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Help me prepare and run the exercise below. First ask for my participant count, time, setting, access needs and intended result. Check these against the stated limits. Use the supplied rules and materials. Explain any proposed changes before using them, and label them as adaptations. Do not invent source claims or require personal disclosure. Give me one step at a time when I say start. I manage the people, physical activity and clock; do not claim to observe the room. Ask me what happened before choosing a next step.

Reference revision: 4d068aa3d5d1bdcb58fc254f165090224ae8a727cbc7aa4a439780254fd2a48d

# Visual Explorer Photo Cards

Participants silently select an image card that connects metaphorically to a core framing question. They then use the card as a tangible focus point to share perspectives in small groups before a whole-room synthesis.

**Time:** 45 minutes. Matches the standard 45-minute format documented in WorkshopBank evidence.
**People:** 4 to 24. Individual silent selection, small breakout clusters of 3 to 5 people, followed by full-group debrief.

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Surface underlying assumptions, feelings, and diverse perspectives on a shared challenge using visual metaphor rather than direct verbal debate.
**Use it when:** Use when opening an ambiguous, complex, or sensitive topic such as team culture, leadership style, or organizational change where direct discussion feels guarded or stuck.
**Skip it when:** Skip when the session requires immediate factual convergence, quick decision-making, or when participants face tight deadlines that make indirect reflection counterproductive.

## Materials and tools

- A curated set of 60 to 120 varied image cards (photographs, illustrations, abstract textures)
- One flip chart and two markers for recording debrief themes
- One display board or slide presenting the framing question
- A visible countdown timer
- Scratch paper and pens for optional private participant reflection notes

## Before participants arrive

1. Define a clear, open framing question before the session begins.
2. Display the framing question prominently on a board or slide.
3. Spread all image cards across flat tables so every card is visible without overlapping.
4. Set up cluster tables or chair groupings of 3 to 5 seats away from the card browsing area.
5. Place scratch paper and pens at each seat cluster.

## Say this to open

We are going to explore our framing question using images rather than direct verbal discussion. An image acts as a third object between us, making it easier to talk about complex or sensitive work without feeling put on the spot. Your job will be to walk through the collection in silence, choose one picture that connects with your response, and bring it back to your table. Pick what catches your attention rather than what you feel you should choose.

## How to run it

### 1. Introduce framing question (4 minutes)

Display the framing question on the main board. Read the opening script. For example, use: 'What does our current team culture feel like right now?' Instruct participants that they will browse in total silence, view the images, and choose exactly one card that reflects their perspective. Remind everyone that there are no correct interpretations.

### 2. Browse and select in silence (6 minutes)

Direct participants to walk among the image tables in silence. Allow independent inspection. If two people reach for the same physical card, first contact keeps it, and the second person chooses another image. Once a participant has an image, they return to their seat and wait quietly without talking.

### 3. Reflect individually (4 minutes)

Ask participants to examine their chosen image in silence. Invite them to use the scratch paper to jot brief notes on three prompts: What visual details drew you to this card? How does it connect to the framing question? What does this picture say that words alone might leave out?

### 4. Share in small groups (20 minutes)

Form small groups of 3 to 5 people. Groups of 13 divide into 5, 4, 4; groups of 17 divide into 5, 4, 4, 4. Each participant takes up to 3 minutes to hold up their card and explain their view. The group takes 1 minute for clarifying questions before the next turn. Signal the end of each 4-minute window.

### 5. Debrief and capture themes (11 minutes)

Bring the full room back together. Invite up to four brief observations from different groups. Focus on recurring themes, surprises, and contrasting views. Record the common patterns on the flip chart. Close the activity on time by bridging these recorded insights into the next session agenda item.


## Debrief questions

- What common patterns or themes appeared across the different images in your group?
- What surprised you about how someone else interpreted their card?
- Where did you notice tension, contrast, or opposite views between pictures?

**Finished output:** A flip chart record of shared themes, contrasting viewpoints, and metaphors concerning the core framing question.

## Remote

Set up an online whiteboard containing 60 or more numbered image tiles. Keep the main room muted for 6 minutes while participants browse individually. Each participant claims an image by placing a digital sticky note with their name over it. If two people pick the same card, the second person moves to an unclaimed card. Break into video breakout rooms of 3 to 5 people for 20 minutes to share screens and explain choices. Reconvene in the main room for the 11-minute synthesis.

## Hybrid

Provide remote participants with a digital board of the identical image set, while in-person participants browse the physical tables. Form separate small groups for in-person tables and online breakout rooms during the small-group step to avoid room audio clash. For the whole-room debrief, alternate evenly between an in-person cluster spokesperson and an online participant via the main room speaker.

## Access and participation choices

- Provide alt-text tags on digital cards, partner assistance during in-person browsing, or tactile textured objects as alternative anchors for participants with visual impairments.
- Anyone may choose to hold up their card and simply state, 'I pass on sharing details today,' without being required to explain their choice.

## If the session gets stuck

**Two participants reach for the exact same physical image card during browsing.**

Enforce the first-touch rule neutrally before browsing starts. Ask the second person to browse for another image that expresses an adjacent or contrasting perspective.

**A participant says they chose their image at random and do not know what to say.**

Ask them to describe two literal shapes, objects, or colors visible on the card, and then ask what mood or feeling those specific elements bring up.


## Terms used here

- Third Object: An intermediary visual item or object placed between conversation partners, allowing them to anchor dialogue on the artifact rather than confronting each other directly.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in WorkshopBank documentation. WorkshopBank attributes the initial branded Visual Explorer method to Charles J. Palus and David Magellan Horth at the Center for Creative Leadership (2001), noting roots in visual sociology, art therapy, and photo elicitation.

Retained the core Visual Explorer mechanics from WorkshopBank documentation, including silent card selection, third-object metaphor dialogue, small-group turns, and themed whole-room synthesis. Adjusted subgroup sizing to 3 to 5 people to resolve arithmetic across odd group totals (such as 13 or 17). Tuned Step 4 to a 20-minute block (4 minutes per person across up to 5 participants) and Step 5 to 11 minutes to maintain a strict 45-minute total.

[WorkshopBank](https://workshopbank.com/tools/visual-explorer-photo-cards)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/visual-explorer-photo-cards-workshopbank/