Energetic and fun check-in/icebreaker format, for any meeting or workshop. It is based on the core protocol check-in. The "Oh Yeah" will stick! When will you try it?

The purpose of check-ins/icebreakers is to help people connect and open them up for better participation and energy.

Steps

1. Briefly state how you're feeling or pass
2. Finish up by saying: "Now I am energized!"
3. Everyone else answers: "Oh Yeah" (mind context ...)
4. Decide the next person to check in

Encourage people to really mean it and emphasize when saying "Now I am energized!" and "Oh Yeah" during step 2 and 3.

Be mindful during "Oh Yeah" step. Each person's context of step 1 will be different. People might have experienced the best or worst day of their life's, a good or bad day. I recommend transforming it to just "Oh ...", if it was a strong negative feeling.

I frequently observe emotional reframing: People who started with negative emotions during step 1 shifted those and their focus onto positive things and connected to the present. Some participants found things they looked forward to and mentioned those.

Recommended Group size up to 15-20 people, otherwise put people into breakout sessions. This is based on my energy level, when I perceived my enthusiasm drop saying "Now I am energized" and "Oh Yeah".

Using Miro? Grab the template here: https://miro.com/miroverse/energetic-checkin-template/

Other variants

You can play around during special occasions.
Around end of year I used:

• "Now I am in 2024" instead of "Now I am energized"
• "Happy New Year" instead of "Oh Yeah"

Additional ideas:

• "Aye Aye Captain" if you're running a Sailboat Retrospective.
• Shorten step 1 to "Say 1-3 words representing how you feel" instead of "Briefly state how you're feeling or pass"

Format Feedback - How did participants perceive it?

The group sizes ranged from 4-25 people. I did it with the same team multiple times and also with teams that didn't know me before, so first time contact.

The check-in was fun, enabled them to connect, resulted in high energy levels and perceived ease. The "Oh yeah" also stuck and even first encounter teams started to occasionally drop an "Oh Yeah" during every day interaction.

One person gave mixed feedback, I think it fits perfectly to the check-in:

Slightly embarrassing, cool and somewhat esoteric.

How it came to be

Originally I asked people during retrospectives about "What was Oh Yeah during last sprint?". During Liberating Structures meetup preparations we often use the Core Protocol's check-in. I somehow made the connection, tried to add more energy to the welcoming atmosphere of the Core Protocol check-in and surprise it worked wonders.

Be invited to leave feedback, your experiences with it or questions in the comments! Also happy to connect: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leo-bastian-359b0b161/

Blog post version 1: https://dev.to/leobastian/oh-yeah-an-energetic-check-in-revisitation-of-core-protocol-om1
Sources: Photo by Charlota Blunarova on Unsplash