Workshop Facilitation Exercises
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.
Facilitation ice-breakers, warm-ups and team work
December 7, 2021
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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 […]
November 19, 2018
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For this ideation technique, you start out by asking for the impossible and then brainstorm ways to make it, or at least some approximation of it, […]
December 7, 2021
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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 […]
November 4, 2021
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Overview One person holds up an object to the camera The rest of the group is given 8 seconds to find a matching object The first […]
August 10, 2022
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IDEO’s 7 rules of brainstorming Defer judgement. You never know where a good idea is going to come from. The key is make everyone feel like they […]
November 19, 2018
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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 […]
November 19, 2018
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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 […]
November 19, 2018
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To generate ideas about how to implement the reverse of the current state of affairs and to experience the possibility of looking at a problem as […]
November 19, 2018
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You and your team have just found a lamp. You rub it, and surprise! A genie appears. The genie grants you three wishes. You are allowed […]
December 8, 2021
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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 […]
November 19, 2018
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This is always a fun and interesting game that can be played from the outset but be warned you should either keep this for smaller groups […]
November 19, 2018
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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 […]
December 21, 2021
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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 […]
December 7, 2021
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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.
December 21, 2021
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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 […]
November 19, 2018
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You’ll need some pen and paper for right after this exercise. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Breathe deeply and focus on your […]
November 19, 2018
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Great fast ideation technique. Fold a piece of paper into 6 and have everyone individually come up with 6 super-quick ideas in the 6 spaces in […]
December 8, 2021
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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 […]
November 19, 2018
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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 […]
November 19, 2018
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Great fun energiser: Explain that the room is now divided into two sides and draw an imaginary line for all to see. The leader will call […]
December 9, 2021
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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 […]
September 2, 2020
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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 […]
December 7, 2021
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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 […]
December 7, 2021
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November 19, 2018
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20 minutes to 1 hour; 5 – 100 people These can help to explore the different views on an issue within the group. It is a […]
November 19, 2018
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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 […]
November 19, 2018
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This is a lovely cooperative game that always brings a group together and lights up people’s faces! Ask everyone to gather around you in a tight […]
April 11, 2022
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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 […]
November 19, 2018
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A fun, fast game that helps to break the ice and get energy flowing How to: You first need to think of pairs of things – […]
December 8, 2021
November 29, 2018
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Generate a big number of ideas quickly. Using the first 8 ideas as a basis can help to expand these ideas further. 1. Draw a square […]
November 19, 2018
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A tool to allow people to understand both sides of a conflict. They can help people entrenched in one position to think more flexibly. They are […]
November 19, 2018
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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 […]
November 20, 2018
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This is a useful template for opening an event or workshop. I like to start with a greeting to honour the mana whenua (people of the […]
January 31, 2022
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This is a great zoom or virtual icebreaker for large groups. Let the group know that you’re going to be calling out statements like “I have […]
November 19, 2018
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A very physical team version of ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’! Sort the group into two teams and explain that each team has to choose one of three […]
November 29, 2018
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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 […]
November 19, 2018
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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 […]
November 20, 2018
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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 […]
January 26, 2020
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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, […]
November 29, 2018
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In this fun and active group game, participants sit in a circle, with one person in the middle. The person in the middle asks different questions […]
May 17, 2022
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Pitch and presentation tips to nail your talk
July 26, 2022
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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 […]
November 20, 2018
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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 […]
December 14, 2021
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Rolestorming is a group brainstorming method. Its basic premise is that you brainstorm while playing the role of another person.
November 19, 2018
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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 […]
November 29, 2018
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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 […]
November 19, 2018
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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 […]
November 4, 2021
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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 […]
November 29, 2018
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This is a great activity to get people up and moving around in a playful way while still learning about each other. It can be related […]
November 19, 2018
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This is a great ice-breaker and warm-up for groups that don’t know each other, or for groups to learn more about each other.
November 29, 2018
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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 […]
November 19, 2018
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Your memory is going to be completely erased in five minutes. You have only that time to write down everything you want or need to remember. […]
November 19, 2018
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Teamwork Break into groups of about 3 or 4 people. Everyone then raises their dominant hand, you know, the hand you use to write with. Now, […]
November 29, 2018
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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 […]
February 28, 2020
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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 […]
November 19, 2018
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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 […]
November 19, 2018
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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 […]
November 29, 2018
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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 […]
December 7, 2021
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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 […]
November 19, 2018
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Like the traditional game, but losers become the cheering team for the people they lost to. By the end of the game there are two players […]
November 26, 2018
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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 […]
August 26, 2022
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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 […]
November 29, 2018
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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 […]
April 22, 2009
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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, […]
November 19, 2018
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This is a technique that can help to save the day when nothing else seems to be working and can re-ignite the energy levels of groups […]
November 29, 2018
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Bang is a group game, played in a circle, where participants must react quickly or face elimination. One person stands in the middle of the circle […]
November 19, 2018
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15 – 40 minutes; 5 – 30 people Withholds are thoughts that we keep to ourselves. They usually have to do with judgements about ourselves, others, […]
November 29, 2018
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This is a good game to begin a workshop. It sets everyone on the mood to learn, share, and participate. Goal a) get some participants to […]
November 29, 2018
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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 […]
November 29, 2018
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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 […]
November 19, 2018
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You are about to begin a scavenger hunt with several members of this training group. The object of the game is to collect all of the […]
December 21, 2021
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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 […]
November 19, 2018
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A great technique to help focus on one area only and remove limiting ideas about the next step Fold an A0 sheet of paper into three. Discuss […]
November 19, 2018
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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 […]
January 26, 2020
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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, […]