Facilitation Techniques and Workshop Activities | Library

Dynaxity

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

Story Spine

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...

Repeat / Reword / Support

active listening listening and awareness improv game relationship relationships em

Partner A either repeats, rewords, or supports Partner B's statement before adding their own dialogue.

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.

Whispers

debriefing closing thiagi action team

You can use Whispers as a follow-up activity to any interesting experience among a group of friends. It's my favorite game to informally debrief my colleagues at the airport or during the drive back after a conference.

Fist to five

decision making vote empowerment practice

Fist to Five is quality voting. It has the elements of consensus built in and can prepare groups to transition into consensus if they wish. Most people are accustomed to the simplicity of “yes” and “no” voting rather than the complex and more community-oriented consensus method of decision making. Fist to Five introduces the element of the quality of the “yes.” A fist is a “no” and any number of fingers is a “yes,” with an indication of how good a “yes” it is. This moves a group away from quantity voting to quality voting, which is considerably more informative. Fist to Five can also be used during consensus decision making as a way to check the “sense of the group,” or to check the quality of the consensus.

1/2/3 - Snap/Clap/Stomp

listening and awareness cooperation connection collaboration teambuilding energizer energiser applied improv

In pairs count to 3. Then replace 1 with snap, 2 with clap, 3 with stomp

Think - Write - Share

ufmcs red teaming critical thinking

Think-Write-Share (T-W-S) is designed to provide users a structured approach to critically think through any question and serves as a starting point for hearing all voices in any discussion. This tool is very effective for enabling critical and creative thinking.

Workers and Watchers

thiagi debriefing energiser closing

Blindfold half of the participants and ask them to lay a rope on the floor in the form of a circle. Conduct a quick debriefing involving the blindfolded workers and the watchers. Blindfold the other half and give them the task of laying the rope on the floor in the form of a triangle. Continue with the debriefing discussion.

The North Wind Blows...

teampedia team opening icebreaker action

The game enables participants to get to know each other and have fun at the same time. Also since it takes a lot of moving it can be used as an energiser too.

Missing Step

process issue analysis thiagi teamwork critical thinking

Many training topics involve procedures or processes (e.g. Team formation process; a product launching process, etc.). Here's an interactive lecture design that encourages the participants to go beyond the content of the presentation and critically examine the steps of the procedure or phases of the process. Use This Strategy When: * The training content is a procedure with different steps or a process with different phases. * The participants know something about the procedure or process and can conduct a group discussion.

Cause and Effect Charting

problem solving online facilitation

A quick analysis to identify cause and effect of a problem

Library of facilitation techniques

find the right tool for your next session

Methods (1493)