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Exercises/Divergent Ideation/6 Building and Shifting the Discourse
Ideation Warm-Up · Divergent Ideation

6 Building and Shifting the Discourse

6 Building and Shifting the Discourse is an ideation warm-up exercise for divergent ideation: it helps participants open up more possible ideas before choosing a direction.

5 to 15 minutesTIME
Medium group (9-25), Pairs, Small group (4-8)GROUP SIZE
ActiveENERGY
In person, RemoteSETTING
High cognitive loadCOGNITIVE LOAD
Strengthens Participation Architecture This divergent ideation exercise strengthens Participation Architecture, one of the eight Gathering Effectiveness pillars.

How to run it

  1. Participants will be challenged to change the world by changing our discourse about the world.
  2. 5.0 1 rating(s) average rating is 5 out of 5, based on 1 votes, rating(s) Learning Goals Understand how ideas shape our worldview and identify hidden assumptions.
  3. Recognize tactics used to make ideas gain traction and consider how these could be creatively challenged.
  4. Previous Next Instructions Reflection Journal Practice Journal Additional Resources Activity Cluster Instructions Set Up: Prepare for the Activity Share these Scenarios for Memes, or create scenarios of your own, for each group as handouts or a shared document.
  5. Share these Scenarios for Memes , or create scenarios of your own, for each group as handouts or a shared document.
  6. Organize participants into three small groups (4-8 ppl).
  7. Begin by introducing the learning goals of this activity.
Live facilitator

Run this exercise live

The facilitator console stays in this browser. Its QR handoff is a short-lived participant snapshot containing only public exercise instructions, phase, prompt, and timer state.

Prompts to use +

5.0 1 rating(s) average rating is 5 out of 5, based on 1 votes, rating(s) Learning Goals Understand how ideas shape our worldview and identify hidden assumptions.

Previous Next Instructions Reflection Journal Practice Journal Additional Resources Activity Cluster Instructions Set Up: Prepare for the Activity Share these Scenarios for Memes, or create scenarios of your own, for each group as handouts or a shared document.

Share these Scenarios for Memes , or create scenarios of your own, for each group as handouts or a shared document.

Organize participants into three small groups (4-8 ppl).

Begin by introducing the learning goals of this activity.

Run this with your AI assistant +

Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Adapt this exercise for my exact room. Exercise: 6 Building and Shifting the Discourse. Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: 5.0 1 rating(s) average rating is 5 out of 5, based on 1 votes, rating(s) Learning Goals Understand how ideas shape our worldview and identify hidden assumptions.; Previous Next Instructions Reflection Journal Practice Journal Additional Resources Activity Cluster Instructions Set Up: Prepare for the Activity Share these Scenarios for Memes, or create scenarios of your own, for each group as handouts or a shared document.; Share these Scenarios for Memes , or create scenarios of your own, for each group as handouts or a shared document.; Organize participants into three small groups (4-8 ppl).. Return a concise facilitator script with timing, wording, safety notes, and remote/in-person adjustments.

Origin unverified

  • Where we observed it: The strongest current observations come from Collaborative Discussion Project; aggregators are listed as additional observations, not origin proof. (1 source observed, including Collaborative Discussion Project.)
  • What that means: we track where an exercise has been observed in public sources. We do not claim to know who created it, or how popular it is.
  • No efficacy claims: appearing in this library is not a claim that the exercise is proven effective. Facilitator judgment and context decide whether it works for a given room.
  • Corrections: if you have evidence of an earlier or more accurate source, read our methodology and trust boundary and tell us.

Pairs well with