exercise · all tools

Throw the Ball

Depth · what it can open○○○1 — informational
Holding · facilitation1 — host
Trust · group readinessany
Disclosure · what is sharednone

A ball goes round the circle, and the rule is that whoever holds it must make eye contact with the person they are throwing to before it leaves their hands. More balls are added as the group copes, and eventually everyone walks the room while still catching each other's eyes first.

Hold with care
  • The exercise exists because sustained eye contact is hard for some people; the author names shyness as the thing being worked on, so the difficulty is the point rather than a side effect

Practical

Time
min
Group
? · large-group
Settings
in-person
Materials
Two or three small balls
Mechanisms
attention-training, dialogic-encounter
Change scope
state · repeatable

Instructions

Where
dramatips.com/lesson-plans/drama-exercises-to-build-confidence DramaTips, open
Availability
Open online — published at the link, free to read

Source link checked 1 Sep 2026 — reachable

This directory describes and points home; the instructions stay with the people who made them.

Origin

Carlijn (DramaTips) — Drama teaching

In this directory via DramaTips

Related: Knife Baby Angry Cat (alternative-to)

The author's own framing: works on — Safety, Collaboration; goals — Making contact, Collaborating.

status: checked · added 2026-09-01