--- title: "2 Brains: Tell It & Sell It" description: "Participants map factual points and emotional appeals on a 4x4 matrix, then combine pairs into persuasive pitch lines. The resulting statements balance practical utility with emotional pull." last_updated: "2026-09-07" canonical: "https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/2-brains-tell-it-sell-it/" --- # 2 Brains: Tell It & Sell It Participants map factual points and emotional appeals on a 4x4 matrix, then combine pairs into persuasive pitch lines. The resulting statements balance practical utility with emotional pull. **Time:** 35 minutes. UWT suggested 35 minutes for single-session workshop delivery. Gamestorming lists 30 to 60 minutes. **People:** 4 to 24. Subgroups of 3 to 6 people. For 4 to 6 people, work as a single team. For 7 people, split into groups of 3 and 4. For larger groups up to 24, form multiple teams of 4 to 6. ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Draft and balance persuasive pitch lines by explicitly combining factual utility with emotional hooks. **Use it when:** When a team is crafting a project pitch, campaign slogan, or launch messaging that currently sounds either too dry or too vague. **Skip it when:** When the team needs detailed technical architecture or purely logistical coordination rather than persuasive communication. ## Materials and tools - 1 large wall poster or whiteboard with a pre-drawn 4x4 matrix per subgroup - Sticky notes in 4 distinct colors per group: blue for logic, pink for emotion, green for combined, yellow for other ideas - 1 broad-tipped marker per participant ## Before participants arrive 1. Draw a 4x4 grid on a large poster or whiteboard for each subgroup. 2. Label the vertical axis 'Emotional (Right Brain)' from low 'Fizzles' at the bottom to high 'Sizzles' at the top, marking row 3 as emotionally neutral. 3. Label the horizontal axis 'Practical (Left Brain)' from low utility on the left to high utility on the right, marking column 2 as practically neutral. 4. Distribute the 4 sticky note colors and markers to each subgroup station. ## Say this to open Persuasive messages need both clear facts and emotional resonance. If we only give facts, people understand but do not act. If we only give emotion, people get excited but have no substance to trust. Today we will map our functional facts and emotional hooks separately, then fuse them into balanced pitch messages. ## How to run it ### 1. Introduce matrix and concepts (5 minutes) Explain the goal and demonstrate the 4x4 grid. Show the four note colors: blue for practical facts ('tell it'), pink for emotional benefits ('sell it'), green for combined messages, and yellow for peripheral or contextual ideas. Note that yellow ideas go into a parking zone outside the grid for later review. Give a concrete example: a blue fact is 'Exports financial reports in under 10 seconds'; a pink emotional hook is 'Leave work on time and stop dreading monthly close.' ### 2. Generate facts and emotions (5 minutes) Working individually in silence, participants write blue notes for practical facts and pink notes for emotional hooks. Limit each note to a single phrase or short sentence. Participants may write yellow notes for ideas that do not fit either category and set them beside the grid. Target at least 3 facts and 3 feelings per person. ### 3. Map raw notes on the matrix (7 minutes) In their small groups, participants post their blue notes along the neutral emotional row (row 3) according to practical strength. They post pink notes along the neutral practical column (column 2) according to emotional impact. Read through the posted ideas together to ensure everyone understands the collection. ### 4. Craft two-brain combinations (8 minutes) Group members collaborate to pair one pink note with one blue note and rewrite them as a single unified pitch line. Write each unified pitch on a green note and place it into the upper-right quadrant where both practical impact and emotional appeal are high. Aim for 3 to 5 green notes per team. In hybrid rooms, table scribes photograph and post these top green notes to the shared digital board during the final minute of this step. ### 5. Share and debrief (10 minutes) Each subgroup takes 30 seconds to read aloud their single strongest green note. The facilitator then selects 1 or 2 debrief questions for whole-room discussion, taking 3 to 4 quick contributions from the room. ## Debrief questions - Which paired messages strike the clearest balance between factual utility and emotional pull? - Where did we find our messaging tilting too far into pure logic or pure feeling? - How can we test the top two-brain messages with our actual audience? **Finished output:** A populated 4x4 message matrix with at least 3 combined pitch statements per group that integrate practical utility and emotional appeal. ## Remote Set up a shared digital canvas with a 4x4 grid per breakout group. Label the vertical axis Emotional Appeal (High Sizzle to Low Fizzle) and the horizontal axis Practical Utility (Low to High). Create breakout rooms of 3 to 6 people. Participants add color-coded digital stickies, placing blue and pink notes on the neutral axes and green combined notes in the top-right quadrant. Yellow notes go into an adjacent parking lot frame. Reconvene in the main room for rapid read-outs and debrief. ## Hybrid Remote participants work directly on the shared digital board while in-person participants work at wall posters. Assign one in-person partner per table to photograph and mirror top green notes to the digital workspace during the final minute of step 4 so remote participants can review the whole room's outputs during the share step. ## Access and participation choices - Participants may contribute ideas verbally, write them on notes, or pair with a partner to draft notes. - Anyone may choose to observe, cluster notes, or support timekeeping rather than draft pitch slogans. ## If the session gets stuck **Participants write messages that are already mixtures on the first step instead of separating logic from feeling.** Remind them to break the thought into two notes: what does it do mechanically (blue note), and what feeling or relief does it create (pink note). **Combined messages become long, clunky paragraphs.** Enforce a one-sentence limit per green sticky note so the result stays punchy like a headline. ## Terms used here - Tell It (Left Brain): A message that clearly states functional facts, features, or logistics. - Sell It (Right Brain): A message that appeals to feeling, excitement, relief, or values. - Two-Brain Message: A combined pitch or slogan that balances practical proof with emotional hook. - Sizzle: High positive emotional resonance or excitement on the matrix. - Fizzle: Flat, uninspiring, or negative emotional appeal on the matrix. ## Sources and adaptation Observed on Gamestorming, which attributes the method to Thomas J. Buckholtz. Retained the 4x4 matrix evaluating emotional appeal (sell it) versus practical utility (tell it) and combining them into dual-focus messages, attributed in Gamestorming to Thomas J. Buckholtz. Clarified subgroup scaling to handle 3 to 6 people per group without contradictions, specified placement of yellow contextual notes outside the grid, integrated photograph synchronization into Step 4 for hybrid settings, added glossary definitions for matrix axis terms, and structured a 35-minute facilitation flow. [Gamestorming](https://gamestorming.com/2-brains-tell-it-sell-it) [Gamestorming](https://gamestorming.com/2-brains-tell-it-sell-it/) Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/2-brains-tell-it-sell-it/