Activity Toolset

Basic activity tools. Techniques for encouraging participation from your attendees. And to engage their full attention. These activity tools will help you to build ownership for the meeting and what it decides. Simply glance through the boxes below and click on the assembly tools that interest you.
Facilitator Cards Orb Icon

Brainwriting: A Structured Approach to Inclusive Ideation

Discover how brainwriting fosters inclusive ideation by letting every participant share ...
Workshop & Meeting Design AI Configurator

Workshop & Meeting Design AI Configurator

AI Configurator for designing meetings and workshops and preparing all the ...
Cultural issues in meeting preparation

Cultural issues in meeting preparation

Meeting inefficiency, particularly around lack of preparation, often stems from inadvertently ...
Facilitator Cards Orb Icon

Facilitator Cards – an easy way to start facilitation

Facilitation cards are simple, fun way to step into facilitation and ...
Sticky Note Dialogue courtesy rawpixel

Meeting tools and sticky notes are not an alternative to dialogue

Contrary to what some may believe, meeting tools and sticky notes ...
Google Jamboard in glass sphere

Google Jamboard

Getting started on Virtual Whiteboards Google Jamboard is probably the simplest ...
Glass orb illustrating two PowerPoint windows

Working in Two PowerPoint Windows

Guidance on using two PowerPoint Windows to enable facilitation by using ...
Participative Problem Solving

Participative Problem Solving

How do you get a group of people to list and ...
Icon of Why-How Chart

Why-How Charting

Why-How charting is a means of thoroughly exploring the logic of ...
Instant Participation Templates selector in glass orb

Instant Participation Templates

Select a tool (for help, click here), Click to open, share ...
Walk round process - orb with images of people round the world

Walk Round Process – Breakout Feedback

An alternative to breakout feedback that is quicker, more engaging, and ...
Affinity diagram - Orb showing affinity diagram and post-it notes

Affinity – The most useful tool of all

Affinity: the simplest & most powerful means of participation – – ...
The concept of multi channel icon - orb showing small groups of people in discussion with post it notes on charts on the wall and representing the power of the post-it note and multi-channel discussions

The power of the post-it

Use sticky notes to aid participation, fairness & ownership – – ...
Kolbs learning cycle icon - orb showing plan, act, reflect and theorise representing the importance of variety

The importance of variety

Catering for difference and diversity in people and styles – – ...
Activity questions - orb showing question mark to engage activity

Questions to engage Activity

Using questions to drive exploration, dialogue and insight – – – ...
Creativity tools - orb showing a lit lightbulb representing tools to support creativity

Tools to support creativity

Tools which help the mind to adopt new perspectives – – ...
Brainstorm blog icon - orb showing a lit lightbulb

Better brainstorming | Template

Brainstorming works better if the rules are followed – – – ...
SWOT icon - orb showing the words for SWOT and representing SWOT analysis

Using SWOT Analysis

Using SWOT as a simple means to shared understanding – – ...
Plan - orb with people looking at a planning chart

Driving activity between meetings

Using ‘always-on’ whiteboards to keep the thinking active – – – ...

For instant tools that can be set up in seconds and engage people quickly. Take a look at the Instant Participation Templates.

Cannot find the assembly tools you are looking for?

The full meeting toolchest is a comprehensive selection of tools and techniques to support good facilitation of better meetings. But a large selection can prove a bit overwhelming to someone just starting out. For this reason we limit what is offered in the basic section of the site. However, the full set is freely available – simply click on the advanced tab at the top of the page. And this will give you full access.

If you have not yet done so, take a look at the pages on thinking differently. We hope that this may provide a new context for the tools and techniques you are using.

There are always new ideas emerging and so we would also encourage you to subscribe to our blog.