Most of us can text twenty people right now. Fewer of us could call a specific person and ask for help with something without rehearsing it first.
That gap — between how reachable we are and how known we are — is the quiet crisis underneath a lot of louder ones. Loneliness has been called an epidemic. Trust in institutions, neighbors, even family members, has been eroding for years. We’ve optimized for convenience, and both connection & collaboration have paid the price. It has had a massive impact on how we function as a society, how we learn in the classroom, and how we relate to each other at work.
Plus Wonder has built something to help close that gap. This new tool can help you grow deeper relationships within your partnerships in order to help create greater impact together. It’s small, it’s free, and it fits in your pocket or can be used directly on your smart phone.
The Connection Circle Card Deck is a set of prompts drawn from people who have used their partnership to make a bigger difference in the world — our Plus Wonder model partners. These are oceanographers, philosophers, legal scholars, activists — people who’ve built real, lasting connections, sometimes across serious divides, and have the wisdom to show for it.
Each card is built around our Six Degrees of Connection™ framework — the same six ingredients that showed up again and again in the impactful relationships we’ve studied. Through these connection cards, you will become acquainted with the framework we use to create Deep Connections here at Plus Wonder. You just need someone to sit across from — a family member, a business partner, a friend you haven’t really talked to in a while — and a willingness to ask.
Take this one, inspired by philosopher and activist Cornel West and conservative legal scholar Robert P. George — an unlikely friendship built on profound mutual respect:
What holds us back from reaching out to people who think differently, and how can we break down those barriers?
Or this one, inspired by oceanographer and Mission Blue founder Sylvia Earle, whose lifelong partnership with the ocean grew out of decades of moments that sparked wonder:
Where does wonder call you back to yourself — and who shares that sense of awe with you?
We think using these prompts as an invitation to go past the surface — with the people you already love, work with, or live alongside — will help you connect in a deeper, more meaningful way. They’re so much more than just icebreakers.
Swipe it or print it
The deck comes in two formats: a mobile-friendly digital version you can swipe through on your phone, and a printable, double-sided version if you’d rather feel a physical deck at your kitchen table or in a team meeting.
Both are free. Both are yours to keep, use, and pass along.
If you’re at the JAG Edge Conference in Long Beach this week, come find us — we’d love to put a deck in your hands in person and hear which card clicks the most quickly. Lindsay, our Program Director, will be on site with these cards and so many other incredible resources!
Don’t keep it to yourself
Connection isn’t something you build alone. Our challenge to you: download the deck, then send a card to someone — a partner, a cofounder, a parent, a kid old enough to ask real questions. Use one card at home tonight. See what happens when someone actually answers. You may be wonderfully surprised.
Download the deck and share it with a Plus Wonder in your life today. We can’t wait to hear how you utilize them!
