What Does This Make Possible?
In Mad Tea/Calm Tea, everyone rapidly completes sentences related to a shared challenge. Mad Tea is the louder, more energetic F2F version, while Calm Tea is the quieter online alternative. They both get people thinking differently, sharing new ideas, and understanding different perspectives while generating fellowship and laughter. Both bring to life LS Principle #9, Engage in Seriously Playful Curiosity.
Structural Elements — Min Specs
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Structuring Invitation
"Get ready to explore our challenge at warp speed! We will be sharing our perspectives, uncovering hidden insights, and unleashing new ideas, all while having fun and inspiring our next steps."
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Space and Materials
For in-person Mad Tea, an open space large enough for participants to stand in two concentric circles. Open sentences prepared to display [in ALL CAPS to paste in the chat].
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Participation Distribution
Roles include host [tech host] and participants. Minimum group size is twelve [six]. Everyone is included and completes each sentence.
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Group Configuration
Pairs, whole group [whole group only]
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Steps and Time Allocation
- Intro: Share the structuring invitation. (1 min.)
- Setup (Mad Tea) / Setup and Instructions (Calm Tea): Mad Tea: participants stand face to face in pairs in two concentric circles, with the inner circle facing out and the outer circle facing in. Calm Tea: everyone mutes themselves. Explain the process. An open sentence is shown. Participants complete the sentence in the chat. They do not hit Enter until the signal. Spelling and grammar mistakes are okay. (2 min.)
- Instructions (Mad Tea): Explain the process. An open sentence is shown. In each pair, one person quickly completes the sentence while the other listens. After thirty seconds, they switch roles. Then everyone moves to their right for a new pair and new sentence. (2 min.)
- Complete Sentences: Mad Tea: read and display the first open sentence. Every thirty seconds, signal time to switch partners or rotate to new pairs. Repeat for up to twelve open sentences. Calm Tea: read the first open sentence and paste it in the chat. Everyone types a response. After thirty to forty seconds, say, "Go, hit Enter." Give the group one minute to read the responses. Repeat these steps for up to six open sentences. (up to 12 min.)
- Reread (Calm Tea): Everyone scrolls up and reads the responses again, reflecting on differences and similarities in the responses and what seems possible now. (2–3 min.)
- All-Together Sharing: Mad Tea: everyone returns to plenary. A few people share observations about differences and similarities in the responses and what seems possible now. Calm Tea: a few participants reflect on what they noticed out loud or in the chat. (2–5 min.)
Tips & Pitfalls
- Mad Tea goes very fast and can be noisy, so encourage participants to lean in close to their partner and try not to shout.
- Use a bell or device to get everyone's attention when you signal transitions.
- In Calm Tea, it may take a round or two for participants to stop hitting Enter automatically.
- Use a balanced mix of open sentences, such as prompts that are appreciative (e.g., "What's working is …"), problem focused (e.g., "The biggest challenge is …"), hopeful (e.g., "I hope it's possible to … "), and action oriented (e.g., "The next step we could take is … ").
Riffs & Variations
- Make the open sentences more lighthearted or serious and vary which part of the sentence is open-ended (e.g., "I hope to get … from today's session," "I know a team is dysfunctional when … ," or "… prevents teams from working well together.") Online, make contributions anonymous by inviting people to rename themselves with a collective pseudonym (e.g., Bootsy) for this LS.
Practical Applications
- Use this structure at the beginning or end of a meeting to quickly connect and get to a shared purpose, or reflect on takeaways.
- Identify ambitions and next steps in a transition or planning initiative.
Online & Hybrid Facilitation
Mad Tea's physicality is hard to replicate online. Calm Tea, the recommended online alternative, uses Chatterfall to quickly capture input from everyone. To prevent distractions, ask participants to hit Enter in the chat only when prompted.
Combine with Other Structures
Sources & License
Liberating Structure developed by Henri Lipmanowicz, Nancy White, and Keith McCandless.
Based on the work of Keith McCandless and Nancy White, The Liberating Structures Fieldbook (2026), CC BY-SA 4.0.
