One person brings a real-life challenge. The group listens deeply, asks questions, and shares their experience of something similar, what worked and what didn’t. Not only might they have some practical advice, but everyone learns by looking at the challenge through their different perspectives.

A small group talks in an inner circle while others listen in an outside circle. Participants in the outer circle take turns stepping into the inner circle, when they have a question or a story to contribute. A self-directed way to conduct an in-depth conversation with a large group.

Groups create visual posters or write-ups and display them on walls or tables. Everyone walks around, reads, reflects, and adds comments. Learning happens through the conversations about the display.

A matrix to share what everyone is doing across countries, projects, or departments on specific themes or questions. It’s a visual way to give a sense of who’s doing what, how well they think they are doing, and where there are opportunities for learning.

Participants rotate between small café-style tables, discussing one question but with different configurations of people. Ideas spread and grow across the room. Great for collective sense-making.

Two sides argue different viewpoints. Each side is randomly chosen and so no-one is necessarily arguing their own point of view. It’s a very good way to explore both sides of an issue, putting forward arguments that can help prevent “groupthink”.