Dot Voting
Dot Voting is an ideation warm-up exercise for reflection and learning: it helps participants reflect on experience and turn observations into learning.
How to run it
- Participants cast their votes all at once and they may vote more than once for a single item if they feel strongly about it. Once all the votes are cast, tally them, and if necessary make a list of the items by their new rank.
- This prioritized list becomes the subject of discussion and decision making. In some cases, it may be useful to reflect on ideas that didn’t receive votes to verify that they haven’t been left behind without cause.
- The original source of the Dot Voting game is unknown.
- Identify the most important or prioritized proposals within a working group.
- Encourage equitable participation and consensus among participants.
- Large flipcharts or posters for groups to display their proposals.
- Markers, scissors, newspapers, and other materials for creative presentations.
- Cards or tokens for assigning points (e.g., adhesive dots, colored stickers).
- Sufficient space for groups to meet and work comfortably.
- Arrange worktables for small groups and a common area for presentations.
Run this exercise live
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What participants need now
Materials:
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Prompts to use +
Participants cast their votes all at once and they may vote more than once for a single item if they feel strongly about it. Once all the votes are cast, tally them, and if necessary make a list of the items by their new rank.
This prioritized list becomes the subject of discussion and decision making. In some cases, it may be useful to reflect on ideas that didn’t receive votes to verify that they haven’t been left behind without cause.
Identify the most important or prioritized proposals within a working group.
Arrange worktables for small groups and a common area for presentations.
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: Dot Voting. Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: Participants cast their votes all at once and they may vote more than once for a single item if they feel strongly about it. Once all the votes are cast, tally them, and if necessary make a list of the items by their new rank.; This prioritized list becomes the subject of discussion and decision making. In some cases, it may be useful to reflect on ideas that didn’t receive votes to verify that they haven’t been left behind without cause.; Identify the most important or prioritized proposals within a working group.; Arrange worktables for small groups and a common area for presentations.. 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 Gamestorming, Participatory Methods; aggregators are listed as additional observations, not origin proof. (5 sources observed, including Gamestorming, Participatory Methods, EasyRetro, Workshopr, SessionLab.)
- 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.
- Method lineage: this exercise shares its method name with work attributed to Jake Knapp and Sam Kaner in our people index. That is a name match, not an origin claim.
- Corrections: if you have evidence of an earlier or more accurate source, read our methodology and trust boundary and tell us.