Below is a collection of curated workshop facilitation exercises, ice-breakers, and frameworks for futurism, ideation and group work. I didn't create these (so can't take any credit for them) but have curated this collection that I have found engaging and productive. Use the tags below to to filter by type or browse the collection below.
This game naturally follows the creative idea generation phase and helps players select ideas to develop further. Draw a 2-by-2 matrix as above. The X-axis denotes […]
An excellent game for focusing people and getting them to work together. It creates laughter and energy without being physical. Because it’s not a physical game […]
This game’s purpose is to help teams evaluate a problem differently and break out of existing patterns. The Anti-Problem game helps people get unstuck when they […]
Here’s another jolt that explores one of our favorite themes: You have to unlearn something old in order to learn something new. A nice thing about […]
Amazon’s Working Backwards approach, also known as PR/FAQ, involves starting large initiatives by writing a press release and FAQ document to succinctly express its value from […]
Participants at a training session are often preoccupied with other important things in their life. Here’s a simple jolt to wake them up. Goal To make […]
Overview Light, energising exercise that helps the group to observe the other people on the call. Instructions Everyone puts on their camera For half a minute […]
This sentence completion exercise is taken from “The Art of Living Consciously” by Nathaniel Branden The idea is that you sit down and write the stem, […]
Great ice-breaker. Ask everyone to get a partner (preferably someone they don’t know well). Each pair has three minutes to discover three things they have in […]
The futures triangle method consists of identifying three competing factors: the past, present and future contexts. Each of these three corners of the triangle has their […]
Great for demonstrating the power of self-organising teams The Facilitator introduces the icebreaker as a short workshop where we’ll quickly see how collaborative we can be […]
With a name inspired by the Swedish self-assembly furniture giant, this effect can help explain the growing popularity of ‘meal-kit’ services; the trend towards co-designing solutions […]
Great for team bonding, strengths and weaknesses In the past, a totem pole was carved for several reasons; for example, to honor a deceased elder who […]
The Feynman Technique is a learning and sense-making method that involves explaining a new concept to an imaginary child to expose gaps in your understanding and […]
First Principles Thinking is a means to challenge assumptions and solve complex problems by breaking them down into their most basic elements and reassembling them from the […]
Backcasting is a planning method that starts with defining a desirable future and then works backwards to identify the steps or actions that will connect that […]
Poetic License is a fun group exercise that’s sure to incite laughter in your NVC group! (This game originated from Doug Dolstad) Instructions: In a group circle, […]
The SLAM makes this “Mind Spin” activity even more effective. Encourage participants to keep moving! This is a fast-paced LOUD activity – if they have no ideas grab […]
Boosts your creativity, your productivity and your overall enjoyment for life. Close your eyes and picture a vivid scene; a waterfall in a rainforest or children […]
This is a simple facilitation framework that enables a focused conversation. It’s a way to lead people through a phased reflection on almost any kind of […]
The Eisenhower Matrix organises your tasks based on whether tasks are urgent or important. The aim is to prioritise and act on value, to ensure that […]
This framework by James Dator, one of the fathers of futures studies, is founded on two fundamental truths about our relationship to the future. First, we […]
Your family (group) just inherited a successful restaurant from Chef Charlie, a long lost relative. The only problem: Charlie was very disorganized. The only recipes you have found […]
This can be used to place limits on dominant or overeager speakers. It also encourages shy speakers to contribute. Each person is given the same number […]
Let trainees find solutions for their problems themselves. Benefit from swarm intelligence. At the end of a training block each trainee writes one open question on […]
Great exercise to facilitate good feelings and intimacy Look back over your careers and identify three events, activities, moments of courage, accomplishments, collaborations, or moments of […]
Kim Scott’s Radical Candor Framework encourages you to ‘give a damn’ for the people around you, and constructively speak the truth, even when it pisses people […]
This activity will rely heavily on problem solving and leadership skills. Some team members might stand out and some might stand back, but it’s important to […]
Ideation steps. This process is inspired by the Double Diamond design process model. Step 1. Introduce Ideation Principles: Begin with a short presentation of principles for […]
Engage everyone simultaneously in generating questions, ideas, and suggestions Structuring Invitation Ask a question in response to the presentation of an issue, or about a problem […]
Use these with internal and external factors to build scenarios that describe an organisation’s futures. Baseline WHAT IT IS: A description of how the future represents […]
The “7th generation” principle taught by Native Americans says that in every decision, be it personal, governmental or corporate, we must consider how it will affect our descendants seven […]
To generate a more inclusive set of ideas. These are the six key questions that journalism students are taught to answer somewhere in their news articles […]
Storylining Storylining is an essential part of a storytelling. It is lining of messages in logical order to make the entire story easy to grasp and understand […]
SCAMPER. is essentially a process for expanding and improving upon ideas by testing and questioning them from different angles. For each letter of the mnemonic, ask […]
Objectives and Key Results (OKR) is a goal-setting methodology that helps organisations establish and execute strategy. This framework works by focusing employees and their efforts on […]
Imagine all the reasons your project could turn into a miserable failure. Then figure out how you can prevent those problems now, while there’s still time. Visualize […]
There’s a whole host of problem-solving exercises and tools that help participants to put themselves into the shoes of another. This particular tool was invented by […]
Speedboat is a short and sweet way to identify what your employees or clients don’t like about your product/service or what’s standing in the way of […]
A Permission Structure provides an emotional and psychological justification that allows someone to change deeply held beliefs and/or behaviours while importantly retaining their pride and integrity.
The Minto Pyramid is a way to organise presentations, communication and thinking in an ‘executive friendly’ way, by starting with the answer and key idea; grouping and […]
A team-building activity in which groups must work together to build a structure out of lego, but each individual has a secret “assignment” which makes the […]
Storylining Storylining is an essential part of a storytelling. It is lining of messages in logical order to make the entire story easy to grasp and understand […]
The Minto Pyramid is a way to organise presentations, communication and thinking in an ‘executive friendly’ way, by starting with the answer and key idea; grouping and […]