# 5 Principles of Conversation Design

Participants audit an upcoming or stalled discussion using five structural principles: parts versus wholes, layers, scale, selection criteria, and triggers. Working individually and in trios, they produce a concrete visual conversation map to keep their session focused.

**Time:** 25 minutes. UWT suggested 25-minute run time to apply the 5 design principles to real agendas.
**People:** 3 to 18. Independent work followed by trios (or quads if there is a remainder), closing with whole-room reflection.

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Map and structure an ambiguous conversation using five distinct design lenses so discussions avoid drifting.
**Use it when:** Use when preparing to facilitate a complex project kickoff, strategy review, or team problem-solving session where discussions frequently lose focus.
**Skip it when:** Skip for brief transactional updates, daily standups, or highly scripted regulatory reviews that do not require conversational scoping.

## Materials and tools

- One 5 Principles Audit Worksheet per participant
- Pens or pencils
- Digital whiteboard or shared document for remote teams

## Before participants arrive

1. Print the audit worksheet for all participants or load the digital template.
2. Have participants select one specific meeting or discussion topic they need to structure.

## Say this to open

Conversations easily drift when we do not define our scope, layers, or zoom level. We will use five design principles to audit an upcoming conversation you need to lead or join. You will map your topic across parts, layers, scale, selection criteria, and triggers so your meeting stays focused.

## How to run it

### 1. Introduce the five principles (4 minutes)

Deliver the opening script. Explain the five principles on the worksheet using an office move example. Wholes versus parts separates the whole move from IT setup and desk plans. Layers sequence thinking, like current needs, floor plan ideas, then next steps. Scale zooms between one desk and the entire building. Criteria prioritize items, such as cost versus move date. Triggers inject constraints, like budget cuts or remote work trends. Verify each participant has chosen a topic.

### 2. Draft individual conversation maps (8 minutes)

Participants work individually on their worksheets. Each person fills in the five lenses: parts of their whole, three sequenced layers, small and large scale boundaries, two selection criteria, and two triggers. Everyone works silently at their own pace.

### 3. Review and stress-test in trios (8 minutes)

Form trios. If the total leaves one or two extra people, create one or two quads so nobody works alone. Each person takes two minutes to share their map. Partners suggest one trigger and check for layer confusion, such as mixing big-picture scale with minor details. Prompt rotations every two minutes.

### 4. Harvest conversational adjustments (5 minutes)

Call the room back together. Ask two or three volunteers to share one concrete change they made to their meeting plan, such as reordering layers or defining a clear scale boundary. Do not call on everyone. Close by asking one debrief question from the list.


## Debrief questions

- Which of the five principles immediately clarified where your past conversations drifted?
- How did setting clear layers change the order of what you plan to discuss?
- What triggers will you prepare in advance to unblock participants when the room gets stuck?

**Finished output:** A completed 5 Principles Audit Worksheet per participant outlining parts, layers, scale, criteria, and triggers for an upcoming meeting.

## Remote

Use breakout rooms for the trio review. Provide the worksheet as an editable online document or digital whiteboard frame. Participants post notes into designated frames for parts, layers, scale, criteria, and triggers.

## Hybrid

Ensure remote participants are paired with other remote participants in virtual breakout rooms while in-person participants work in room trios. Use a single shared digital worksheet space so all participants see common examples.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may keep their specific topic and worksheet private during group sharing.
- Participants may contribute to trio reviews via chat or verbal discussion according to preference.

## If the session gets stuck

**Participants confuse layers with sequential task checklists.**

Clarify that layers represent conceptual lenses or phases of thinking (such as current facts, creative options, decision criteria) rather than linear action items.

**A participant cannot think of an external trigger.**

Offer common defaults such as a tight deadline, a 50 percent budget cut, an emerging customer trend, or an accessibility constraint.


## Terms used here

- Layer: A distinct thematic level or thinking perspective in a discussion, such as facts, ideas, or action planning.
- Trigger: An external detail, trend, constraint, or scenario injected into a conversation to spark fresh ideas or break a deadlock.

## Participant material: 5 Principles Audit Worksheet

TOPIC / MEETING TITLE:

1. PARTS & WHOLES
- What is the whole picture?
- What are 3-5 core parts that make up this whole?

2. LAYERS (Order your conversation by thinking level, e.g., Facts -> Ideas -> Next Steps)
- Layer 1:
- Layer 2:
- Layer 3:

3. SCALE
- Detailed / Small Scale view (e.g., individual desk, single customer):
- Big Picture / Large Scale view (e.g., entire department, market):

4. SELECTION CRITERIA
- By what 2 criteria will you prioritize ideas? (e.g., Feasibility, Impact, Urgency):

5. TRIGGERS
- What 2 external trends, constraints, or prompts can you inject if conversation stalls?

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in MethodKit's '5 principles for Conversation Design' by Ola Möller and Jordan Valentin Lane.

Retained the five core conversation design principles identified by Ola Möller and Jordan Valentin Lane (MethodKit): parts/wholes, layers, scale, criteria, and triggers. UWT developed the structured 25-minute run sheet, worksheet template, peer-review protocol, and facilitation scripts to turn the conceptual principles into a practical meeting design exercise. Addressed group arithmetic for remainders in trios and tightened step word counts.

[MethodKit](https://methodkit.com/learn/conversation-design/)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/methodkit-5-principles-for-conversation-design/