Ten Commandments
Ten Commandments is an applied exercise in which a group collaboratively generates a set of shared behavioral agreements using the structure and gravity of the biblical form. The resulting commandments articulate norms the group chooses to hold itself to.
Structure
The Framing
The facilitator introduces the exercise as an opportunity for the group to define its own operating principles. The commandments format signals that these are not suggestions but commitments.
Individual Generation
Each participant privately writes three to five commandments they believe the group needs. Commandments are written as direct imperatives: "Thou shalt listen before speaking," "Thou shalt not mock the idea before it is finished."
Sharing and Clustering
Participants share their commandments. The facilitator or group clusters similar commandments together and identifies recurring themes.
Negotiation and Selection
The group discusses, combines, and refines until they have agreed on a final set. The number is flexible but the exercise name suggests aiming for ten.
Posting and Commitment
The final commandments are written visibly. The group formally commits to them. The facilitator may return to them in future sessions.
How to Teach It
Objectives
Ten Commandments creates explicit shared agreements about group behavior. Many team dysfunction problems stem from implicit norms that different members interpret differently. Making norms explicit and collectively authored gives the group a shared reference point.
How to Explain It
"We are going to write our own commandments as a group. Not guidelines or suggestions. Commandments. What are the things this group absolutely must do, and absolutely must not do, to work well together?"
Scaffolding
The mock-biblical register is intentional. It signals that these commitments carry weight. If participants treat the format as a joke, the exercise loses its value. Hold the frame.
Common Pitfalls
Groups sometimes write commandments so general that they are meaningless. "Be respectful" is not a commandment. "Thou shalt not talk over the person who is speaking" is. Push for behavioral specificity.
In Applied Settings
Team Norming
Ten Commandments is most effective during the forming or norming stage of team development, when groups are establishing how they want to work together. It is also useful after a breakdown in team dynamics as a reset mechanism.
Organizational Culture
Facilitators use this exercise to surface the gap between stated organizational values and actual team behavior. The commandments that emerge often address behaviors that official values documents ignore.
Facilitation Notes
Record all commandments before clustering. Early commandments that get absorbed into later clusters often contain important specificity that is lost in the synthesis. Preserve the original language when possible.
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Collaboration
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The Lineage
Explore the schools and structures that influenced or evolved from Ten Commandments.
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How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Ten Commandments. Retrieved September 28, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/exercises/ten-commandments
The Improv Archive. "Ten Commandments." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/exercises/ten-commandments.
The Improv Archive. "Ten Commandments." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/exercises/ten-commandments. Accessed September 28, 2026.
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