Yes, but… is a participatory brainstorming activity where participants explore creative reasons to avoid doing something. It is ideal for promoting critical thinking and reverse decision analysis, allowing participants to challenge ideas and address potential obstacles from an innovative perspective.
Preparation
- Define the purpose:
- Encourage the use of creativity to explore reasons for avoiding a specific action.
- Promote the identification and analysis of potential barriers.
- Turn critical thinking into a positive and constructive exercise.
- Prepare the materials:
- Flipcharts or whiteboards to record generated ideas.
- Markers or pens.
- Optional: cards for participants to write down their ideas individually before sharing them.
- Set up the space:
- Arrange participants in a circle or small groups to facilitate idea exchange.
- Provide a central space to record the reasons for not doing something.
- To run the activity virtually:
- Use platforms like Questiory, Miro, or Mural to create a collaborative board where participants can add reasons in real time.
- Ask participants to share their ideas in the chat or use interactive polling tools.
- Organize the discussion and analysis using virtual whiteboards or shared documents.
Step-by-step instructions
- Introduce the purpose
- Explain that the goal of the activity is to generate a list of creative reasons to avoid carrying out a specific action.
- Emphasize that the exercise is not meant to be negative but rather to identify potential barriers and explore “creative avoidance.”
- Define the action
- Select a topic or action for the activity, such as: “Implementing a new project” or “Changing the team structure.”
- Pose the initial question: “Why shouldn’t we do this?”
- Brainstorming
- Ask participants to share all possible reasons for avoiding the proposed action.
- Record each idea in a visible place without censorship or judgment to encourage creativity and open participation.
- Group analysis
- Review the generated list and sort the reasons into categories such as “External factors,” “Internal barriers,” or “Misconceptions.”
- Discuss which reasons are valid and which could be addressed with creative solutions.
- Turning ideas into action
- Ask the group to select the three most common or challenging reasons and propose strategies to overcome them.
- Guide the discussion toward how barriers can become opportunities for learning or innovation.
