--- title: "Favorite Sticky Review" description: "Participants write ideas on identical sticky notes with matching pens, post them anonymously, and review the wall by presenting someone else's note." last_updated: "2026-09-07" canonical: "https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/vizthink-dallas-in-the-house/" --- # Favorite Sticky Review Participants write ideas on identical sticky notes with matching pens, post them anonymously, and review the wall by presenting someone else's note. **Time:** 15 minutes. UWT suggested duration based on the 5 to 15 minute facilitation practice reported in Gamestorming comments. **People:** 4 to 24. Individual silent generation followed by pairs or a brisk whole-room round. ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Review a wall of ideas equally by having participants read and champion an idea written by someone else. **Use it when:** Use during idea generation or review sessions when you want to minimize status bias and ensure quiet voices are heard. **Skip it when:** Skip when ideas require immediate individual attribution or when evaluating complex proposals that require author defense. ## Materials and tools - Identical sticky notes of a single uniform color (at least 5 per person) - Identical black gel pens (1 per person) - Dedicated whiteboard, wall space, or flipchart stand - Digital whiteboard tool if running remotely ## Before participants arrive 1. Place identical sticky notes and identical gel pens at every seat. 2. Clear a wall or whiteboard space visible to all participants. ## Say this to open We are going to generate ideas silently on matching sticky notes using the same pens. Do not write your name. Once they are on the wall, your job will be to pick out a note written by someone else and share why you value it. ## How to run it ### 1. Write silently (3 minutes) State the specific focus prompt. Give participants 3 minutes to write one distinct idea per sticky note using the provided gel pens. Remind everyone to write clearly and leave notes unsigned. ### 2. Post anonymously (2 minutes) Invite everyone to walk up and place their notes randomly across the shared board. No reading aloud or sorting happens yet. ### 3. Select someone else's note (3 minutes) Participants browse the board silently. Each person selects one sticky note that catches their attention, ensuring it is not their own. If someone picks a note another person wanted, they can read it together or pick another adjacent note. ### 4. Share and debrief (7 minutes) Go around the circle. Each participant reads the chosen sticky note aloud and states in one sentence why they selected it. For groups larger than 12, split into two parallel circles or cap whole-room shares at 8 participants while others paste their selections onto a highlight quadrant. ## Debrief questions - What stood out to you about reading another person's thought? - Which shared ideas had surprising overlap across the room? - How did matching pens and paper affect how you read the board? **Finished output:** A board of shared ideas reviewed through peer advocacy, highlighting standout contributions without author bias. ## Remote Use an online board with identical digital sticky notes (default color, font, and size). Have participants type their cards into an unassigned column, scramble the order, and take turns picking another person's card to read aloud or paste into an appreciation frame. ## Hybrid Have remote participants submit notes to a shared virtual board while an in-person scribe transcribes them onto the matching paper stickies (or have in-person participants add cards to the same virtual board from their laptops). Run the sharing round by alternating between in-person and remote speakers. ## Access and participation choices - Participants may dictate their idea to a peer or scribe to avoid handwriting challenges. - Any participant may pass during the sharing round or simply read the note text without adding personal commentary. ## If the session gets stuck **Someone cannot find a note that is not their own or recognizes their own note being picked.** Permit them to select any nearby note on the board, or allow multiple participants to champion the same strong note. **A participant writes with their own personal colored pen or signs their initials.** Gently replace the note before posting by rewriting it onto a standard note with the official pen, or remind the group before posting begins. ## Terms used here - Gel pen: A rollerball pen using water-based gel ink that does not bleed through paper sticky notes like permanent markers do. ## Sources and adaptation Observed in a blog post and community discussion on Gamestorming regarding a VizThink Dallas meetup hosted by Mark Kraemer. Retained the three core facilitation practices from the source comment on the Gamestorming VizThink Dallas post: identical color stickies, uniform gel pens to prevent bleed-through and mask handwriting identity, and the instruction to champion a note written by someone else. UWT structured this tip into a distinct 15-minute review run sheet with pacing, hybrid handling, and debrief prompts. [Gamestorming](https://gamestorming.com/vizthink-dallas-in-the-house) [Gamestorming](https://gamestorming.com/vizthink-dallas-in-the-house/) Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/vizthink-dallas-in-the-house/