Library of facilitation techniques

A collaborative prioritization framework where teams apply the RICE scoring model (Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort) to evaluate and rank ideas, projects, or initiatives.

This creative method invites participants to bring a possible future to life by designing or imagining a tangible object from that world. In the same way that we have historical artefacts from the past, this exercise is all about creating a tangible “artefact from the future.” It’s a way to make abstract scenarios feel real, prompting empathy, engagement, and grounded conversation.

Artefacts from the future can be run in a 2D or 3D approach.

When adopting the 3D approach, this method shifts participants into a making mindset. This engages their analytical thinking as well as intuition, improvisation, and embodied creativity. This helps surface insights that might not emerge through discussion or writing alone.

Developed by futurist Sohail Inayatullah, CLA is a cornerstone of critical futures thinking. It’s designed to support more inclusive, layered conversations by opening up not just what might happen, but why we imagine it that way.

This activity invites participants to look for weak signals, which are early signs of change that may shape the future. It helps build awareness of emerging trends, stimulates curiosity and encourages participants to notice what’s happening at the edges of the present.

A creative warm-up and visioning exercise that invites participants to imagine a future world or situation and describe what it feels like to be there. This approach helps surface early assumptions, hopes, and curiosities, while gently introducing the idea that the future can be imagined and shaped.

warm-up activity from Rachel Davis via AJ&Smart

If you are working with a team or company that already has a list of values, and are looking for a dynamic activity to refresh participants' knowledge and understanding of those values, look no further. By using embodied and spatial knowledge, this activity will make values basically unforgettable for all involved.

This activity is a perfect holiday-themed icebreaker or energizer that combines creativity, quick thinking, and festive cheer. It encourages engagement, collaboration, and lighthearted fun, making it ideal for team-building, holiday parties, or virtual gatherings. By using emojis, it taps into visual problem-solving skills while keeping the atmosphere playful and inclusive.

Empathy is a concept that many people understand in broad strokes, but it can be confusing or daunting to use empathy with others. Participants will be able to identify how empathy shows up in the body and the mind, become more familiar and comfortable with what it looks like to practice empathy, and explore a creative medium as a way of connecting and relating to others with empathy.

Beginning to understand your influence style