPARE THE ATTEMPTS One visible improvement: One question still open: MY NEXT USE A low-stakes situation where I could try this: The checklist item I will pay attention to: When I will review what happened: ILLUSTRATIVE OUTPUT Illustrative revised handoff: “Sam, please draft a one-page arrival handout for the volunteer event. Include the meeting point and the first three tasks from the coordinator’s approved list. In this fictional exercise, send the draft on Tuesday for a wording check; do not circulate it to volunteers yet. Reply if you do not have the list so we can resolve that before you draft.” This example makes the dependency and review step visible; it does not claim to be a real request or a completed outcome. PITFALLS AND ADAPTATIONS - Do not spend both practice blocks explaining. If the demonstration runs long, shorten the explanation and use the ready example; preserve the second attempt and the break. - “Be clearer” gives the writer little to change. Ask the reviewer to identify an actual missing detail and the checklist item it affects. - A practice checklist is not a promise of competence. Use a realistic next task to learn whether the skill transfers, and adapt the method when the task or audience changes. USE WITH MINUTEKIT Agenda template: https://minutekit.pages.dev/workshop-kit/?template=skills-practice Free pack: https://minutekit.pages.dev/workshop-pack/ PDF studio: https://minutekit.pages.dev/pdf-studio/ Open the matching agenda, edit it for your session, and start each activity timer yourself. Timers do not advance the agenda automatically. Copy the participant handout into PDF studio to make a printable version; inspect the downloaded PDF before sharing. Direct PDF download supports basic Latin text. For other scripts, use Print / Save PDF and inspect the browser preview. Keep the text file or your own copy: drafts are not saved to a MinuteKit account. Tool interactions require JavaScript; this downloaded plan does not. PERMISSION TO ADAPT You may copy and adapt this material for your own paid or unpaid facilitated sessions, and share your adapted participant handouts with those participants. Do not resell or redistribute the original MinuteKit pack as a standalone template product. This permission covers this original pack, not third-party software or materials. Original MinuteKit material. Worked examples are illustrative, not testimonials or reported results.