CY 101: Debrief

Every event and day at City Year should end with a Debrief. The Debrief is meant to give the team and participants the opportunity to reflect on what went well, what could be improved, and how to improve things for the next go-round. This is an excellent opportunity for teammates to routinely give each other constructive feedback. This feedback is what helps to strengthen a team and improve our service over the course of the year.

Example: “Pluses and Deltas”: In Pluses and Deltas, each person offers “pluses,” or the day’s positives. They are also asked to give deltas, or items that could be changed.

Example: “Roses and Thorns”: Roses are the enjoyable portions of the day. Thorns are the things that could be improved.

Example: “Fist of Five”: Everyone in the circle shakes their fist until the person facilitating the debrief says ‘throw.’ Then, everyone throws out 1 to 5 fingers, with 1 being a terrible day and 5 being a great one. Everyone goes around the circle and explains why they threw the rank that they threw.