Hello, My Friend
A circle warmup for building contact and trust: participants make eye contact and exchange short lines — a greeting, an affirmation of friendship, and a compliment. The exercise quickly activates the group and creates a sense of connection.
Players
6–24
Duration
5–10 min
Full description
Setup and Launch
Stand in a circle so everyone can see each other. Explain that participants first choose someone on the other side of the circle, wave to them, smile, and say "Hi!", receiving the same response. Clarify that what matters is visibly choosing a partner, smiling, and the return "Hi!".
Announce that the exercise has three parts: 1) greetings; 2) "You are my friend!"; 3) compliments. This is a simple and effective sequence for building invisible connections in the group.
How It Works
A short sequence of three phases:
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Greeting. Choose someone on the other side of the circle, wave to them, smile, and say: "Hi!". The chosen participant must see you, smile, and respond: "Hi!". Continue until everyone has greeted everyone.
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Friendship. Repeat the same mechanism of choosing and making contact, saying: "You are my friend!". Receive the mirrored response: "You are my friend!", and go around so that all participants exchange the phrase.
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Compliments. Choose someone and give them a short, specific compliment, for example: "I like your t-shirt", "Cool sneakers", "You have a great haircut". Receive a return compliment in the same tone and continue to involve the whole circle.
Key rules
Choose someone on the other side of the circle, make eye contact, wave, and smile.
Give and receive the same short phrase as a mirror: "Hi!", then "You are my friend!".
Complete each phase so it covers the whole group: everyone greets and befriends everyone.
Base compliments on obvious details: a t-shirt, sneakers, a hairstyle.
Context
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