# Wise Crowds One person acts as a client to present a real challenge, then turns away to listen and take notes while peers consult together to generate advice. The client turns back to share what was useful and pick a concrete next step. **Time:** 20 minutes. UWT suggested duration for a single consultation round: 1 minute group setup, 15 minutes of structured consultation for one client per pod, and 4 minutes of whole-room debrief. If every participant must take a turn as client, run multiple 15-minute cycles. **People:** 4 to 24. Parallel small groups of 4 to 5 people (1 client and 3 to 4 consultants). If total headcount requires flexibility, groups of 6 are acceptable (1 client, 5 consultants). For an odd total of 7, form one group of 4 and one group of 3 (1 client, 2 consultants). For other totals, partition participants into groups between 4 and 6 (for example, 11 splits into 6 and 5; 13 splits into 5, 4, and 4). ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Gather practical peer recommendations on a real operational challenge while practicing non-defensive listening. **Use it when:** Use when team members or project leads face complex problems where outside expert advice is unavailable or unnecessary. **Skip it when:** Skip when the issue involves confidential personal grievances or when the group lacks basic trust and psychological safety. ## Materials and tools - Notepad or scratch paper for each participant - 1 pen or pencil per person - Chairs arranged in circles of 4 to 6 without tables - 1 central chime or timer for the facilitator - 1 shared digital timer display for hybrid sessions ## Before participants arrive 1. Arrange chairs into circles of 4 to 6 seats with enough clearance behind each chair for a person to turn around comfortably. 2. Distribute writing pads and pens to all seats. 3. Set up a shared digital timer visible to in-person seats and broadcast to remote participants. 4. Check that room acoustics permit multiple small groups to talk without drowning each other out. ## Say this to open Welcome. In Wise Crowds, each group has one client seeking help and three to five peers acting as consulting advisors. This single round focuses on one client per group. If you are the client, your job is to state your challenge clearly and then turn your chair around to listen without interrupting while your group consults for you. If you are a consultant, your job is to ask sharp clarifying questions, explore options collaboratively, and offer practical suggestions. ## How to run it ### 1. Select client and state challenge (3 minutes) Groups form and take 1 minute to select one volunteer client. The client then presents their challenge, context, and specific request for help in 2 minutes. The facilitator rings a chime at 1 minute to ensure the pitch begins, and again at 3 minutes total to mark the end of the presentation and shift to clarifying questions. ### 2. Ask clarifying questions (3 minutes) Consultants ask the client brief, factual questions to understand context and constraints. For example: 'What budget or deadline constraints exist?' The client answers directly. Consultants must not offer advice or disguise suggestions as questions yet. ### 3. Turn away and peer consult (8 minutes) The client turns their chair around so their back faces the group. The client remains silent and takes written notes. The consultants discuss the challenge among themselves as a team, offering candid observations, alternative angles, and concrete action ideas. The client does not speak, defend, or react. ### 4. Client feedback and takeaways (2 minutes) The client turns back to face the group. The client speaks for up to 2 minutes, telling the consultants what was useful, what was surprising, and explicitly notes down and shares at least one immediate next step they will test. No debate occurs. ### 5. Full group reflection (4 minutes) Bring the whole room together. Hear brief reflections from 2 or 3 clients on what it felt like to listen with their back turned, and from 1 or 2 consultants on how working without client interruption shaped their ideas. ## Debrief questions - What did you notice about the ideas generated when the client was unable to interrupt or defend? - Clients, which suggestion surprised you most, and why? - Consultants, how did holding back advice during the clarifying phase change the quality of your recommendations? **Finished output:** A page of actionable peer recommendations and written notes recorded by each group's client, with at least one immediate next step chosen. ## Remote Form breakout rooms of 4 to 6 people. Groups take 1 minute to select a volunteer client. The client speaks for 2 minutes and answers clarifying questions for 3 minutes. For the 8-minute consulting phase, the client turns off their camera and mutes their microphone to take notes while the consultants discuss aloud. The client turns camera and microphone back on for the final 2 minutes to share takeaways and select a next step. ## Hybrid Keep in-person pods and remote pods separate rather than mixing them within one circle. Run a central shared countdown timer broadcast via screen-share to both the physical room display and remote breakout rooms. Remote pods follow video-off and mute protocols while in-person pods turn chairs away. Broadcast automated chat alerts at each transition to ensure both spaces rejoin the main plenary synchronously for the final debrief. ## Access and participation choices - Anyone may choose to serve as a consultant rather than a client without needing to justify their choice. - Clients who prefer not to turn their back physically may remain seated sideways and avert their gaze or close their eyes while taking notes. ## If the session gets stuck **The client turns around during the consulting phase to correct a consultant or defend a prior decision.** Remind clients gently that their back must stay turned and their pen moving; consultants must be free to explore hypotheses without the client managing the conversation. **Consultants start proposing solutions during the 3-minute clarifying phase.** Ring the chime and remind the room that clarifying questions are solely for missing facts, not recommendations. ## Terms used here - Client: The participant in the group who brings a real problem and receives peer advice. - Consultant: A peer group member who listens, asks clarifying questions, and collaborates to suggest solutions. ## Sources and adaptation Observed in Liberating Structures (liberatingstructures.com/13-wise-crowds), attributed by the source to Henri Lipmanowicz and Keith McCandless, inspired by Quaker Clearness Committees. Retained the core Liberating Structures sequence: 2-minute pitch, 3-minute clarifying questions, 8-minute turned-back consultation, and 2-minute client feedback. Clarified that this 20-minute run sheet executes a single round for one client per pod, adding 1 minute for pod setup and client selection plus 4 minutes for a focused plenary debrief. Outlined exact partition rules for odd group sizes and synchronized remote instructions. [Liberating Structures](https://www.liberatingstructures.com/13-wise-crowds/?utm_source=ScrumMasterToolbox) [Liberating Structures](https://www.liberatingstructures.com/13-wise-crowds/) [Liberating Structures](http://www.liberatingstructures.com/13-wise-crowds/) Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/wise-crowds/