Library of facilitation techniques

One player initiates with object work.  The second player joins the scene by doing complementary object work, then verbally initiates by saying "You seem _______."  Player 1 yes-ands, and so on.  

Materialize your ideas using what's around you. 

It's easy to get stuck in a cycle of talking about our ideas, but design is all about action. Use this exercise to help your team move past theoretical concepts and start making things.

If curiosity and empathy can be a driver of creativity, there is no reason why they need be restricted to the observation of others. A range of technologies increasingly allow us to track, monitor and in doing so discover things about our own behaviours. Much of creativity is centred on making visible the invisible and for this reason spending time experimenting tools which allow us to do this may help us reflect on the potential for digital tools to be part of our creative toolbox.

Horizon scanning is a structured method for identifying early signs of change, like emerging issues, trends, and weak signals that could shape the future. It helps participants look beyond the immediate and obvious, scanning across multiple domains to detect what might be coming next.

One player 'sculpts' another player like clay

Players get in groups of three and form a “house” with the end players raising their arms in a “roof” above the inside players. There are three commands that cause the players to move:

Pass a sound & motion, repeating only what was shared with you

A tool that helps a designer assess the demands a product/design puts on the user. This tool can be used by anyone creating a product, design, or service and wants to critically assess its demand on users.

play tug of war with imaginary rope with partners (or whole team)

A simple exercise to get people to look around and share a laughter after some funny moments - suitable for remote teams as a quick energiser.

A speculative prompt-based activity that encourages participants to explore alternative futures by asking bold or unexpected "what if" questions. This method invites imaginative thinking and helps loosen assumptions about how the future has to unfold.