Library of facilitation techniques

The Four Quadrants is a tried and true team building activity to break the ice with a group or team.

It is EASY to prep for and set up. It can be MODIFIED to work with any group and/or topic (just change the questions). It is FUN, COLORFUL and works every time!

In the Desert Island Game, begin by asking your participants an important question – if you were stranded on a desert island, what essential items would you choose to survive?

Participants are given a list of items to choose from and must work together to decide which items will help them stay alive.

The Desert Island Game is a great, remote-friendly exercise for a team to work together and share opinions.

• Frame: Famously utilized by AirB&B to get at the heart of some of their culture issues. The idea is that there are three things that move the needle on psychological safety and team effectiveness:

• • Elephants - The "elephants in the room" or things people are avoiding and not talking about. These tend to create a sense of ambiguity and helplessness. Elephants must die.
  • Dead Fish - These are the "old tapes" that people refuse to let go of. They've been around so long that they're beginning to stink up the place. These tend to sour people on each other by undermining trust and creating fictions. Dead Fish must disappear.
  • Vomit - This is our ability to speak freely, directly, and openly with another person without fear of reprisal. If we're not listened to in this way, it can build up over time and bad things can happen. Vomit has to happen.

• Outcomes: Creates more honesty and psychological safety; Surfaces crucial issues on the team
  

• Demo: Leader shares an example of an old tape or story they've been carrying around and are ready to let go of
• Process/Steps:
• Facilitator introduces the framework by drawing three columns on a flipchart (or a flipchart for each)
• Facilitator asks the group for an example of either an Elephant or a Dead Fish
• Team members affirm, clarify, or provide additional context
• Group decides how to appropriately address or let go of the issue (usually by naming some hard, next steps)
• Facilitator captures on flipchart
• Group is invited to add to the flipcharts over the course of the day
• Facilitator reviews additions at the end of the day

This method helps groups assess the potential impacts of future changes, both positive and negative, and reflect on how resilient they are to different types of disruption. It supports balanced, practical conversations that go beyond excitement or fear, focusing instead on preparation and adaptability.

4 conversations about how to listen, acknowledge, and build

This activity helps participants notice the impact of different listening and response styles, especially how we unconsciously block or build on each other’s ideas. Use this when you want to shift communication habits, build awareness of default patterns, and/or teach communication skills.

One idea enters the circle. The group builds it together, one sentence at a time. Every statement begins with "Yes, and..."

The Stuck Exercise is a process by which one experiences going through the whole U journey by moving from Sculpture 1 (current reality) to Sculpture 2 (emerging future). We do not know what the movements will be or where they will stop, but we can follow the movement and then reflect on our experience. Surprising insights can arise.

In Social Presencing Theater, the word theater is used in connection to its root meaning – a place where something significant becomes visible, or where a community of people can see a shared experience. 4D mapping makes visible the current reality in a social system, such as a school system, health care system, or government.

Mindfulness of body is a foundational skill for Social Presencing Theater. And like any skill, we learn it through practice. The 20-minute Dance is a practice in which we pay attention to the feeling of the body, without thinking about it or judging it. We are not trying to fix or change or accomplish anything. We welcome every moment.

The Iceberg Model is a diagnostic tool that is used to analyze systemic structures and identify blind spots that cause a team/organization/society to collectively reproduce results that no one wants.

Container Building is the process of creating a safe space for a group or a team by establishing both trust and ground rules for engagement.

Stakeholder Interviews are conducted by practitioners with key stakeholders in their ecosystem, such as decision makers, team members, peers, or customers both within and outside an organization. The interviews allow you to step into the shoes of the interviewees and see their role through their eyes.