Library of facilitation techniques

Playful learning with your group: from standard process (establishing best practice) into chaotic situation.

create an empathy map

Once upon a time... Every day... Until one day... And because of that... And because of that... And because of that... Until finally... And ever since then... And the moral of the story is...

Players perform a scene based on an audience suggestion. At any point during the scene, the Host may blow a whistle and call for a “New Choice,” (or "Change!") at which point the previous line of dialogue and/or action is replaced with a new line of dialogue and/or action.

Pass around imaginary balls & other objects

This tool is designed to help critical thinkers focus on a core idea by writing a short phrase summarizing their thoughts into a set number of words that are clear, concise, and accurate. This idea is based on a complete short story written by Ernest Hemingway: “For sale, baby shoes – never worn.” Six Words forces people to synthesize their ideas in a succinct and meaningful way, cutting away fluff and distilling the idea to its bare essence.

In this group game, players stand in a circle and perform a series of loud physical moves, passing from one person to the next. When a player hesitates or makes a mistake, he or she is eliminated and the game continues. The game generates laughter and playfulness in the group.

This method gives goal setting or vision sharing into a more creative, associative frame, making participants move out of their comfort zones.

Triads is a structured sharing activity for identifying the advantages and disadvantages of an object (examples: iPad, chicken soup) or a process (examples: meditation, conflict management). It also enables the participants to leverage the advantages and to reduce the disadvantages.

Have your group stand up in a close circle (10 to 16 people is best). They close their eyes put their hands into the circle and find two hands and hold on. Then they open their eyes and the group has to try to get back into a circle without letting go, though they can change their grip, of course.

A brainstorming and prioritizing method that places emphasis on the most important ideas and actions.