Facilitation Techniques and Workshop Activities | Library

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

Switch

thiagi action team team dynamics project management

n a reflective teamwork activity (RTA), the process and the content merge with each other. Participants work through an activity and use the outcomes to evaluate the process they used. Here's an RTA that explores challenges associated with losing and gaining team members in the midst of a project.

Quick Situations

debriefing thiagi action context teamwork

Here's a debriefing card game that enables participants to reflect on a variety of situations and to come up with suitable action ideas

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.

AIR Feedback Model

hyperisland feedback team

Constructive feedback is feedback regarding an individual’s performance that can be used to build (construct) connection, successful habits and behaviors. The constructive (building) component is key because with this mindset and approach, seemingly negative feedback doesn’t become discouraging. Rather, a launch pad for creating opportunities for learning and development.

Gradients of Agreement

decision making consensus building convergence

A scale upon which to measure participants' levels of agreement with a given statement or course of action.

Mix and mingle

icebreaker inclusion remote-friendly

Fun and easy sequence to be used with all types of groups of people (colleagues, team mates, new team, communities, random group of people, etc.)

World Cafe

worldcafe collaborativelearning minkowski

The World Cafe is designed primarily to generate collective knowledge sharing, webs of personal relationships, and new possibilities for action.

Telephone

active listening speaking storytelling accepting offers body language communication boldness clarity emotional intelligence emotions

message passed without checking to next person

Mixed-Up Sentences

review issue analysis thiagi

The use of lectures for training adults has several advantages and several disadvantages. So does the use of training games. What if we combine these two approaches in a complementary fashion? That is the idea behind interactive lectures.

Interactive lectures involve participants in the learning process while providing complete control to the instructor. These activities enable a quick and easy conversion of a passive presentation into an interactive experience. Different types of interactive lectures incorporate built-in quizzes, interspersed tasks, teamwork interludes, and participant control of the presentation.

One effective approach to adding interactivity to lectures involves requiring participants to review what they heard and summarize the key points. This approach reinforces learning and improves recall.

Missing Sentence provides an intriguing twist to an interactive lecture that is based on the review-and-summary strategy.

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.

Library of facilitation techniques

find the right tool for your next session

Featured Author – International Association of Facilitators

Methods (1537)