Three sessions, ready to adapt.
A 30-minute retrospective, a 60-minute project brief and a 90-minute skills practice. Each includes preparation, a timed script, editable participant handouts and a worked example. Read everything here or keep the free text files.
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- 30-minute retrospective: choose one small experiment · Download editable text (30 minutes)
- 60-minute project brief: turn a rough request into a first draft · Download editable text (60 minutes)
- 90-minute skills practice: write an actionable handoff · Download editable text (90 minutes)
How to use the pack
- Choose the session that matches the output you need, then download its text file. Open it in any text editor and save your adapted copy.
- Replace the fictional examples and blank fields. Keep facilitator instructions separate from the participant handout.
- If useful, open the matching Workshop kit agenda. Its named activities and durations are a starting plan; edit them before opening timers. Start each activity yourself—the agenda does not advance automatically.
- Copy the participant worksheet into PDF studio for a printable handout. Review the result before sharing, and keep your own copy. For non-Latin scripts, use Print / Save PDF and inspect the browser preview.
The 60-minute pack uses a project-brief drafting sequence. The separate 60-minute workshop guide offers another teaching sequence with more demonstration and group sharing. Choose one agenda deliberately rather than combining both inside an hour.
30-minute retrospective: choose one small experiment
A group of roughly four to eight people who have completed the same piece of work. With a larger group, collect observations beforehand or give subgroups separate discussions; do not promise every person a full speaking turn in this half hour.
Intended output: A written proposal for one small change, with a willing owner, a review date and a specific observation that will help the group decide whether to continue it.
Download this free session ↓ Open its editable agenda →
Preparation
- Choose a clear period, such as the last event or the previous two weeks. Put its start and end on the handout. Ask people to bring one specific example from that period, without customer details or personal information.
- Prepare a shared board or a sheet per person with three headings: Helped, Made work harder, Try next. The facilitator keeps a separate place for issues outside this group’s control.
- Check who can authorize a change and who has capacity to own it. If a decision-maker is absent, call the result a proposal and name who will seek approval.
- Set the five agenda durations to 4, 6, 8, 8 and 4 minutes. Use one facilitator-controlled timer. Have paper available so contributing does not depend on having a device.
Facilitator script
Times below are elapsed from the start. The 4 + 6 + 8 + 8 + 4 minute blocks total 30 minutes, including transitions.
00:00-00:04 · Set the boundary and the working agreement (4 minutes)
Say: “We are looking at this period of work, not rating people. We will leave with one change we can try. You may pass on a speaking turn or contribute in writing. Describe what happened and its effect, without guessing someone’s intention.”
Do: Name the period and the deliverable. Spend the first two minutes on scope, then invite one factual sentence about what the group delivered. Ask whether anything important makes this the wrong setting for a discussion; a sensitive individual concern needs a separate conversation.
Close: Confirm the boundary aloud. Do not use this session to investigate a complaint or promise confidentiality that a shared group cannot provide.
00:04-00:10 · Write observations before discussing them (6 minutes)
Say: “For each note, write a situation and an effect: “When X happened, Y became easier or harder.” Add a possible change only after the observation. An opinion without an example can stay as an open question.”
Do: Allow three quiet minutes. Use the remaining three for a short round: each person offers one note or passes. Keep the notes in the contributor’s words and avoid replying to each note immediately.
Close: Leave unspoken notes visible or collect them for the same review. No one needs to fill every heading.
00:10-00:18 · Choose one pattern within the group’s control (8 minutes)
Say: “Which repeated obstacle could we reduce with one change we can actually make? We are choosing a test, not declaring every other issue unimportant.”
Do: Spend three minutes grouping related observations and asking for concrete examples. Spend three identifying one pattern with a plausible, limited change. In the last two minutes, ask whether anyone sees a reason the proposed change would be unsafe, impractical or unfair. Record disagreement rather than presenting a vote as unanimous agreement.
Close: Name one pattern and the evidence offered. Put unrelated items in the parking place with a next step only if someone agrees to own it.
00:18-00:26 · Write a reversible experiment (8 minutes)
Say: “For the next piece of work, we will try one different action. Who is willing and able to own it? What will we observe, and on what date will we decide whether to keep, change or stop it?”
Do: Use the handout to write the action, its scope, a willing owner and a review date. Reserve the first five minutes for drafting and the final three for checking effort and possible downsides. Choose an observation the team can collect without recording private conversation contents.
Close: If nobody has capacity to own the change, reduce its scope or leave it explicitly unassigned. Do not manufacture a commitment to finish the worksheet.
00:26-00:30 · Read back the decision and the remaining uncertainty (4 minutes)
Say: “Here is the experiment as I understand it. What have I missed? At the review we will compare what happened with what we expected; we are not promising the change will work.”
Do: Read the action, owner and review date in two minutes. Use the last two for corrections and agreeing where the record will live. Give the owner a copy and keep the unresolved question with it.
Close: End on time with an experiment, a proposal awaiting approval, or an explicit decision that more information is needed. All three are honest outcomes.
Participant handout: copy and edit
Replace the blanks with your own context. Share the participant section separately from the facilitator notes. The text download contains this worksheet and the full script.
RETROSPECTIVE / PARTICIPANT WORKSHEET
Work period or event:
What we delivered:
One thing that helped:
Specific situation:
Effect on the work:
One thing that made work harder:
Specific situation:
Effect on the work:
Pattern we selected:
Evidence we actually have:
Question or disagreement still open:
OUR NEXT EXPERIMENT
For this piece of work or period:
We will try this one action:
Willing owner:
Approval needed, if any:
Effort or downside to watch:
What we will observe:
Review date:
Where the record will live:
AT THE REVIEW
What happened:
What we cannot conclude yet:
Keep / change / stop, and why:
Next owner and date:
What a useful draft could look like
Illustrative completed output: “Before the next club event, Maya will share one equipment checklist the day before setup. The setup lead will note which items were still missing at the start, without recording who forgot them. Review on the next planning date. Keep or change the checklist after reviewing that one event; do not claim it proves a lasting improvement.” Maya and the event are examples, not reported users or results.
Pitfalls and adaptations
- A long story can consume the whole slot. Ask for the situation, its effect and the question to resolve; park the rest with the speaker’s agreement.
- A change outside the team’s authority is a proposal, not a decision. Write the approval step and do not count an absent person as its owner.
- Do not cut the final read-back to squeeze in another topic. A shorter list with a clear next step is easier to use than a large unowned list.
Download the complete 30-minute text file · Back to the three sessions
60-minute project brief: turn a rough request into a first draft
A small project team, or a learning group working in pairs. Choose one modest project rather than trying to settle an entire programme. Invite someone who can explain the request and clearly label decisions that still need approval.
Intended output: A one-page first brief with an intended audience, a concrete deliverable, boundaries, visible assumptions and a next action. The session does not replace user research or authorize resources.
Download this free session ↓ Open its editable agenda →
Preparation
- Bring the original request and any facts already known, such as a date, audience or format. Separate those facts from assumptions. If the audience has not been consulted, write that plainly.
- Prepare one deliberately vague example: “Make onboarding better.” Beside it, prepare the more concrete draft given below. Use them to show what a brief makes visible, not to imply that the example has been validated.
- Give every person a copy of the worksheet. Agree where the working brief will be kept and who will combine edits. Avoid collecting participants’ private project details through the website.
- Set the agenda durations to 5, 10, 15, 20 and 10 minutes. The transitions are included in these windows; do not add a separate introduction after the first timer.
Facilitator script
Times below are elapsed from the start. The 5 + 10 + 15 + 20 + 10 minute blocks total 60 minutes, including transitions.
00:00-00:05 · Name the draft the group will make (5 minutes)
Say: “By the end of this hour we want a brief another person can read without hearing this discussion. A first draft may contain open questions. We will make those visible instead of guessing an answer.”
Do: Use two minutes to name the project and the person it is meant to help. Spend the remaining three explaining the worksheet and asking each participant for one sentence about what they need to understand.
Close: State whose problem is in scope. If the group names several unrelated audiences, choose one for this draft and record the others for later.
00:05-00:15 · Separate evidence from assumptions (10 minutes)
Say: “What do we know because someone observed or supplied it? What are we assuming? Which missing answer could change the work we choose to do?”
Do: Spend three minutes reading the original request and the vague example. Spend five putting known facts, assumptions and questions in separate worksheet fields. Use the last two to choose the question most likely to affect scope.
Close: Mark any invented example as an example. A confident sentence does not become evidence because the group agrees with it.
00:15-00:30 · Draft the brief in plain language (15 minutes)
Say: “Complete these sentences: “This is for…”, “They need to…”, and “The first version will contain…”. Then say what the first version will leave out. Prefer something we could inspect over a word such as better or easier.”
Do: Allow ten minutes of quiet or paired drafting. In the final five, read the draft aloud and replace vague terms with a deliverable, boundary or open question. Keep the first version small enough that the named owner can take a real next action.
Close: The brief should be understandable without a slide deck. Leave uncertainty labelled rather than adding unsupported claims about the audience.
00:30-00:50 · Challenge the draft and revise it (20 minutes)
Say: “Review the brief as someone receiving the work. What would you still need to ask before starting? Which sentence might two people interpret differently?”
Do: Use six minutes for a partner to read and ask questions without rewriting the author’s work. Switch roles for six minutes. Spend the remaining eight revising each draft. For one shared project, split into two reviewing pairs, then use that final eight minutes to agree edits with the brief owner.
Close: Check the deliverable, audience, exclusions and next action. Do not silently turn a reviewer’s preference into a project requirement.
00:50-01:00 · Agree the next action and who can approve the brief (10 minutes)
Say: “What is the smallest next step that reduces uncertainty or moves this draft forward? Who accepts that action, and when will they report back?”
Do: Use five minutes to read the revised brief and identify any approval still required. Use three to name a willing action owner and date. Keep the final two for checking where the draft will be stored and who needs the participant version.
Close: If the group cannot approve the project, label the document “Draft for review”. Remove facilitator notes before creating the handout PDF.
Participant handout: copy and edit
Replace the blanks with your own context. Share the participant section separately from the facilitator notes. The text download contains this worksheet and the full script.
PROJECT BRIEF / FIRST DRAFT
Project name:
Draft date and owner:
Status: draft / for approval / agreed within our authority
Who this is for:
What they need to do:
Problem we are trying to address:
KNOWN FACTS
Fact and its source:
ASSUMPTIONS
What we are assuming:
How we could check it:
FIRST VERSION
The specific deliverable:
What it will contain:
How someone can inspect whether it is complete:
What is outside this version:
Known constraints (time, access, format or resources):
OPEN QUESTIONS
Most important missing answer:
Who can help answer it:
Approval still needed:
NEXT ACTION
One concrete action:
Willing owner:
Due date:
Where the result will be kept:
When the brief will be reviewed:
What a useful draft could look like
Illustrative first draft: “Create a one-page arrival checklist for first-time library volunteers. Include the meeting point, the person to ask for and the first three tasks. Exclude the full volunteer handbook and scheduling system. Assumption: arrival uncertainty is a problem; check this with the coordinator and willing new volunteers before treating it as established. Next action: the brief owner asks the coordinator to review the task list by an agreed date.” This is a worked example, not evidence of user demand.
Pitfalls and adaptations
- A deliverable such as “a one-page checklist” is inspectable; “a smoother experience” needs a concrete description and evidence. Do not present an intended benefit as a measured result.
- Keep resources and deadlines as known constraints or open questions. Do not assign a budget, promise a delivery date or volunteer someone who is not present.
- If paired review reveals incompatible goals, preserve both in the open questions and identify the person who can decide. A neat PDF should not hide unresolved scope.
Download the complete 60-minute text file · Back to the three sessions
90-minute skills practice: write an actionable handoff
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.
Download this free session ↓ Open its editable agenda →
Preparation
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
Times below are elapsed from the start. The 10 + 15 + 20 + 10 + 25 + 10 minute blocks total 90 minutes, including transitions and the ten-minute break.
00:00-00:10 · Define the skill and the checklist (10 minutes)
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.
00:10-00:25 · Demonstrate one revision out loud (15 minutes)
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.
00:25-00:45 · Make and review a first attempt (20 minutes)
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.
00:45-00:55 · Take a ten-minute break (10 minutes)
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.
00:55-01:20 · Try a new case and explain the choices (25 minutes)
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.
01:20-01:30 · Plan a real opportunity to practise again (10 minutes)
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
Replace the blanks with your own context. Share the participant section separately from the facilitator notes. The text download contains this worksheet and the full script.
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:
What a useful draft could look like
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.
Download the complete 90-minute text file · Back to the three sessions
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.
Keep the useful part moving
If a session helps with a real task, you can share this free pack’s link with someone preparing a similar session. Share the link voluntarily; there is no invitation requirement. For a specific correction or a confusing step, use About & contact. Please leave private participant notes out of feedback.