Cushions game
A fun, dynamic game useful for introducing topics related to decision making, conflict resolution, win-win scenarios and the importance of clear communication of goals.
Library of facilitation techniques
Decision Making Workshop Activities
Tools and techniques to help a group in narrowing down options and decision making.
44 results
Quick-Check-Why
Quick way to narrow down a decision
Fist to five
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.
Feedback Frames for Prioritizing a Brainstorm
A fun and reliable technique for scoring many ideas, with instant visual results. Participants rate statements by dropping tokens in Feedback Frames in a range of slots that are hidden by a cover, with results later revealed as a visual graph of opinions. This simple in-person analog tool uses secret score voting to recognize nuanced gradients of agreement towards consensus and avoid traditional voting problems such as groupthink and vote-splitting, which are common in sticker dot voting.
5 choices
1. Remain a victim
2. Reframe it / change perspective
3. Change it
4. Accept it
5. Leave it
Gradients of Agreement
A scale upon which to measure participants' levels of agreement with a given statement or course of action.
Escape Hopeland
Plan several stations in your area. Each station will present a ethical dilemma. Participants are traveling in groups and falling to smaller groups as they are choosing different answers. In the end, they all arrive to the final. The reflection is focused on their decision-making process.
Trolley Dilemma
Very handful exercise to put the participants in the situation where they have to make hard decision under time pressure.
Hide & Seek
Boost your decision-making skills through the ability to let go of the stress and recollection with your childhood (inner-child).
Near and Dear
Have you ever been in the middle of a discussion with a group that is trying to reach a decision about something and realized that you actually don’t have much of a stake in what happens? Or, have you ever been advocating for a group to take things in a certain direction and notice that others (for whom the outcome will not be relevant) are arguing just as passionately as you are?
Many times when we are trying to make decisions as a group, involved parties care about the outcome, but at varying levels. This tool helps identify who actually has a stake in the outcome and allows a group to get perspective on which voice(s) should be a priority in the decision process.
Venncilitation
Evaluating choices/ideas to solve a problem using a Venn Diagram, arriving at consensus in a quick, fun, easy and democratic way