TRIADS
TRIADS is an ideation warm-up exercise for divergent ideation: it helps participants open up more possible ideas before choosing a direction.
How to run it
- Search thiagi.com Freebies Training Games TRIADS TRIADS Copyright © 1997, Sivasailam Thiagarajan.
- Ask participants to complete this sentence: I am a(n) .
- After they have done this, ask them to complete the same sentence 10 different ways.
- Finally, have them pin their lists to their clothing, like a jumbo nametag.
- Participants wander around and form themselves into triads with as much similarity among them as possible.
- They have 3 minutes to do this.
- Debrief to emphasize that there is more similarity among people than it meets the eye.
- Participants have 3 minutes to re-assemble themselves into triads with maximum diversity.
- Debrief to emphasize that there are similarities among even the most diverse group.
- If there is any triad without a single element of similarity in their lists (which is very unlikely), ask everyone to brainstorm and generate 10 items of similarity.
Run this exercise live
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Materials:
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Prompts to use +
Ask participants to complete this sentence: I am a(n) .
After they have done this, ask them to complete the same sentence 10 different ways.
Finally, have them pin their lists to their clothing, like a jumbo nametag.
Participants wander around and form themselves into triads with as much similarity among them as possible.
They have 3 minutes to do this.
Debrief to emphasize that there is more similarity among people than it meets the eye.
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: TRIADS. Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: Ask participants to complete this sentence: I am a(n) .; After they have done this, ask them to complete the same sentence 10 different ways.; Finally, have them pin their lists to their clothing, like a jumbo nametag.; Participants wander around and form themselves into triads with as much similarity among them as possible.. 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 The Thiagi Group; aggregators are listed as additional observations, not origin proof. (2 sources observed, including The Thiagi Group, 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.
- Corrections: if you have evidence of an earlier or more accurate source, read our methodology and trust boundary and tell us.