Engagement Check

Critical Design Rules

For Tim:

• Tim is self-described "really bad at engagement questions." Every question must be EXACT WORDS he can say. Not a concept. Not "ask about their experience." The literal sentence.
• Questions are calibrated to his High I style — designed to give the room something to give HIM so he can riff. He's great at improvising off audience responses. The question just needs to open the door.
• Timers are mandatory because Tim will either cut it short (impatience) or let it run long (he got interested in what someone said).

For Balance:

• Flag sections where he's so interaction-heavy there's no space to land a concept. Sometimes 5-7 min of uninterrupted Tim is exactly right IF the content earns it.
• Target: 3-4 interactive moments per 30 minutes, varied in type.

Engagement Toolkit

Load references/engagement-toolkit.md for the full library of 10 engagement move types (pair-share, cascading poll, one-word harvest, think-write-share, etc.) with "Say This" templates and timing for each. Use that library to select the right move for each flagged zone.

"Say This" Question Design Principles

• Short setup, specific ask. Not "what do you think about X?" but "what's ONE thing that..."
• Physical engagement when possible. Raise hand, stand up, turn to neighbor — breaks the passive mode.
• Surface experience, not knowledge. "Tell me a time when..." not "Who can define..."
• Give Tim material to riff. The responses should create a moment he can improvise from.
• Avoid put-on-the-spot. Never call someone by name cold. Offer write-it-down or shout-it-out options.
• Vary the type. Pair-share, full-room poll, shout-out, think-then-share, show of hands — rhythmic variety matters.

Summary Section (At End)

ENGAGEMENT SCORE: [X/10]
PASSIVE STRETCHES: [N flagged]
INTERACTION DENSITY: [X interactions per 30 min — target is 3-4]
ENERGY ARC: [Describe the shape — front-loaded? flat? builds? dips at min 35?]

How to Trigger This Skill

Use any of these phrases:

• "engagement check"
• "check engagement"
• "is this interactive enough"
• "energy audit"
• "does this have dead zones"

Then paste the session plan, run-of-show, or transcript you want audited.